I spent this past weekend, in Arashiyama, a part of Kyoto famous for its river, old-fashion train line, and bamboo forest The walk is by no means a hike, but most people dress for the gentle hills and long walks with comfortable clothes and footwear. While I was walking around, I noticed a lot of guys were wearing stripes this past visit.
This one, for example, wore a striped tee with sneakers and light washed jeans. They’re a subtle detail, but the stripes added something where a plainer tee might have been too anonymous.
This man was wearing a striped polo shirt with a linen travel jacket. A nice, casual take on formal clothing, without going as far as to pair a traditional sport coat with shorts (something that rarely works, despite what Thom Browne and old Apparel Arts illustrations might have you to believe). The key here is that the jacket was slimmer and shorter, making it a little more fashion forward and casual. The striped polo also helped stay in line with the casual sensibility, whereas a button-down shirt might have been too dressy.
Finally, stripes aren’t just seen on knitted shirts these days – some guys are wearing striped (or checked) shorts. This man was wearing crushed linen shorts with stripes in alternating shades of dark grey (from a distance, they resolved to a solid grey). These might have been harder to pull off if they were bolder, but the subtly worked well here.
