Our expert tips for striking the perfect balance between edgy and dapper.

Generally speaking, dressing well is all about making good choices. Often, though, those choices involve limits. If you choose to dress in streetwear, for example, you immediately forgo the ability to look smart. Or do you? That’s the conundrum we’ve resolved to crack in this week’s style questions column, and address whether or not it’s possible to still look dapper when you’re wearing sneakers and a hoodie. Happily, we reckon it’s more than possible. Here’s how.

How can I make a streetwear look seem more dapper? ** @hhs8981 via Instagram**

Striking the balance between smart and street is a tough one, because they are two styles which are generally seen as opposing paths that a man chooses to follow – the blue pill and red pill of the menswear world, if you will. But we men, contrary to popular belief, occasionally contain multitudes, too, and thanks to the sheer breadth of clothing available these days – and the waning need for a dress code – we can happily mix workwear and tailoring with streetwear if we want to. A bit like the Kinsey scale, but with more ugly sneakers.

Of course, you can’t just throw on some Triple S sneakers with a cummerbund and expect it to work (although we wouldn’t put it past Balenciaga to try), but there are a few easy ways of achieving a look that makes a streetwear look considerably smarter. One reliable way of doing so, especially in cooler weather, is to wear a hoodie under a smart jacket or blazer. It sounds like an incongruous match, but it’s one that’s been proven to work by a number of fashion-show visitors over the past couple of years. You’ll want to avoid too many logos – this one from Reigning Champ is plain enough that it’ll work with smarter stuff, and is made from mid-weight cotton jersey, so it won’t feel too bulky if you do layer it underneath something sharper.

Also consider that streetwear brands themselves generally have smarter offerings – or at least things that will smarten up when worn with the right things. Take Stüssy, for instance, which, alongside its skating clobber, makes relatively refined workwear pieces such as this herringbone work jacket, which you can wear over a grandad-collar shirt. To keep your look sharp, swap out jeans for trousers, preferably in a sophisticated shade of navy (although feel free to accessorise them with a belt chain if you wish to retain a skater-ish edge). As for footwear, stick to sneakers but keep them minimalist – think Common Projects or Veja. That way there’ll be no chunky trainers distracting from the rest of your outfit – which, thanks to the wise counsel above, you’ll know how to co-ordinate.