The modern man has largely moved on from tailoring and the world’s billionaires have swapped their ties and peak lapels for Brunello Cucinelli hoodies, but there’s an undeniable wave of smartness washing over menswear again. Tailoring is slowly coming back into fashion. While smart, however, this isn’t stuff from the Gordon Gekko school of suiting. Instead, silhouettes are softer, more relaxed and stealthily luxurious. Jackets are as comfortable to slip on as cardigans. Take Gabriela Hearst’s powder blue Damien jacket, which is crafted from a brilliantly soft, superfine velvet corduroy. The shoulders are structured, but only slightly, so it will smarten up a casual weekend look and go as well with box-fresh white sneakers as it will with a pair of polished Derby shoes. Gabriela Hearst has created a niche for easy-to-wear smart clothes of impossibly good quality. For a casual suit in a fabric that will wear well, you’d be hard pushed to do better.

If the past few years have taught us anything, it is that the British have a very confused sense of self-image. Nowhere is this better illustrated than with the depiction of the Brit abroad. The British see themselves as the embodiment of rationality, with a handle on everything from science, politics and the arts to cuisine and style. When travelling overseas, they bring with them civility, which they aim to disseminate across foreign lands, usually by speaking English very loudly and slowly.

Rochas, the Parisian brand founded way back in 1925, has taken a while to find its menswear footing. After going on hiatus in 2017 following a two-season stint by designer Ms Béatrice Ferrant, it relaunched last year under the supervision of creative director Mr Federico Curradi, who vowed to “write a new page in the history of the brand”. The SS20 line, which has recently landed on MR PORTER, is a triumph in this regard. Though the clothes largely remain true to the label’s French roots – the draped trousers, neat bombers and oversized shirts all feel thoroughly Parisian, in that languorous, dangling cigarette sort of way – there is also just a hint of Italian swagger (Mr Curradi hails from Florence). Here’s the lowdown on five of our favourite pieces from the summery collection.

So, you’ve mastered the art of pulling on a crisp shirt and a pair tailored trousers. Perhaps you’re a workwear god, maybe even a streetwear king. But if you’re getting dressed in the morning and sleeping on accessories, you’re missing not one, but several tricks. A well-chosen accessory – or tie, scarf, hat, belt, etc – is the element that takes a dressed man to a best-dressed man. (Seriously, take a look through our street-style roundups from over the years and you’ll notice that often, the item that really takes a look over the edge isn’t trousers or a sweater, but a luxurious printed scarf, or a vibrant hat.) Here, we’ve gathered some of our favourite examples of great outfits where accessories are doing much of the heavy lifting, elevating staid tailoring, lending a bit of high-fashion humour, or sending an I-am-luxurious signal to the world. Learn from these men and, next time you get dressed, think about adding a little something extra to your look.

The modern man has largely moved on from tailoring and the world’s billionaires have swapped their ties and peak lapels for Brunello Cucinelli hoodies, but there’s an undeniable wave of smartness washing over menswear again. Tailoring is slowly coming back into fashion. While smart, however, this isn’t stuff from the Gordon Gekko school of suiting. Instead, silhouettes are softer, more relaxed and stealthily luxurious. Jackets are as comfortable to slip on as cardigans. Take Gabriela Hearst’s powder blue Damien jacket, which is crafted from a brilliantly soft, superfine velvet corduroy. The shoulders are structured, but only slightly, so it will smarten up a casual weekend look and go as well with box-fresh white sneakers as it will with a pair of polished Derby shoes. Gabriela Hearst has created a niche for easy-to-wear smart clothes of impossibly good quality. For a casual suit in a fabric that will wear well, you’d be hard pushed to do better.

If the past few years have taught us anything, it is that the British have a very confused sense of self-image. Nowhere is this better illustrated than with the depiction of the Brit abroad. The British see themselves as the embodiment of rationality, with a handle on everything from science, politics and the arts to cuisine and style. When travelling overseas, they bring with them civility, which they aim to disseminate across foreign lands, usually by speaking English very loudly and slowly.