Chaps London

Most men's tracksuits live indoors. Top and bottoms, both soft, both comfortable, both filed under sofa clothes. In November, that is a waste, because the same two pieces will carry you on every short trip you make, from the corner shop to a long day at a desk. This guide sorts the pieces that make that work: the hooded set, the zip-up set, the crew-neck sweatshirt set, straight-leg tracksuit bottoms and the wide-leg pair. One rule turns two soft pieces into an outfit. The rule: one tone, two pieces, one proper shoe A tracksuit becomes an outfit the moment the top and the bottoms stay in the same tone, and the shoe is a proper one. Tone on tone is the whole trick. Grey with grey, black with black, sand with sand: the silhouette runs straight through, and the eye reads one line instead of two garments that happened to meet in the wash. Put a bright blue on top and a pale grey underneath and the look splits in half, with both halves looking like laundry day. The second half of the ru...

A men's Halloween costume does not have to come from a fancy-dress shop. For most parties at the end of October, five ideas cover everything: the vampire, the Victorian gentleman in a tailcoat, the skeleton, the look built around a mask, and the all-black party outfit that needs no costume at all. This guide sorts them by how much effort they take and by what is still worth wearing after the 31st. One rule holds the whole thing together, and it comes first. The rule: one signature piece, everything else stays dark Every good Halloween outfit has exactly one piece that tells people who you are; everything else is black, white, or burgundy and stays in the background. For the vampire it is the long coat or the cape, for the skeleton the bone print, for the gentleman the tailcoat. One signature piece reads at a glance. Two compete with each other, and three turn a costume into a muddle nobody can name. The practical advantage is in your wardrobe: the base of dark trousers, a shirt or ...