Red Trousers

T. Hayashida took a series of photographs of life around the campuses of Ivy League colleges for Take Ivy an (out of print) book that was published in Japan in 1965. The book spawned a number of offshoots, and one of them was the source for this photo, taken twenty years later.

All that is nothing more than a long-winded way of saying that I've lost the original attribution for the photo, which fortunately does not reduce its usefulness for men considering their autumnal wardrobes. For I believe that most men's closets would be better for a pair of red cotton trousers.

That's because things like reds, Weejuns, and light blue oxford cloth shirts are elements of what I think of as the best of American dress. Worn together, they border on parody. But, donned an item at a time, they are a relatively affordable (for all clothing is expensive and the best exorbitantly so) way to remain close to the mainstream while still demonstrating individuality amidst the sea of undifferentiated denim that otherwise surrounds us.

Wear them with a cream-colored Shetland sweater once the leaves have reached their peak of color.