The last time I went into downtown Los Angeles, I shot some new friends and wore some classic menswear, ranging from ivy style to a modern interpretation of 1930’s tailoring.  However, I decided to change things up this time.  I thought I would be fun to show more of our casual side, this time even more dressed down than our previous post on vintage casual.  Our plans for the Broad didn’t work out, so we were able to explore and shoot next door at the wonderfully photogenic Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Ethan

This is one of the many variations of my modern casual style ,which is usually a combination of a vintage or vintage styled jacket, crew neck tee/sweater, slim jeans, and boots.  I like to think most of the outfits that I’ve posted in this blog are pretty versatile: you take off the tie, add a jacket, and you’re good to go whether you’re going on a date or hanging out with friends!  This particular outfit is different.  There’s no sartorial basis or any vintage influence here.  It’s something modern that can work for everyone, especially those who are against wearing suits or sportcoats.

Honestly, while I enjoy this outfit a lot, I think it’s a bit tame compared to my sartorial outfits since they contain a lot more pieces.  I’ve done similar outfits based on my “casual formula” combination here and here.  I just love to wear boots, jeans, and a cool jacket or coat.

Even though I have no direct inspiration from the 1940s or 1950’s in this casual outfit, I will say that the jacket is pretty “vintage inspired”.  Its a Levi’s corduroy belted work jacket, with four patch pockets (with flaps). It’s not exactly a Norfolk or a Barbour, but the “utility” vibes are still there. You might even say it could be used in a more workwear-esque outfit. In this particular case, the combo with the striped shirt adds an additional nautical vibe if you want to reach for it.

It may be corduroy, which is a winter fabric, but it is unlined, which makes it perfect for mild weather (which is what SoCal typically has). You could pair it over a sweater, a dress shirt, or in this case, a simple striped tee. The pockets are great for holding batteries and other stuff while exploring LA!  Perfect for a photographer.

Here’s the look without the jacket.  It’s still a great casual outfit that is definitely a step up over a graphic tee and baggy jeans or shorts.  Note that the jeans and the tee shirt fit well, which is the key to pulling off any outfit, whether its sartorial or casual.  While sneakers could work just as well, I always prefer chelsea boots when dressing down. Their sleek design gives an extra edge to your outfit, making them pair nicely with slim or skinny jeans.  With all of these qualities, you might make a stretch to make the outfit as my own take on the Saint Laurent Paris aesthetic; I even have the striped tee and black chelseas!  However, instead of keeping everything sleek (as SLP emphasis an extremely slim figure and minimalism) I think that my belted jacket gives a bit more contrast since its not as expected!

If you’re looking for a simple casual look that will work for almost everything, you can always go with my formula!  You can’t go wrong with a fitted tee, slim jeans, and boots.  You could always go with a leather jacket, but I think having something with a bit more personality like a vintage varsity one or the belted one that I have in this article!

Striped Tee from H&M (goodwill), Levi’s 511 denim, Chelsea Boots from Banana Republic, Levi’s Belted Corduroy Jacket (ebay)

Blake

Blake’s last casual outfit was more of a 1940-1950’s sartorial casual, but this time he dresses down further, trading his slacks for cotton twill pants.  For a shirt, he wears a sportshirt, which is what we all wore in my “vintage casual” post.  It just shows you how diverse a sport shirt can be: you can wear them with wool trousers, under a sweater, or with selvedge denim.   Here, the sportshirt and twill work pant combo gives Blake a slight workwear vibe, a theme that we’re getting with most of the casual outfits that we see on Street x Sprezza.

His trousers are a recent true vintage pick up, cut from a cotton twill and featuring orange stiching, jean style pockets, and a high rise.   Based on what we’ve learned from conversations with our vintage friends, they’re 1940’s workpants. Definitely a cool rarity!

As I stated in my previous post, loop collar sport shirts are the best way to give your casual style a vintage edge.  Most casual shirts, be they long or short sleeve, tend to have regular shirt collars; vintage casual shirts had loop collars to set them apart from dress shirts. They can give you bit of a dated crooner style when worn with dress pants, so if you don’t want to go strictly vintage, follow Blake’s example and wear them with something a bit more rugged! Its a great way to get more use out of your loop collar sport shirt, if you decide to get one.

Vintage sport shirts aren’t hard to find, so don’t worry! It’s the best way to get these details that you can’t really find anywhere else, like the size/angle of the collar or the amazing caramel buttons.

1940’s sport shirt, 1940’s work pants, 1940’s belt, 1940’s bag, modern boots

Adam

Adam’s take on casual style is obviously way different compared to the Blake’s and mine.  It’s pretty much streetwear thanks to the floral pocket tee, camo joggers, and Nike trainers.  The most comparable outfit that I could find was this one and I think Adam’s is much better. I don’t normally recommend pairing floral and camo, but applying my rules on pattern mixing can work.  His joggers are more muted than the shirt, allowing the shirt to be central focus of the outfit.  However, I think the outfit would’ve been better with solid black joggers or jeans in order to ground the outfit more effectively.

I will say that I’m no expert on streetwear, especially when it isn’t something versatile like minimalism, SLP, or workwear-esque. Adam’s confidence allows him to pull off this outfit well, and that’s incredibly important when wearing something unorthodox.  It’s important to note that his shoes do echo the blues of the shirt; whether this was intentional is up for debate.  It might be hard to recreate Adam’s outfit for your own use, but there is nothing wrong with camo or florals.  I reiterate that swapping one piece for a solid one (shirt or pants) would help make the outfit just a tad better.  You could even go the extra mile and wear all white or all black sneakers!

Shirt and Joggers from H&M, Cardigan from Forever 21, Nikes 

Extra Pictures

Basically, the guys and I wanted to go to downtown LA to go to the Broad.  We ate lunch at Grand Central Market (definitely going back to take pictures) and ended up missing the line for the museum.  As consolation, we decided to walk around the Walt Disney Concert Hall and actually take pictures!  Since it was around 4PM, the lighting was just perfect! Here are just a few of the pictures that we took! I honestly am proud of my photography in this article, as well as grateful for my friends for taking the pictures of me! Maybe I’ll be able to make a name for myself as an LA photographer yet!  I’ll be sure to take more streetstyle pictures of people I see as well.

I hope you enjoyed this display of our casual style!  It’s much different than our normal sartorial or vintage content.  I honestly don’t post much about my own modern, casual style since it does revolve around a simple formula of shirt, jeans, boots, and a cool jacket or coat. If you guys do like it, let me know by commenting below! I definitely want to diversify my content so having feed back would be great.  Also let me know what you thought of my friends’ outfits! Do you like Adam’s style? Or do you prefer Blake’s slight vintage/workwear twist?  I’m still a big fan of both and I think that all of us fit in perfectly with the myriad of style in DTLA.

Always a pleasure,

Ethan W.

Street x Sprezza

Photography by Ethan W., Blake B., and Adam B.