A new season and – we can only hope – a new world is now at hand. Who will you see first? Where will you go? How incredible will it be? It might seem churlish to bring up style at this juncture, but, let’s face, it, whatever you end up doing this spring, you can’t do it (all) naked. Make sure you’re as well turned out as you are relieved to be out with the following fresh tips on how to dress for spring from MR PORTER and a few of our most trusted friends.

In changeable conditions, one of the best fabrics that you can wear is lightweight wool, says Mr Pierre Mahéo, the designer and founder of Parisian label Officine Générale. He’s particularly enamoured of the very fine “Fresco” variety he worked with this season. “It’s something that keeps you good in all kinds of circumstances.”

The denim trucker jacket is not only good for summer, but as an in-between layer in spring – rag & bone’s proprietary design is perfect for this purpose, thanks to its slimline design and soft, lightweight and slightly stretchy fabric.

Mr Michael Hill, creative director of gentlemanly British brand Drake’s, is a fan of cotton tailoring in spring. “It has the right balance of formality and informality,” he says. But the cut of your suit is also crucial, he advises. “You want something that isn’t too close to the body, so you leave room for a piece of light knitwear or jersey,” he says.

“There are lots of people doing really interesting things with knitwear now, across the board,” says MR PORTER’s Style Director Mr Olie Arnold. He recommends SSAM, the new brand from Common Projects founder Mr Flavio Girolami, which features a range of hoodies, lounge shorts and more in yarns – such as camel and cashmere.

One of Mr Mahéo’s spring essentials is a lightweight wool scarf. “I have some big silk foulards we did in the past, and some really lightweight Japanese wool scarves as well, and they are super practical because you can put them in your bag if it’s too warm.”

Mr Arnold calls this “a classic piece that you can upgrade but chuck on,” by which he means there are some stupendous examples available from the likes of Blue Blue Japan, Aspesi and Alex Mill (depending on your budget).

“They look as good now as they did when they were invented about a century ago,” says Mr Hill. “I’ll be wearing a cotton button-down almost every day through spring,” he says, “whether that’s with jeans and a jungle jacket, or some light tailoring.”

Mr Arnold is itching to up the saturation in his wardrobe in the coming months. “A bright colour in a top is an easy win,” he says, advising you try “something that complements your skin tone, anchoring it in something that’s a bit calmer in the bottom half.”

Try a pair of the wide-leg trousers that seem to be everywhere this season: see the varieties on offer from LOEWE, Bottega Veneta, KAPITAL and Acne Studios.

A pair of pleated trousers might be more your thing. Mr Mahéo is somewhat addicted to his version. “They’re a little more versatile than a flat front,” he says. “You can wear these pleated pants with a pair of Converse sneakers, or white Common Projects. It’s a way of wearing a little bit of tailoring, but keeping a casual feel.”

A good way to add a tiny flash to your outfit is with a brightly hued bracelet. In a menswear market still full of tie-dye T-shirts and grungy bleached jeans, the psychedelic varieties on offer from New York’s Roxane Assoulin and Santa Fe’s Peyote Bird seem particularly apt.

In winter, Mr Mahéo wears a heavy gauge merino sweater. In spring, he looks at something in a mixed yarn, specifically, wool and silk. “The silk makes it more shiny and gives it a lighter weight,” he says.

When the sun comes out, you’ll need to lose a layer, and stow it somewhere. In the pursuit of versatility, we’d recommend that place be a two-way tote – that is, one that comes with a shoulder strap, so it can be worn as a messenger bag, too. There are fine varieties this season from Porter-Yoshida & Co, Indispensable and Mismo.

Heed the words with which Mr Tom Ford introduced his spring 2021 menswear show. “The last thing I want to see are serious clothes,” he said, back in June 2020. “I think we need an escape,” he continued. Check out his range of vibrant (and gloriously sleazy) floral-print shirts.

Sustainability will only climb higher on the style agenda as we proceed through 2021. So why not make your next pair of sneakers a more sustainable one? Vegan brand Veja is the obvious choice here, but look out, also, for Mr P.’s own synthetic leather kicks.

