Scandinavian simplicity combined with Italian craftsmanship - DressLikeA

Boxing Day dinner - Mix of bold patterns and classic combinations


Sometimes there ain't that much choices in terms of accessories. But how to make the best out of what you have in hand? An example and a few pictures from our Boxing Day dinner where I wore a tie I thought I would never wear again.

Blue flannel wool blazer with gray flannel trousers

Vintage tie for Boxing Day dinner

Holidays are almost over. Tomorrow it’s time to head back to work. We spent our few days of vacation traveling. First to the Middle of Finland to visit my mother and then to Western Finland to visit my girlfriend’s parents. As we were on a train on Wednesday I realized I had left all my ties and pocket squares at home.

For me Christmas is time to relax. And as there were no dress code for our family dinner on Christmas Eve forgetting those ties was not such a big deal. Most of our stay I actually spent wearing some cozy knitwear and jeans.

However for yesterday’s Boxing Day dinner I decided to wear something a bit more dressed-up. I had one sport coat with me and a pair of light gray flannel trousers. The jacket I chose to take with me was a navy blue wool flannel blazer by Italian Mabro. A perfect and versatile piece that is easy to dress up or down.

Blue flannel woll blazer - made in Italy

Mabro flannel blazer with cashmere cardigan by Uniqlo and flannel slacks from Finealta.

As mentioned I had no ties with me. And no pocket squares. So while staying at my “old home” I went through my closets and checked if there were any ties I would have left there for some reasons. And I found a few. And after the search I ended up choosing one. One that I really did not even remember to have. A vintage burgundy colored printed wool-silk tie featuring pretty bold pattern by Italian Luciano Barbera. A tie that I probably would not wear to a business meeting but was just right for a casual family dinner.

When you have a tie as bold as this one it is better to keep the rest of the outfit simple as possible. So I paired it with that navy blazer, white-blue striped button-up shirt and gray flannel slacks. And as the tie is in fact 9,5cm in width I decided to wear a cardigan as an extra layer to keep most of the tie covered. This way it gave that little splash of color and contrast to the outfit but did not steal all of attention.

Might be that I never wear the tie again but for this one dinner it was all I needed.

Blue blazer with cashmere cardigan and striped shirt

Burgundy color of the tie works well with shades of blue, brown and gray.

Bold pattern Luciano Barbera tie

Silk-wool blend for the tie, cashmere for the cardigan and wool flannel for the blazer.

Patterned silk tie with cashmere cardigan

Sometimes it is nice to go for bolder patterns.

Cheaney Brown suede doublemonks

Suede double monks by Cheaney. Maybe some day I will have time to give them a proper clean-up.

Wearing:

Navy blue blazer: Mabro Cashmere cardigan: Uniqlo Shirt: Mastai Ferretti

Trousers: Finealta Tie: Luciano Barbera Shoes: Cheaney

To see another way of combining the same jacket and trousers, take a look the post Navy blue blazer and gray flannels I wrote last spring.


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