Chapter 4: Tools to Wear

Thoughts on men and fashion - six summer episodes by fashion connoisseur and word acrobat Jeroen van Rooijen.

Bullshit-free, honest clothing with an upright pedigree goes down well with men – anyone who takes a quick look at the online style worlds, for example on Instagram, can see that. Anything rooted in workwear is readily clicked and bought. Be it worker pants, overshirts, waistcoats or worker jackets - wherever there is a touch of history and utility, the business works with attention and sales.

It is logical that this trend is a big thing, especially for men: functional clothing. Buying one feels a bit like going to the hardware store. It is a well-known fact that men feel most comfortable there. Such hardware store-like clothing has a purpose, utility, and purpose. And that goes down well, as we all know, men don't like to buy fashion, but they do buy tools. So let's just call this clothing «tools to wear», that would correspond to the matter and the requirements of the zeitgeist.

The inspirations can come from the military, but it would be better if they came from the workwear of the «working class heroes», this ideal image of the honest craftsman and specialist who has largely disappeared today, who goes out of the house in the morning with his back stretched out, for a perhaps simple, but to pursue indispensable work that tests not only his mental alertness but also his physical strength every day.

Think of overcoats, field jackets, worker jackets, T-shirts or cargo pants - and fabrics such as twill, denim, chambray or solid jersey. Such influences from workwear are now combined very casually with what we know as "smart casual" everyday wardrobe and ensure a dash of authenticity and nonchalance in the look.

At Alferano, it is brands such as Aspesi, Baracuta or Private White VC that ensure this quantum of craftsmanship. You make us very happy - maybe you too?

Next week the fifth episode of this summer series about men and their fashion: A new awareness of color. No, not the colors from the hardware store, those of the clothes. Yes, even pink appears, that much is promised.

Jeroen van Rooijen is a freelance style critic and co-founder of the Alferano concept store in 2014.