New Autumn 2010 ASOS Trend: Smart

ASOS have come up with a treat for us today. As one of the premier men’s clothing destinations on the internet they continue to reinvent and push their brand forward by producing great editorial, trend collections and look books. One of their featured Autumn Winter 2010/11 trends is called “Smart”, and it brings relaxed formal and tailoring to a new level.

Now some of you may be a little bored of the same ‘traditional tailoring’ trend every single Autumn/Winter, and yes, I’m one of them. But fear not, ASOS have come up with a trend that does involve classic tailoring, but with an added twist. It integrates into your current wardrobe seamlessly, and encourages you to buy timeless items to pair with the essentials you already own. That is the key to this trend, reusing items and providing a mix between casual and formal. For example, if you have an old denim shirt in your wardrobe from Spring/Summer, you can breathe new life into the item by buttoning it to the top and pairing it with a tailored jacket, and as you will see below, this is one of the key looks produced. In the end it means you don’t have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe like quite a lot of passing trends, which will save you money.

This trend is all about mixing and matching and clashing of styles. The key piece in the whole trend is the tailored jacket, which I hope all of you should own by now. Every modern male should have a blazer in their wardrobe which can be used in formal or casual outfits. It is a timeless item that will form the basis of many of your looks throughout this Autumn/Winter and so is classed as an investment piece. If you have yet to pick up a blazer, or are in the market for a new one, there are some great new examples on the horizon this season with modern features such as double breasted cuts, shawl collars, military detailing and much more. You really are going to be spoilt for choice this year as designers and the high street look to progress and get even better.

That is not to say blazers are the only styles which will rise to prominence. The peacoat, mac and trench jacket are always staples for the colder months and so you can definitely substitute these into your outfits seamlessly. As we have mentioned above you can mix your denim, checked or plaid shirts with sharp trousers and a mac, throw on your favourite knitted beanie with a plain white tee and tailored blazer or simply pair your favourite hi-tops or military boots with razor sharp slim trousers. The options are based around what you already own, and the trend aims to bring tailoring up-to-date and modern. This is not formal dressing, but adding some sharp style to your casual outfits.

There was a great look book produced by ASOS, so what I’m going to do is to go through five of my favourite looks and you can then hopefully gain some inspiration about how you can work your existing wardrobe into this trend. You may need to pick up a few new items, but if they are timeless tailoring pieces that will last, then they are a wise investment, not to mention versatile.

The Key Looks

Look 1

The first look I have gone for consists of a white shirt (could be a plain tee or grandad top though) under a double breasted tailored coat. Faint striped trousers mix well with the faint check on the coat. The addition of the loop neck scarf rounds off the look. Keep the tailored coat unbuttoned to show off the scarf and the contrast of the white under layer, which will also subtly highlight the stripe in the trouser.

Here are some key items that can be used to get this look:

Look 2

The second look consists of one major statement piece in the navy tailored mac. The layering underneath is where we can use existing items within the look – a crew neck jumper paired with a shirt gives the impression of formal (shirt with collar), but brings it up to date and clashes by leaving the shirt untucked. You will probably already own these items within your wardrobe, it is just a case of getting the colours to work together. The shades of blue running throughout this outfit is particularly great though. The shirt really does break up the outfit by injecting a lighter shade in order to differentiate between the trousers and jumper.

For the trousers they have gone for a deep blue colour which actually looks to have a little shine to them. Again this keeps the look modern and fresh, but I think you can easily sub in dark slim/skinny jeans here and still pull off the trend nicely. Shoes are kept simple and you could use navy, black or brown here. Same goes for the bag which is a great finishing touch.

Here are some key items to get this look:

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