It’s Your Thing

I found Christian Chensvold from Ivy Style’s post on Beatnik Prep refreshing. It’s not so much that I loved the style, but that I liked seeing someone inject their own point of view, interests, and style into the look whether that look be Ivy League Style, Prep, or Trad. One way that I do this is with my sneakers.
Polo Shirt & Sneakers
patagonia and sneakersI love running sneakers. I especially love running sneakers from the late 80’s-90’s. Even though I have weaned myself off of sneakers over the years they are still a part of my life. I primarily wear these sneakers for errands (especially when too cold or rainy for no-socks), neighborhood walks, hiking, canoeing, urban exploring, and the most casual of social events. Like Christian I even have a name for this style which I call 90’s hip-hop cross country team prep. Not a real thing or very catchy I know. I take a pair of khaki chino shorts and a polo shirt or chinos and a blue OCBD add my sneaks and there you have it.
Nike Icarus
OCBD Sneaker CollectionThis style is clearly not for everyone, because it is extremely tailored to me. This is in fact my point. This inclusion of running sneakers speaks to my personal interests and experiences. It makes my style my own and not just rules from a book, but still keeps the Trad vibe or at least I think it does. It also speaks to a great comment that a reader Fred left on the Modern Trad blog post,

I’m glad to see that you are looking at a modern take on trad. Trad was in its hey day around fifty years ago. Trad has evolved and I don’t want to dress like it’s 1966. I want to take the trad ideas and evolve them into today. That’s the intellectual challenge. What is the modern equivalent of trad. What does it mean to be trad in 2017?

While I may disagree with Fred about Trad existing in 1966 I think that his underlying point is spot on or at least the point I took away is. This point is that you cannot stop growing and changing which I truly believe. My other point is that it is okay to incorporate non-trad articles of clothing that you like into you Trad wardrobe. It does not make you less Trad. Just don’t try to convince others that these items are the Traddest and everything will be fine.

oxford cloth button down
Jerrod Swanton is a simple man interested in simple, classic, and traditional style.

5 Comments on "It’s Your Thing"

  1. Christian says:

    Thanks for the shout-out, Jerrod, and glad to see you’re doing your own thing — and taking photos in different locations!

  2. oxford cloth button down says:

    Christian – Haha, thanks!

  3. Hollywood Argyle says:

    I remember that shot from Christian about Jerrod taking pictures in the same spot, wearing the same thing, with the same expression, and be astounded that one could continue to blog within such a constrained domain. Yet quite a few of Christian’s commenters are over here, too (including me—I go by a different name in the land of Ivy-Style.)

    I don’t love sneakers, but don’t have a problem with those who do. I just want a pair or two of ever-so-slightly dressy shoes that are similar in weight and comfort to sneakers, for weekends, travel, and the like. Rockport has some contenders, but desert boots fit the bill pretty well, too.

  4. fred says:

    I hate to spoil my trad look with modern sneakers. That’s why I prefer Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onitsuka_Tiger

  5. fred says:

    Thanks for quoting me. I think about this all the time.

    This past year I’ve been focused on building a modern trad “uniform” so all my clothing works together. One of the keys to my “uniform” is standardizing around the color navy. Navy is the anchor color and everything works with navy.

    I have a defined default modern trad “look” as my point of departure. This is the look that I could wear every day of the year, everywhere that I go. I start with my default look and I dress it up or down depending on the occasion and I add or subtract layers depending on the temperature.

    I love the idea of the dress up/down matrix in the following sid mashburn article on blazers:
    http://www.sidmashburn.com/featured/wear-a-navy-blazer.html

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