Confidence in style

Let's talk about feeling confident in your own style, whatever you like to wear

PS by Paul Smith

Khaki micro ripstop field jacket

PS by Paul Smith

Blue loopback-cotton sweatshirt

Paul Smith

Cotton-linen navy chinos

Paul Smith

White levon trainers

Brixton

Ollie cap (similar)

PS by Paul Smith

Navy water-resistant bomber jacket

PS by Paul Smith

Tapered-fit navy cord trousers

Paul Smith

Polka dot pocket square

---

We're too quick to look for an out when trying something away from our norm. Whether it’s a “hats don’t suit me” quip or “I’ve never worn straight fit trousers”, we retreat back to our daily uniforms. For me, style is about expressing creativity, feeling confident and enjoyment. Some people feel comfortable in bright colours, some in looser fits, some choose trainers over shoes (me) and others find comfort in wearing hats.

The latter make me feel at ease. I feel more confident wearing a hat then when I’m not. There often something I’ll put on before I leave, or at least put in my bag. From when I first started wearing them, almost with a little bit of self-doubt, to now, I’ve found that the more times you wear something, the more you feel better for it.

Similarly, I feel the same way about bomber jackets. Something often holds me back from wearing them, it is my ‘don’t suit hats’ item. Paul Smith’s life-proof collection – items that are waterproof breathable and durable – embodies style and functionality and includes a bomber jacket that might even begin to suit me.

Paul Smith and their diffusion line PS by Paul Smith, contains all the makings of a good outfit: tactile fabrics, straight fits, incredible prints and from a personal point of view, lots of navy. The reason I wanted to express my thoughts on confidence within style at the top of this piece is because I feel its important to encourage the idea of trying more and rebuffing negative thoughts that prevent us from doing so.

So though a double cord suit might turn heads, I feel comfortable in it and safe in the knowledge that its navy. Slightly different, slightly familiar. While not forgetting a slight sartorial nod with a pocket square in the back pocket that I’ve tried before. In essence, this was a little detail for me more than anything. I even tried something odd with the bomber in this shoot, did you not notice?

Over the past few months you’ll have seen both Mat and myself working with Paul Smith in the build up to this project. To push our limits creatively, we went for shots that we don’t normally attempt, ones that felt slightly more editorial and polished. Normally a looser approach comes into play (read: coffee, mooch, wing it).

I think it’s important to recognise when you’re happy with what you’ve accomplished. We are often quick to criticise our own work and style, but never praise ourselves when we do something well. I personally feel that Mat and myself have produced some of our best work together with this project.jbicon

---

Photography by Matthew Pike

This post is sponsored by Paul Smith. This has been one of my favourite projects to work on. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that work with me.

---