Dress codes for business casual typically mean khakis and a dress shirt sans neckwear, but we think it can be taken up a notch. Add a necktie and a v-neck sweater. This particular sweater arrived recently from the Italian maker Seleti, made from 4-ply cashmere in a “surf” color with “earl grey” accents at the collar, shoulder and cuff. Placed over a checked shirt and with blucher shoes, it’s both casual and comfortable. 

• Shirt: Brioni brown and light blue check
• Necktie: Luciano Barbera
• Sweater: Seleti 4-ply cashmere v-neck
• Trousers: Brioni navy wool-mohair
• Shoes: Gaziano & Girling Fairmont in vintage cedar
• Belt: W. Kleinberg “puzzle” calf

The tailoring abilities of Brioni are well known, but this exquisite jacket from the Italian company applies their level of craftsmanship to leather instead of wool. This supple coat has features like a blazer, but wears as an outerwear piece. The leather blazer is a unique piece designed for those seeking something out of the ordinary.

The jacket features a moderately wide lapel with a boutineer hole, thick horn buttons that bear the Brioni name, sleeves with functioning surgeon cuffs, a breast pocket that can accommodate a pocket square, two interior pockets. It wears easily over a dress shirt and tie. We’d place it with denim and suede shoes. The jacket, while tailored for a tapered fit, can also accommodate another layer underneath, such as the Seleti cashmere mock-neck cardigan sweatervest we’ve paired alongside it.

Jim’s sporting a light-navy windowpane suit made from VBC fabric, a pink linen odd waistcoat with notch lapels and contrasting buttons, a light-blue gingham check spread-collar and French-cuff shirt with cufflinks from Eton, a linen-cotton rustic red tie from Breuer, and Edward Green burnt-pine and cordovan toned wingtip bluchers with navy waxed laces.

With the opening of “The Great Gatsby” this weekend, we wanted to put together an exciting outfit for summer. Starting with a wool-silk suit from Samuelsohn in a beige cast, it wears cooler and is perfect for a summer gathering. 

With the suit acting as a blank canvas, we added a boldly striped shirt from Eton with a contrast collar to provide pattern and contrast. And in the spirit of celebration, a bowtie makes for a fun change of pace — especially in a brilliant plaid pattern.

For texture and pattern contrast, the pocket square is linen with a powerful paisley pattern that picks up colors in the bowtie and shirt. To finish the outfit, Edward Green’s “Malvern” in indigo blue suede wingtips brings the fun to footwear.

Our latest outerwear arrival features the Loro Piana Storm System, a unique 100% wool fabric that could almost be mistaken for nylon found in a lot of raincoats. Instead, this coat breathes better and still provides the protection from wind and rain from the elements. 

Featuring four button-down flap front pockets and hidden side pockets, this jacket wears slightly slim and can be tapered at the waist with a draw-string waist on the inside.

We’ve paired it with another new arrival: our J. Lawrence butterscotch canvas trousers. These have a rich golden hue and a texture that’s tougher, but still wears comfortably. With a button-down plaid shirt from Luciano Barbera and a linen-cotton 1/4-zip sweater from Brioni, you can layer up or down as the temperature changes.

For footwear, our double-strap chukka boot from Di Bianco in a burnished brown calf looks sleek, but is rugged enough to wear with the canvas trousers.

Thanks to James Dean, it’s impossible to look at a red harrington-style jacket and not think of his iconic outfit from “Rebel Without a Cause”. And that’s our inspiration for this casual outfit built around this modern Paul & Shark performance piece of outerwear. The Italian-made jacket features zip pockets inside and out — two outside, three inside — to keep your belongings secure while out yachting or riding a motorcycle.

Paul & Shark takes their jacket one step further with an innovative pocket specifically designed to protect your iPhone from electromagnetic waves by reinforcing the lining with stainless steel fibers. Another interior pocket is large enough to accommodate an iPad Mini.

We’ve paired the jacket with heavy dark denim from Levi’s Made & Crafted, white canvas sneakers laced with leather from Blackstone, a rugged slide buckle belt from W. Kleinberg, a white pima cotton crewneck T-shirt from Left Coast Tees, and added a grey Tasmanian virgin wool polo sweater from Gran Sasso to add some warmth.

With warm weather approaching quickly, it’s time to lighten up your neckwear. These four foulards from Luciano Barbara come into their own when surrounded by the brighter colors of the season. The white ground provides a vibrant base for the blue neat patterns. It’s a perfect alternative to the typical navy tie. The ties also wear like a silk feather around your neck, being lightly lined with thin wool in a three-fold construction and a hand-sewn bar tack. 

We’ve paired the ties with a striped cotton shirt and a lusciously soft cashmere-cotton 1/4-buttoned sweater, both from Luciano Barbera, and a pair of brown loafers from Di Bianco.

While smaller dots on neckties can add a slight bit of pattern to a conservative outfit, consider wearing spots of a larger size on ties to add a more cheerful and casual pattern to your ensemble. In general, the larger the pattern, the more casual it wears, which makes these dotted ties great for sport coats.

In addition, you can wear brightly colored spotted ties in pastels to bring the outfit into the summer season. Spotted neckwear wears easily with both solid shirts and checked shirts, instantly adding a pattern variation you won’t have to think twice about when getting dressed for the day (or evening).

These Edward Green double monks make a reliable companion for a busy day. The black pebble grain gives the leather a rougher texture, keeping the normally formal black from veering too far into the conservative spectrum. Along with a punched medallion design on the toe’s cap and double-thick soles, this unique piece of footwear balances the outfit.

The jacket, a wool-silk-linen blend from Canali, in a dark charcoal-brown fabric with a golden windowpane mimics the tones of the shoe. Paired with taupe wool-cotton trousers from Samuelsohn, the outfit wears cool for the warmer weather.