Not Just for Christmas

Of course I wore my red cords on Christmas, but other than that I had a hard time figuring out what to do with them. They are a really nice pair of pants, the corduroy fabric is top notch wide wale, real heavy weight. But the color is so bold that putting them to an outfit without looking silly is a tad bit difficult. Today I think I figured it out:


Red cords with blue Brooks Brothers button down oxford, navy vest sweater with red and white dots, grey socks and penny loafers.


As far as red pants go, I think this sort of outfit does a good job of making them feel natural. Sure, it's a little bit grandfatherly, but people having been saying I'm an old man since I was in high school, so I don't care.


I must admit, a recent post on my sometimes-nemesis blog A Suitable Wardrobe really helped me out here. It was this 1980's vintage photo of a real old money preppy dork that made the whole thing click in my head. I'm not above giving credit where credit is due. (dirty secret: while I may have raised hell over the removal of this blog from my links list, I have snuck a peak at it everyday since then by way of the links bar at A Continuous Lean. I tend to gravitate toward that which infuriates me.) Good post, William.


Funny thing is, in summertime I wear pants that make these look downright dull all the time. I have no problem rotating between pink, canary yellow, grass green and bright patch madras. Maybe ease comes with the fact that the only other item of clothing involved is a solid color tennis shirt, or maybe the heat just makes me silly.


How else might you wear the red cords, dear readers? When do they officially go out of season?

My Zimbio