The Autumn Styling Special
Grabbing layering season with both hands
Hello and thank for attending The Prep Club, last week’s bulletin is available here or on your way out as always.
Every few months or so I like to take a look at some layering/ styling ideas for the coming season, simple piece + piece pairings to put together that might inspire an outfit as a result. Pulling from sources new and old, let’s see if I can’t throw together some left-field layers to stoke the bonfire of your imagination.
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We obsess over layering season a little, with good reason, it’s a lot easier to put together an outfit with layers, and there’s greater scope for a variety of fabrics. What I’m particularly interested in today though is the construction of outfits that don’t require every layer to be worn in order to look good, at some point through the day you’re probably going to take that jacket off, what then? The look is just over till you’re back out in the cold again? There’s scope for something better. I’ve called it layer resiliency.
At the same time, I’m a big fan of lookbook layers, the Polo and ALD trick of putting a model in about 4 different tops to show them all off at once. This being the inspiration, it’ll inevitably look more constructed, but I like to think we’re fans of that here.
So we’re looking for outfits with layer resiliency, but we’re also not going to be afraid to get a little silly with it.
Quarter [zips] that aren’t awful
The quarter zip is pretty synonymous with a certain corporate and/or moneyed type, in the same manner as the gilet. I’m sure one can conjure up an image of skinny-fit chinos and a quarter zip over an unbuttoned poplin shirt, you know the space we’re operating in here.
The thing is, I don’t think we’re actually that far off of a very interesting look, we just have to make a couple changes.
The first change is to the garment itself, if we’re looking to avoid the finance special then it can’t be any sort of close knit or shiny polyester. We’re looking really to move away from the sports informed, and towards heritage outdoors looks. We arrive at a couple options, chunky knits, and sherpa, the addition of panelling in something like a cotton-nylon blend is welcome too. In essence we’re looking to ruggedise the look in any way possible. The other move is to drop the zip and go for snap fasteners/ poppers instead, just to sit as a further degree of separation.
If we want to take a stroll on the sportier side, a baseball fleece can bring a nice streetwear derived suggestion. The Yankees have had some great ones over the years.
We then need to rethink what's going under it, and indeed over it. In the corporate look our quarter zip tends to be the top layer, our first stop is finding just about anything to go overtop. Sportcoat, chore jacket, bomber, etc. and as for underneath immediately we’re looking at dropping the poplin in favour of an Oxford, I quite like the vibe of going untucked here, lends a casual edge when the jacket comes off, back to layer resiliency as aforementioned. There’s also the option of a fine knit roll neck (we’ll be coming back here in a minute). These thoughts are mostly for a chunky knit quarter though, for a sherpa I think as a top layer is the best move. Accessorise heavily here and it’ll achieve a similar effect to adding a layer overtop.
Recontextualising a piece with heavy associations is a challenge, especially from a confidence perspective, I think the ultimate key for the quarter is to run maximalist.
Roll-necks with everything
Barring summer, each of my previous seasonal guides have suggested pairing a roll neck with some garment or another overtop. The conclusion I’ve come too is that we should just be wearing more roll necks. They feel like a bit of a cheat code for making a look more considered.
I think there are limits, definitely, a roll neck with a suit can look incredible, but there’s somewhat of a risk of looking like the art-history professor in some low-budget adventure flick, I’d lean towards a more casual suit, grey flannel is always going to work, or pinstripes.
Elsewhere, I’ve talked about under rugbies before, cotton flannel shirts is a nice move, quarters as mentioned above, sweatshirts. Obviously one for colder days. We’re pretty good when is comes to layer resiliency here too, if you’ve got a decent roll-neck it’ll look pretty great on its own.
As for the jumper itself, if you’re after one knit to rule them all, it’s probably a cream submariner, on the fitted side so you can layer over it, alternatively if you’re after more ivy flair a brushed wool is a lovely look. There’s also the fine knit variation, something like an ecru will probably offer the most versatility, or black if you’re willing to battle the Steve Jobs comments.
Don’t be afraid to tuck these either, good for warmth and proportions, again another reason to go more fitted too.
Cotton Flannel
I’d like to posit cotton flannel as the ideal sister cloth for Ivy-coded shirting, alongside Oxford. Through summer the Ivy dresser gets their check fix from Madras, but as things get colder, the options expand, of these options, none strike a balance as nicely as cotton flannel.
Whilst a proper wool flannel from Pendleton is an undisputed classic, and a lot of checks/tartans will be done in twills, cotton flannel offers a suite of benefits which I’d like to draw you attention too. It is of course slightly cooler than wool for transitional periods, and layering purposes, this is ideal, it also manages to toe the line between the rugged and the urban. As comfortable paired with a navy blazer as with a 60/40 gilet, and a perfect partner to denim.
The move I envision from here is taking the rural and city looks and shuffling them together, with the shirt as a line of consistency. We’re talking blazer with hiking pants and boots, gilet and fishing cap with chinos and loafers.
Again if you’re looking for one to rule them all, get Blackwatch, in my humble opinion the best way to wear a dark coloured shirt.
Sitting at the perfect point between formal and casual, urban and rugged, warm and breezy, it becomes a cloth that facilitates more outfit. Versatility is king round these parts.
Big coats over blazers
So we’re not talking about our Balmacaans or polo coats here, we’re thinking down-lined puffers and mountain parkas. This is a move pinched straight from ALD, but as mentioned in last week’s bulletin, I’ve been exploring ways to put an ivy flair on it.
To do that, there's the option to swap the Gore-Tex for 60/40, and get more of the retro outdoor vibes going. Modern in the styling, but trad in the garments themselves, which is kind of the spirit of this article, if not the club as a whole actually. I think this looks best if the outermost coat is in fact a little shorter than the blazer/ sport coat beneath, it draws attention to the fact that its out of place.
There’s a similar vibe possible by doing this with an M65 too, with the same point of having the jacket slightly longer than the coat. I might even suggest a vintage sherpa jacket, for the same great outdoors to city slicker fusion feel.
Some general thoughts on layers there, think about them as just that, layers that need to come on and off to accommodate you through the day. However, maybe push the boat out a bit too, get off the beaten track and find combinations from the different sides of your existing wardrobe, layering season is a chance to be a bit silly. We can always hide behind the word sprezzatura. Go forth into the incoming cold and upset some ivy evangelists.
Thanks for your attendance this week, grab a copy of the bulletin on your way out and keep an eye out for the next one.
Prep Club adjourned, see you soon
It's a good flag on the quarter zip (hearing them referred to as "QZs" was my notice to exit the category a few years ago). Like the padded vest, they just need time to shed their bank swag associations.