It’s indisputably autumn, and with the changeable weather you’ll need adaptable clothing. James Mitchell reveals how to layer like a player.
Happy New Year! For fashionistas, it’s autumn that really marks the beginning of the year. Along with the general ‘back to school’ vibe, the season allows students of sartorial excellence the opportunity to swap out their t-shirts and shorts and ease back into the comfort zone of a fully stocked wardrobe – with just a few well-chosen items added to update and enliven the treasures stashed within.
But the real fun of the season is in throwing these assorted items together and ending up with what looks like a thoughtful and coherent whole. In the olden days this was called ‘getting dressed’, but in fashion writing it’s called ‘layering’ and is treated with the reverence of an art but can then be analysed with an almost scientific degree of detail. According to GQ, if hemlines stray to within two inches of each other your layering can start to look accidental rather than deliberate, but I think we’ll veer towards a more relaxed approach than this.
My own introduction to layering came way back when I was at primary school. As the days grew colder, the shirts and jumpers grew thicker in response, with a liberal smattering of handmade or hand-me-down items on view. And the rules to this seemed straightforward. Start with a vest – which must never be tucked into your pants, you don’t want to look like your mum dressed you, even if she did – add some kind of flannelled shirt and then complete with a crew necked sweater (perhaps patterned for the more flamboyant child or parent). A coat would be forced upon you when you ventured outside, and you had better pray that it wasn’t of the duffle variety. Carrying that off with welly boots and a hat is a trick best left to bears.
So, what was it that broke this early style hegemony? A kid with a Danish mother. He’d already marked himself out as unusual by having a lunchbox stuffed with such exotic delights as pickled fish and crispbread. But his continental flair was firmly foregrounded when he turned up wearing a roll neck sweater with a loosely buttoned shirt on the outside. Lunacy. Christian had come to school wearing his clothes in the wrong order! It was dangerous non-conformism, and I fancied a slice of it too. So, I’m ashamed to admit that I copied him, which is kind of how fashion works, I guess. And with that, the genie was out of the bottle and The Shacket was born.
But it wasn’t as easy as it looked, I was to discover. The following week I tried out this new look. Vest – tick. Blue ribbed roll neck – tick. Checked shirt – tick. But I hadn’t factored in the impact of charging about the playground for half an hour after lunch chasing a football about before sauntering back into an overly heated classroom.
I was hot. Very, very hot and had turned bright red. Now this was embarrassing, so the effect was exponential, a flush x blush. Yet, for some reason it didn’t occur to me that I could simply take off the jumper, or even just the shirt for starters. Maybe it was fear of exposing my untucked vest in public and in some way offending classroom decency, but I just sat there for the rest of the afternoon and sweated it out. How Christian managed this with the sangfroid of a Nazi U-boat captain patrolling the Baltic (which his maternal Grandfather may well have been) is beyond my comprehension. But the lesson was to layer mindfully and avoid heatstroke. Layer like a professional and you can easily remove any item should you wish and still have a well put together outfit.
How do you do layering ‘right’, then? Recurring themes in the style press are to mix up your textures. Start with a smooth layer of cotton underneath, perhaps, then add something woollen – why not consider a cardigan for a change? – and top if off with the soft feel of a suede jacket. In terms of colour, go tonal and embrace a matching set of shades from a section of the spectrum. Varying blues always tie together smartly, while for the past few years brown and cream hues have been all over high fashion’s runways. But do consider throwing in the fabled fashion ‘pop’ of a bright fuchsia pink or electric blue, or an eye-catching burst of pattern to break things up. We don’t want to be too matchy-matchy. And do kick ass with your accessories, a statement belt atop a tucked-in sweater can switch things up from boring to a blast. Play around with these ideas, the possibilities are limitless.
What might you add to freshen up your rotations? As we wade deeper into October, I find myself (in a nod to Christian) yet again reviewing the pages of Vogue Scandinavia. If you’re looking for tips on dressing in colder weather, it would be foolish to ignore the experts. Pleasingly they’ve issued a call for Loud Luxury in menswear. After the dominance of Stealth Wealth and fetishising the serious businessperson’s off-duty ensemble of a tasteful cashmere quarter-zip sweater with a no logo and Loro Piano storm system baseball hat, it’s refreshing to hear something more visually interesting being championed. “Think bold colours, logos, metallics, chunky jewellery and statement belts,” says Robert Rydberg, Vogue Scandinavia fashion director. “Quiet luxury is out.”
As we heave a collective sigh of relief, Rydberg continues to suggest investing in items such as Yves Saint Laurent leather trousers and a leopard print Dolce and Gabbana coat. If my budget permitted, I’d be sorely tempted. But it isn’t too hard to find more affordable versions in high street stores. All Saints and Debenhams can ease you into some snugly fitting leather strides but remember to apply talcum powder liberally beforehand to help them slide off as easily as they went on. And a quick glance at ASOS or among the franchised segments of a larger John Lewis should throw up a few options for leopard print shirts if an animal print coat feels just a little too wild for you.
And I hope you got on board with Oxfam’s laudable Second-Hand September initiative. With the fashion industry’s over production and over consumption problem causing increasingly obvious environmental and labour practice issues, pre-loved clothing at least helps alleviate the impact. There are plenty of hardy perennials waiting patiently to be harvested at this time of year in the charity and vintage shop market. Rugged Harris tweed sports jackets are a staple and shouldn’t set you back more than around £30 for something in near mint condition. Likewise, you’ll find plenty of Crombie coats ready to burst back into life. If you can find yourself a double-breasted example running well below the knee you could channel some louche Withnail and I energy. These items were built to last and have comfortably seen off a couple of transient style cycles.
Your whole wardrobe is now back in the game, and with those few key signings secured this season should be even better than the last. You’ve all you need to start layering like a player, you just need to maintain your fit(ness). How can you test that? Ease of movement. If your clothes don’t ruck and ride as you stride out into the great outdoors, and you look and feel great too, congratulations and move to the top of the class: you’ve cracked layering. Otherwise, you may become the sartorial equivalent of Eric Morecambe’s concert pianist, wearing all the right clothes, just not necessarily in the right order.
Banner image: SCABAL 100% Cashmere Sheffield Overcoat Zeus, scabal.com
