Dress Like Gianni Agnelli – Sort Of

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dress like gianni agnelli

If you’re a menswear nerd, you’ve probably heard of Gianni Agnelli. It doesn’t matter who he is, really (you might even know already); what matters is that he’s regularly pointed to as a sort of fairy godfather of sprezzatura – known for, among other things, his propensity to wear his watch over the sleeve of his shirt and to regularly wear hiking boots with suits.

These days, the internet #menswear set has largely adopted these and similar ‘quirks’ as a method to attract social media followers, which in our humble opinion, does not have the immediate result of making the adopter stylish. Neither does simply buying everything in the outfit grid pictured above, but we all have to start somewhere – particularly when it’s nearing springtime, and we’re all looking forward to shaking out the lightweight wardrobe and getting on with getting outside.

My point is that part of being stylish is rolling with your own quirks, rather than adopting someone else’s. And one – slightly quirky – look I have always favored is a tailored upper half with a more casual trouser-and-shoe combination. I tend to do this in the name of “utility,” though I understand that many see this as a poor argument against elegance. However, when springtime muddiness comes around, I can’t think of a better excuse to wear boots like Agnelli than because everything turns to mud. And that, my friends, is a time of year when it’s not a bad idea to wear hiking boots.

Think of the above as a starting point for developing your own style. You may not like the way everything in our grid looks together, but it may spark some creativity in you. Perhaps you like the look of the cement-colored Mackintosh raincoat as an alternative to a classic navy. Perhaps you favor the idea of pairing slim cargo trousers with a lightweight, easy-wearing, tailored jacket. And perhaps you salivate at the thought of wearing said jacket with a pair of Danner Mountain Pass boots.

Or, if you’re stuck on winter scarves but at a loss for what to do when the weather starts to warm, consider a floral-print stole such as this one from Paikaji, with a lovely hibiscus-print. And feel free to a pull out a seasonal fragrance – although these things are personal, I have always associated Chanel’s Coromandel with cummings’ mud-luscious smell that accompanies spring.

Again, we’re not telling you to do nothing more than dress like Gianni Agnelli. Instead, we hope that these selections help you to encourage or reveal your own quirks. Embrace them! Being stylish doesn’t mean being one of an army of identically well-dressed men. You need to bring something of yourself to the party.

1. Mackintosh Trench Coat

2. Ermenegildo Zegna silk/cashmere/hemp blazer

3. Luigi Borrelli shirt

4. Wings & Horns Bush Pant

5. Danner Mountain Pass boot

6. Paikaji Hibiscus Stole

7. Chanel Coromandel Frangrance

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