The chinos, blazers, shorts and denim every man should own.

Style, as we’re often told, is a question of getting the basics right. If you can do that, then the rest will follow, or so the saying goes. As anyone who has ever attempted to find the perfect pair of chinos or the perfect blazer will attest, however, getting the basics right isn’t as simple as it sounds.

The issue isn’t a lack of choice. If anything, it’s the opposite. There’s just so much variety out there that it can be difficult to know where to start. What’s needed is a little insider knowledge, a primer on those lesser-known brands you should familiarise yourself with before stocking up on basics. And, do you know what? We’re just the people to provide it.

Incotex is effectively the trousers department of the Slowear Group, an umbrella organisation of five sub-brands – Incotex, Zanone, Officina Slowear, Glanshirt and Montedoro – which together promote a shared ethos of durable, timeless style. This is not fast fashion, a fact that becomes abundantly clear when you first try on a pair of the brand’s chinos. Second to none in fabric, fit and finish, they’ve been a firm favourite in the MR PORTER office for years now.

Barena, a brand that takes its name from a local term for the sandbanks that flank the water’s edge in Venice, the home of the brand, expresses both sides of Venetian life – the glamour and the practicality – in its range of beautifully made blazers. Cut from the finest Italian fabrics, they’re no slouch when it comes to style, but what really defines a Barena blazer is the softness of the tailoring. These are garments that are designed to be lived in.

If you’ve ever been to Milan, you’ll know the feeling of inferiority that comes from being surrounded on all sides by effortlessly well-dressed men. What’s their secret? Aspesi, as it turns out. Along with military-inspired field jackets, garment-dyed sweatshirts and washed-cotton T-shirts, this cult Italian brand also does a fine line in those unstructured travel blazers that you see everywhere on guys in Milan but never seem to be able to find when you get home. Now you know.

We could easily have written this whole feature on NN07. With a catalogue of products ranging from button-down Oxford shirts and T-shirts to knitwear and even a range of waterproof outerwear, this Copenhagen label has the market for wardrobe staples well and truly sewn up. We’ve chosen to focus solely on its range of linen shorts, which offer a breezy alternative to chino shorts this summer.

Yes, the super-skinny look may be heading swiftly out of style – thanks, Love Island – but there’s still a place in our wardrobes for a more subtle take on stretch denim. Nudie Jeans offers a pretty exhaustive range of options, from Skinny Lin (skinny, as the name suggests) to Dude Dan (a more generous fit, but with a tapered leg to avoid the boot-cut, dad-jeans look). Based in Gothenberg, Sweden, Nudie Jeans has an impressive set of environmental credentials. It uses only denim made from 100 per cent organic cotton and offers free repairs for life.

The word “selvedge” refers to the anti-fraying band that runs along the edge of a strip of fabric that has been woven on a traditional shuttle loom. When specifically referring to denim, it has come to stand for a certain level of quality. Standard, mass-produced denim is all well and good, but selvedge is what you go for when you want a proper pair of jeans. As for brands, there aren’t many better at handling selvedge denim than New York City’s Jean Shop, an insider secret since 2003, despite our best efforts to let the world know about it.