Spring Into Color

In the South, the spring warms up fast.  Looking at March, I already see days with highs in the 80s; it is time to get out our spring wardrobe.  Guys do have seasonable wardrobes, even if you don’t immediately think about it. You are putting away your winter coats.  You are thinking about whether you can wear shorts again.  In spring we can put away some of our more somber clothes and look for something a little bit brighter and crisper.  The general rules for spring clothing are that it is time for more color, brighter color, and lighter fabrics.

Spring is the perfect time to inject more color into our wardrobe.  If you remember, wearing more color was one of the recommendations for guys. I am packing up the heavier and deeper hued dress shirts until the fall. Shortly, the heavier wool dress pants will be packed away and replaced with lighter fabric and colored options. How and where do you add colors to your spring wardrobe?

Dress shirts – Keep an eye out to add light green or yellow to your dress shirts.  Light, but bright blue is also a good option.  Gingham and Madras styles can be easily added to your wardrobe without a return to the 80s dayglo neons.  Gingham is a fabric related to seersucker, but has as much come to describe the picnic cloth style plaid that typifies it.  Madras is a related fabric style that refers to the bright and colorful combinations of plaid or checks that originated in India. Madras may take a bit more gumption to pull off in a dressed up outfit, while gingham will give you a pop of color with the safety of a white base color.

Blazers and Sportcoats– As much as I hate to say it, it is time to put up a lot of the sportcoats.  I love my tweeds, but 80 degrees is definitely too warm for them.  Until a chill comes back to the air, look for cotton or linen and unstructured blazers. GQ recently did a piece on the sport jacket as the most important piece of your wardrobe for the upcoming spring.   Unfortunately, it is a slideshow, but slides 15, 16, and 17 are a list of 3 light sport coats that are within affordable reaches. This one at J. Crew is a good idea as well.  The Target option was noticed by everyone, including the GQ link, and is a sharp cotton sport coat that is both affordable and easy to find.

If you wear polos, listen to Corey’s plea and don’t wear them all the time.  A colored polo is, however, is another easy injection of spring colors.  Replace two or three of your print t-shirts with slim cut polos to up your game.

On the lower half of your body, we are passing the time of year for corduroy, but you can easily add chinos. Chinos or khakis come in a myriad of colors, but are a classic piece of American style. I prefer a darker colored chino if you are staying traditional.  You also can get blue or red chinos and up your go to hell pant quotient. Look for a slimmer fit for a cleaner line.

Those blazers we talked about above deserve a pocket square.  Get a houndstooth or edged cotton pocket square.  Easy.

Unstructured peak lapel blazer + light green dress shirt + pink linen pocket square with a pair of khakis.

Your turn.