5 Men,s Wardrobe Essentials

Regardless of your budget, style or shape these classic pieces will transport you from day to evening, summer to winter and bedroom to boardroom with the smallest of efforts. It’s all about embodying a transitional style aesthetic through investing in clothes that will withstand the test of time and keep you looking sharp all year round. We’ve broken it down into five straightforward categories: jackets, suits, shirts, trousers, shoes and accessories. Read on to learn the wardrobe basics.

1. Jacket

The key to a simple wardrobe is to begin with the foundation, and in most cases that starts with a jacket. The type of occasion you wear a jacket to is detrimental to the style, fit and colour of its design. Above all else jackets are key in elevating a man’s outfit.

   

2. Suit

A suit is perhaps the biggest investment for a man’s essential wardrobe. You can opt for either a two-piece or three-piece design in a variety of materials, colours and silhouettes suited to any specific occasion. And you can get it tailoredto your exact body measurements, ensuring a design that is unique and bespoke to only you.

Today suits have been reworked from the classic shape to include longline blazer designs, cropped trouser lengths, rolled cuffs and brocade suit jackets. But as we’re talking about only the closet essentials there should be two suit designs you should most definitely own that will carry you from work to play.

3. Shirt

PHOTO CREDIT: The Idle Man

A well-cut shirt can absolutely make an outfit shine. You’ll most likely see a shirt paired beneath a blazer or two-piece suit, but when the summer hits it’s a likely accompaniment tucked into jeans or chinos with a leather belt. Today’s classic shirt is just like that of a century ago, a traditional button down in crisp white cotton. Of course modern iterations of the shirt such as the grandad collar shirt, crewneck and longline shirt (bang on trend this summer) are also viable options.

Consider the fit when you buy a shirt. There’s nothing worse than a design that is too snug on the chest, or too short on the arms. If you’re broad shouldered opt for a design that has a central vent in the back to allow for more wingspan movement, and if you want or need to wear a tie always go for the classic collar shape.

4. Trousers

There are two important elements to consider when purchasing a pair of trousers – the waist and the leg length; everything else is just personal preference. Perfect them both and you’ll never have to worry about shopping for trousers again.

Trousers have been the single most important garment to have differentiated men from their female counterparts over the course of history. And while attitudes may have changed to dressing to specific gender roles the reason why we all wear trousers has remained the same – for utility and practicality.

Ideally you should always own two types of trousers in your capsule wardrobe, one that is ideal for evening and one for day. With that in mind the classic tailored trouser and the casual chino are wardrobe essentials.

5. Shoes

Shoes are pretty much the icing on the cake when it comes to styling any complete outfit from head to toe. Shoes can make or break what you’re wearing, and are an essential step to consider when you want to stand out from the crowd.

The great thing about a pair of shoes is that you can experiment with colour if you’re more prone to wearing monochrome shades, it’s a design trick picked up on by street style stars across the globe. As part of your essential wardrobe the key is to own at least two different types of shoes that are ideal for mixing and matching depending on the occasion. Formal options include a classic pair of leather Derbies or brogues, while high or low top trainers should be your go to for casual everyday wear – it’s your style agenda.