What I Wore: March 2021

April 18, 2021

We got our first taste of warmer weather mid way through the month, and it’s been a rollercoaster ever since. We had days that hit above 20 degrees Celsius, and a few days that hovered around 0… Gotta love spring. What I wore was sometimes based on the weather, and sometimes in direct contradiction. Here are a few outfits from the month of March that warrant some thought and discussion.

Oatmeal & Olive

I always enjoy wearing this oatmeal Donegal sport coat from Spier and Mackay, though I sometimes feel that pairing options are limited. So when I happen upon this pairing, beginning with the sport coat and these olive Japanese cotton trousers from Collaro, I thought I would give it a try. The semi-tonal pairing has just enough contrast; some from the lightness of the oatmeal, but a lot of visual or textural contrast between the flecked Donegal and the smooth finished cotton. I chose this shirt to try to balance out the temperature of colours, and I think it worked ok. It doesn’t offer much saturation to meaningfully shift the overall tone of the outfit. What would have been better here? I don’t think a solid blue shirt would have been good. This might have been a good case for my ecru shirt, which would keep the tone skewed warm overall – improved cohesiveness? Getting back to adding contrast, the choice of my cashmere herringbone tie from Kent Wang, along with this pocket square from Amidé Hadelin do a nice job in both adding some visual achors with the dark shades of brown. There’s even more textural appeal with the softness of the cashmere landing somewhere inbetween the jacket and trousers, and the smooth hint of silk in my pocket against the nubby Donegal.

Denim & Donegal

Denim shirts and Donegal tweed – One of my favourite fabric pairings that will never fail. In this instance, what I wore was my light (even though it’s not that light) wash denim shirt from Spier and Mackay a few years ago. It’s worn in nicely and the character has grown as the fades develop through each wash. The trousers are my Hollywood waistband, double pleated cotton that feels like a lighter canvas fabric. They’re from Amfeast, and are super comfortable. Lastly, I went with a RPL tie from Luxeswap that has a tan base, with shades of brown and green in a houndstooth pattern. I love this tie. This wool/silk pocket square from Cavour brings in some beige and green, and adds some needed lightness up top.

Burgundy & Charcoal

Burgundy is a definite favourite of mine when it comes to tailored clothing. Charcoal is a new favourite that I’ve realized can be quite versatile. Why not wear them together? Part of the reason I chose to go with these dark trousers was to have a pairing that would work with my new black penny loafers from 51 Label. I have shared my thoughts on their shoes before, and I’m happy to say that my experience with these is consistent (great) with the double monkstraps I reviewed previously. The saturated blue reverse stripe shirt from Cavour does a really nice job balancing out the boldness of the burgundy jacket and being able to balance out the darker lower half of the outfit. In the last photo I was able to enjoy some warm weather in my Kent Wang keyhole sunglasses.

Cream, Blue & Green

A colour combo I always enjoy, with a slightly different take – this navy OCBD. I enjoy finding ways to wear this shirt, but often think about replacing the white shell buttons with something that don’t produce quite the visual distraction. These bright spots of reflective shell can easily distract from the rest of the outfit. This green slub sport coat is great to wear – especially working from home. Fully unconstructed, it feels like a sweater. You can also see my five-pocket cords I picked up this past season from Spier and Mackay. These have literally replaced denim AND sweatpants during the week. They’re super comfy and have a great fit. I would highly recommend them. Rampley & Co in my breast pocket.