Warm(er) weather inspiration courtesy of SS17’s timeless tees.

As the saying goes, a tiger cannot change its stripes. Nor would it want to this spring. Big cats are big news, featuring heavily in Gucci’s SS17 collection – always a good sign. But you don’t have to have the top dog of the feline fraternity plastered across your sweater to burn bright right now – the tiger’s regalia, the stripe, is destined to be on show everywhere in the coming season. Pounce now and you’ll not only get ahead of the banding bandwagon, you can also use stripes to pep up your layered late-winter look with cat-like poise. Here’s three tees to help you land on your feet.

While MR PORTER has repeatedly made the case for a smattering of pattern to add some interest to an outfit, it isn’t for everyone. Stripes, however, earn their place in any wardrobe – not just by sitting happily in most ensembles but by actually giving them a boost. Take this example by Sunspel, our go-to brand for elevated basics: it could easily lift a pair of jeans, but equally could be deployed to draw out the best in another perennial, the navy blazer, as demonstrated here. It is a piece you can turn to again and again, and always raises the game of the clothes it’s banded with.

While reappropriated by the likes of Mr James Dean in the 1950s, the Breton stripe shirt was first adopted by French naval seamen a good century before. Easy to spot should the wearer fall overboard, the original design featured 21 stripes, one for each of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s military victories. By our count there’s some 30 on this henley (an item of clothing named after a different aquatic entanglement) by British label Albam, which blows Emperor Napoleon’s best efforts out of the water. We suggest pairing one with a neutral pair of chinos to draw attention to your campaign successes.

Stripes come in all, erm, stripes, but this is definitely top of the line. It’s the handiwork of family-run Italian label Missoni. The threads used to make this tee have been dipped in different pigments, then knitted to create a one-of-a-kind garment (a technique called “space-dyeing”). And while again we’d urge you to wear this with simple pieces, so as not to overcrowd it, it can’t hurt if the rest of your outfit is understated in the most masterful of ways. Hence this suede jacket by Prada in a complimentary earthy tone, with contrast stitching to make the whole look sing.