I’m sitting on my apartment back porch enjoying a gin and tonic while my wife and I change shifts. We just welcomed our first child into the world on Memorial Day. It’s been an amazing few sleepless weeks and style has not been high in my radar since. I’ve never been so casual in my OOTD posts primarily because of work. I work in retail banking and previously at a university so suits and sport coats were the daily wear. I’m certainly grateful for my employer giving me many weeks pad for paternity leave. Now I have a new job as a father and a new appreciation for casual wear. I especially have come to love the “dad” look of light jeans with a polo and boat shoes that many of my millennial peers also associate with our own fathers. The circle of life is beautiful and also scary. It hasn’t fully set in that I’m a dad, I’m in survival mode with my wife for now. Honestly a polo shirt is the most formal I’ll be for a few more weeks I’m normally in a basic crewneck undershirt. As far as the outfit goes these are wrangler jeans with a Ben Hogan polo, and sperry leather boat shoes. The accessories take center stage with the lack of suit and tie featuring my citizen watch and collegiate ring. In my mind this is the quintessential “dad” look. Cheers and happy Friday.

Mixing and matching patterns and colors today with blue and brown up top with sombre trousers and shoes. Spending this lovely lunch on the cafe terrace across from the bank in town.

OOTD for my last day working at the college sporting our green colors. Going to need the jacket on frequently as I visit the various departments across campus.

I could care less about the ball caps so long as Gen Z fellers can re-establish their senses and embrace the classic navy blazer with chinos (cuffed even) with a tie. I’m all in. https://jpressonline.com/blogs/threading-the-needle-with-richard-press/threading-the-needle-gen-z-gentlemen?utm_campaign=2.17%20TTN%20-%20Gen%20Z%20Gentlemen%20%2801JMAH2JNPF6ZRB2QVZEVFKH11%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&_kx=D_j68B3ZeUB9t3j3UDW6FK80pDkeZJlNrHTIchbFbBy9YpNAX7Ou0zIsj1nO4vp2.Mhfb34

On entering my style journey most style youtubers and bloggers recommend avoiding the black suit. They say things like it's difficult to pair, its too formal, it's too boring, there are better colours to incorporate into your wardrobe etc. Hugo Jacomet has always been a major style icon for me. I've re watched his video on the black suit, his main idea is not to avoid the black suit in your first few suits. His video gives some good examples of how to pull it off. This is in contrast to many people who think a black suit should be your first and maybe only suit. I think this public opinion comes from the idea that you would never need to wear a suit aside from a funeral. I think we can all agree this is a sad and self-limiting mentality many people have these days. I find it interesting how many in the men's style community seem to pick the 30s-50s style as the main base of inspiration for style (although not completely copied)... the golden age of style. But this does leave out the first 100 years of the suit's existence. The suit was really born out of the aesthetic movement called "The Great Male Renunciation" at the turn of the 19th century. This emphasized rugged masculine personas, subdued colours and minimal embellishments for men. Of course this was in response to very opulent and frilly displays of wealth and power through delicate clothing. There is a beauty to it's simplicity, and I think there is something to learn from this very austere approach to menswear. I think (as Mr. Jacomet argues) that avoiding wearing a black tie with a black suit can instantly drop the cartoonish, shrunken-suit, runway model vibe we often think of when imagining a black suit. I think a lot of our dislike of the black suit comes from a reaction of the way big clothing has shaped the imagine of the black suit: something poorly fitting out of stiff polyester that is uncomfortable. But what if we add the style principles that elevate any other colour of suit like adding a subtle pin or chalk stripe, or using a flannel wool just the same way we elevate our other suits. Maybe then our perception of the black suit may change.