The Garmentor - The Fashion Manual for Style-Minded Men

So far, The Garmentor has shared with you guys a bunch of great trends and cool finds for spring. Now it’s time to bring those pieces together and build a complete outfit. Using some of the incredible items already featured on our site, we’re going to show you how to pull together an easy, casual outfit that’s perfect for spring.

The Outfit

So, here’s the ensemble: a distressed, slim straight jean, colorful V-neck tee, shawl collar cardigan, and a simple navy plimsoll. Four pieces that almost anyone can wear, and chances are you already own at least one. The look is casual, but pulled together. Never underestimate the ability of a great-fitting pair of jeans to make you look like you made an effort.

The distressed jeans and bright tee make this a great look to celebrate the end of another long, cold winter. In general, come spring, stores begin to stock brighter colors and lighter denim washes. Also, we love the shawl collar cardigan because you can take it off if you get warm and put it back on when a breeze rolls in. A simple plimsoll finishes the look.

What’s A Plimsoll?

Plimsoll is just a fancy word for a light, rubber-soled canvas shoe. The word “plimsoll” is of British origin, which might explain why you haven’t heard it before. Think of it as a simple, low-profile sneaker. Find out more on Wikipedia.

The Cardigan

Earlier this month, Trend Tracking featured some great shawl collar cardigans that could be worn from winter right into spring. For this outfit, we chose one of our favorites from the bunch: All-Son’s version in dark grey. (Editor’s Note: The Urban Outfitters website describes this color as dark grey, but photographs and firsthand experience tell us it’s more of a beige.) The cardigan also comes in black, but we prefer a softer color for a casual spring look. If you’ve already got black, no problem. Simply switch out the navy shoe for another color, perhaps white.

The Tee

A few days ago, we published our Spring 2009 Color Forecast and told you to look out for the primaries: red, yellow, and blue. The t-shirt in this outfit is a great place to incorporate one of those colors. We are particulary fond of the Gap’s Perfect V-neck Tee—it’s soft, affordable, and fits great—and this season they’ve got it in coral (a red-orange-pink color that’s perfect for spring), yellow, and blue. Take your pick; any of them will work with this versatile outfit.

The Jean

We had to do it. For the jean, we went with Diesel’s Paddop in 73J, a pant so beautiful we gave it its own article in Cool Finds. At $285, we realize that a slim percentage of you would even consider purchasing the Paddop. (If you’re one of those that has considered it, what are you waiting for? Do ittt.)

Fortunately, this outfit doesn’t need expensive Diesel denim to look great. Go for a pair of distressed jeans that you’ve already got in your closet. Or, alternatively, try one of the slim straight jeans that we featured in December. You know, those were filed under Must-Haves, so you should already own a pair. Distressed or dark, this outfit will look great.

The Shoe

And finally, the sneaker. We chose the plimsoll from The Generic Man’s new Generic Surplus shoe line, which we featured earlier this month in Cool Finds. Its lightweight, canvas upper and simple lines make it the perfect shoe for spring. Also, navy is an extremely versatile color, and can be paired with just about any jean and tee color you can find. Just don’t mix black and navy, unless you truly know what you’re doing. They’re too similar and you’ll end up looking like you couldn’t tell that they weren’t the same color.