According to Mr Arnold, “corduroy can be a transitional fabric.” Opt for narrow wale variations in lighter, more spring-appropriate colours from the likes of Folk, Sid Mashburn and Brunello Cucinelli.

There’s no getting around it: life in sweatpants is easier and more comfortable. So, consider this latest offering from Mr Riccardo Tisci at Burberry, a pair of cashmere sweatpants that comes in a rather more grown-up (and intriguingly chino-like) beige colourway.

At the time of writing, an investor group backed by luxury conglomerate LVMH had just bought a majority stake in Birkenstock. Yes, house shoes are here to stay. Perhaps you might wish to try this handcrafted pair by Yuketen – the contoured footbeds are designed to adapt to the shape of your feet.

Mr Mahéo recommends making a decisive statement with your layers, mixing short-sleeved shirts with long-sleeved tees or mixing block colours and patterns, for optimum visual effect.

In this streetwear-savvy world, we’ve gotten used to the idea of “deliberately oversized”. In fact, says Mr Mahéo, “today, playing with volume is one of the biggest things men can do to look subtly different.” He recommends an oversized shirt with a pair of pleated trousers, as a simple way to get going.

White denim is more versatile than you think, says Mr Mahéo, who sports dazzling white jeans all year. The trick is to stop worrying about keeping them perfect. “I don’t care whether they are dirty or not because, in a sense, they have to be dirty at some point,” he says.

In early spring when the wind is still biting, a quilted, collarless blouson is a useful intermediate layer. It’s perfect underneath a denim or chore jacket, and great as a jacket in its own right when the sun comes out. Long may it reign.

Yes, we’re all looking forward to exploding with colour this spring, but do consider your setting, says Mr Mahéo. “I have difficulty wearing really light colours in the city,” he says. “There, I like to keep to neutrals.” Mr Hill concurs: “Navy, olive, khaki, white – you can never go wrong with these,” he says.

A suede jacket is the treat you deserve after surviving a global pandemic. Isn’t it? The top colour this spring is a caramel-y light brown, which harks back to the hues of the 1970s.

The fleece is another one of those garments which has hopped over from the “slobby, hangover” column to the “urban, stylish” column. It’s also a good piece to bung in a bag in spring, generally being, crinkle impervious.

Missing your tie? There is a solution, says Mr Hill, who, to add interest to his outfits, has been wearing square scarves and bandanas instead. “They give that dash of colour and pattern that a tie would normally grant, but feel relaxed and informal,” he says.

This isn’t so much a style tip as a life tip. If this spring is anything like last, there will be a lot of social occasions (ie, drinking) in parks. A chilled chablis in a Snow Peak thermos on a brisk spring day is a beautiful and worthwhile act of sacrilege.

Be advised that, even in a fresh breeze, the sunlight can be very damaging (not to mention ageing) to your skin. Fend it off with an SPF moisturiser. You will thank us in five years’ time – if we all survive until then.

“I don’t know if I’m ever going to give up jersey,” says Mr Arnold. And why should he? Especially when there exists a sort of sub-category of “stealth” sweatpants currently infiltrating the menswear market. Look to Connolly and its sleek jersey drawstring trousers.

Spare a thought for the planet, says Mr Arnold. Many of the big designer brands are offering products in recycled or sustainable fabrics such as Econyl. Also, smaller brands are “owning [sustainability] as part of their narrative”, such as BODE, Gallery Dept. and Reese Cooper®.

If there ever was a season to wear an amusing print, it’s got to be this one. Gucci has cartoon animals. CELINE HOMME has stars. Try a leopard-printed shirt with denim jeans or dark olive-coloured chinos and a field jacket.

See tip 28. What goes for your skin also applies to your eyes – see our sunglasses guide to find the perfect shape for you.

Our clothing is, currently, just about as distressed as we are. Or… were? Anyway, you can jump on board this grungy bandwagon with this tie-dye hoodie from Gallery Dept., a pair of acid-washed jeans or ragged sweater from the likes of Balenciaga and KAPITAL. If your mother asks, yes, it was designed like that.