Deep-Dive: The Garden Party

When the invitation says "informal"

Some weeks ago a friend of ours hosted a garden party to kick off the summer here in Copenhagen. The invite said “informal” and the quicksilver in the thermometer hit just around 25 degrees celcius.

Knowing that there would probably be a lot of shorts and/or shirts sans jackets, I wanted to dress a bit more elegant but still subtle and approachable. Not to make a statement, but because I know that I usually feel at ease when I wear a jacket at occasion like these (also, I needed a pocket for the baby alarm…).

I chose to go for some absolute favourites: Navy hopsack blazer (Trunk), Light Blue Denim shirt (Prologue), Beige Summer Garbadine Trousers (Rota Pantaloni) and Brown Calf Tassel Loafers (Cavendish from Crockett & Jones).

There is nothing particularly cutting-edge about this ensemble. Dark top, lighter bottom is nothing new. Contrasting the casual denim shirt with the more formal jacket and trousers is nothing new. Tonal navy shirt and jacket is nothing new. Nevertheless, I think it did the job quite well. I felt at ease.

Alternatively, I could have worn a shirt and trousers without a jacket. Many of the other male guests did that, the majority in white poplin shirts and light-coloured trousers, and it worked for them. But, when possible, I like to wear a jacket. Both for the pockets, but also because I rarely feel quite as much at ease in just a shirt.

I actually did plan to wear a white poplin shirt, but changed to the denim shirt just before heading out the door. It could have worked with the white shirt, but it would probably have made the outfit seem more formal as a whole.

The loafers could just as well have been the suede version of the Cavendish, but I think the leather version here plays a bit better on the casual-formal contrast.

The question remains whether it was necessary to wear a pocket square. As most guys in menswear right now, I rarely wear a pocket square, and I quite like the unfussiness of not doing so. However, with this ensemble the dark navy jacket just felt like a large dark canvas without some added colour, so I went for a subtle wool pocket square with a navy background and coloured pattern (Drake’s). Just enough to add some colour, but not bright like, say, a white linen or coulored silk pocket square.

As often, with a combination of dark top and light-coloured trousers, the jacket or trousers can easily be swapped with a jacket or trousers in another colour or cloth to fit the same or a similar situation.