The passing of time can be a sensitive issue, especially as one approaches a milestone imbued with great significance socially. True, at a spritely eight-and-a-half years of age, MR PORTER is barely old enough to tie its own shoe laces, but in e-commerce terms – which are something akin to cat years, if not donkey’s years – we’re probably closer to seeing the kids fly the nest and putting a deposit down on a midrange fishing boat. Which is to say that we have wisdom beyond our dotage. Here, a question from a reader who is about to hit 60, which, to be honest is the new 16. But how is he supposed to dress for it? After all, age is just a number, and we have your number, below.

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I am fast approaching my 60th birthday, and while I am not ready to go gently into that dark night dressed in the proverbial pipe and tartan slippers quite yet, I fully realise there’s just some things I can longer pull off. How do grow old gracefully?

Via Instagram

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Your question about how to dress as you head into your seventh decade raises something of a dichotomy. Because in some respects, men’s style has never been more intergenerational and all-encompassing (see last week’s column on dad style) – your average sixtysomething today is just as likely to have the same New Balance sneakers and J.Crew chinos as his grandson. And while this inclusive approach among brands is most definitely a positive. The flip side is that as you mature, you should adjust your style accordingly, but through enjoyment, not prescribed mores and stereotypes.

That’s not to say that you should segue seamlessly into orthopaedic shoes, back-of-Sunday-supplement trousers and sedatory knitwear. The wardrobe cliches of our grandfathers are not the attire of the 21st century man, whatever his age. So let’s tackle one of the big stigmas of the more mature gentleman, the cardigan. Much maligned, it’s deemed to be as sleepily cosy as a Sunday afternoon nap. Which is a shame, because as a transeasonal-easy piece of clothing, it’s an informed choice. Forgo the shaggy, heavy varieties – those with white hair and characterful lines on their face can look a tad too “sea shanty”-ready with a rugged knit – and instead opt for a lightweight version, thin in gauge and sleek, in a nuanced autumnal hue.

As you mature, you grow into your style over the decades. You’re more assured, you’re dressing in what you like and what you feel comfortable in. Trends and stylistic tried-and-tested moments are fun, but they’re the game of a younger man finding his way with his wardrobe (and, by extension, his identity). So if you’ve spent your life in trussed up corporate attire, your sixties is the time to relax. That isn’t a concession to looking polished, just a way to carry the conventions of smart attire into an easier pace of life. Don’t be fooled by the name – the grandad shirt is an excellent bridge between smart and formal. The fact that the collar is done away with means it’s less upright, but it’s smarter than a T-shirt and a variant in linen is easy but contemporary.

It’s also worth applying that sentiment of casual-but-considered to your tailoring. A crisp, beautifully-cut blazer is a stalwart that will last the ages, but for a stance that shows you’re still as dynamic and on-the-go, a variation in either jersey or tech fabrics will give you the shape of a blazer, with the movement and flexibility of something much less constrained. Seek out versions in soft knitted materials and more deconstructed shapes.

And while we’re considering ease, it’s important to distinguish effortlessness and casual savoir faire with “comfortable”, which is why when you’re over 60 and beyond there’s no reason to give up on your sneakers, you just need to upgrade them a touch. Instead of the functional, sporty variety, switch up for leather or suede versions in a minimalist design – they’re clean, sleek and can look as on point with a suit as they do with casual chinos. You’ll be the grandad-on-the-go instead of the grandpa on the lawn porch.

It’s also a great misconception that as you age, you should fade politely into greiges and blacks, the don’t-look-at-me non-colours. Leave the neons for the millennials heading to Ibiza or South Beach, but by no means relegate colour from your wardrobe, just make it more nuanced and depth-filled, like yourself at this time of life. Look at autumn shades such as nutmeg, plum, caramel and sage – they’re considered and a lighter hue around your face. A fawn polo neck, for example, will add warmth, because black drains you like a sieve.

One of the benefits of reaching your sixties is that you don’t have the shuffling lack of confidence of youth, instead you’re more settled in who you are, so don accessories with a touch of vim and personality – a lightweight scarf in a vivid print, a pocket square in a solid colour or pair of socks that are quietly pleasing on a cold winter’s morning. You’ve earned the right.