Casual Sports Tailoring | Suits with Trainers

Casual tailoring is a type of men's style that seems to be more tolerated in terms of a style choice these days. Traditionally, I would turn my nose up at wearing a suit with trainers. Even wearing gym trainers with your suit when hitting the gym prior to work was a little too much of a fashion faux pas for my traditional sartorial sense of style. Well times are changing slightly and mixing casual clothing such as a t-shirt or trainers with formal suits is becoming quite mainstream with NEXT menswear running collections dedicated to the design or styling of 'modern tailoring' or 'sports tailoring' as you may also hear it referred to.

I personally don't see this style breaching the strict dress codes of some of the larger FTSE100 or 250 companies in the heart of London...by this I mean the big banks, insurance, accountants etc. Bigger companies tend to be less lenient on breaches to their dress code 'give an inch, take a mile' springs to mind. As a 36 year old man who prior to working in the fashion industry used to work in a corporate office, I loved to dress smart or formal. Not only do you feel a sense of power, a sense of style, a sense of tradition, it also is quite easy to dress formal as you are not having to think so much about high-street fashion. Wearing suits is very much about colour or pattern combinations, get this right and you'll look great regardless on the cut and cost of your suit.

However there is a place for this type of mixing casual with formal style and I'm seeing it appear more for going out, when a suit is too much yet a blazer is perfect. I'm seeing this style be very much a spring/summer look, where the design of the blazer is tapered and the trousers are either draw-string or tailored as cropped which allows for the wearer to opt for no socks and trainers or a more casual shoe choice. 

In my outfit choice of the day, I've styled my look based on what I'm doing throughout the day. During this day I had a few meetings dotted around London, so I was walking between them, jumping on an off trains as well as having a press event in the evening at one of London's coolest rooftop bars. Firstly and most importantly, I needed to wear my most luxurious, comfortable trainers (or sneakers). There was really only one brand that comes to mind and that is Harrys of London whose shoes and trainers are at the forefront of design and only use exceptional, luxurious materials. It's this level of comfort I needed when wearing no socks and doing a lot of walking on a day where the weather is in the mid 20's. These sneakers are handmade in Italy and part of their 'Mr Jones' collection, which are designed to look just as good with tailored trousers as well as a pair of jeans. The Mr Jones offers unrivalled comfort and practicality in the form of the Harrys of London new non-skid Vibram® Wave rubber sole. Being a warm day, I then wanted to wear a lightweight suit with a roomy t-shirt, it really was just a comfort choice. When walking around, I could just take off the blazer; put it back on and I'll still look smart, casual and stylish for my event in the evening.

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Photography by Ella H