To paint the design, I used DecoArt SoSoft Fabric Paint, which goes on like buttah, dries quick, and doesn’t even need to be heat set. I used 5 different colors, just like the original Mondrian paintings – white, yellow, red, blue and black. I needed between 2 to 3 bottles of each paint color to cover the blazer.I originally put masking tape on the jacket to help guide my paint job, but that was a disaster because the tape would not stick to the fabric. So I just penciled in the design and painted it freehand. The hardest part was painting the black lines. I wasn’t perfect, but you know my motto: “close enough!”

I love how it turned out. When I took it to the tailor to have the buttons sewn back on (I removed most of them before painting), he thought I bought it that way. He couldn’t believe I painted it. Thanks DecoArt!

This is the back.

I even got matching shoes. Now, I did not paint these. I bought them at Zazzle! I uploaded my own Mondrian-inspired design, and they printed — and delivered — my shoes in less than 48 hours. They’re super comfortable too.

Here are the two dies I used.

I had several yards of black and white menswear fabrics in my studio – houndstooth, glen plaid, etc. — so I didn’t even need to buy any fabric. I’m not sure why I had all that fabric. But my fellow fabric hoarders out there can feel me, right? First, I ironed on some paper-backed double-sided adhesive to the wrong side of the fabric.Having the paper backing really helped the fabric go through my Sizzix Big Shot, and I made a bunch of flowers and leaves. And with the scraps I cut some curved stems that I decided I would add.Then I peeled off the paper backing and made a design on the blazer a section at a time. I played around a lot with the placement of the flowers until I was happy. I pressed down on the iron according to the package instructions of the adhesive interfacing. And I went all around the blazer, starting at the front, then the sleeves, and then the back. Part of the look of the blazer was a lot of overlapping of patterns. From far away the flowers and leaves look grey. But close up, you see all the variations.I love how the patterns and the colors of this blazer are so traditional and “serious,” but put together in such an unexpected way with the flowers, there’s so much whimsy to it. 

Here in Southern California, it does get cold in the fall and winter (anything below 60 degrees is considered freezing here), and I like to wear an overcoat when it’s cold. But most men’s overcoats are really boring. They are typically navy, grey or camel, and that’s all the choices there are. I’m a plaid-ophile, so I had been on the lookout for a plaid overcoat, to no avail. Until I found this frock coat on topman.com. Technically, it’s not an overcoat, but it’s a long coat, so no one would really know the difference. Paired with the matching pants, it’s a pretty cool look.

The best part? It was a steal. The jacket was on sale for $55, and the pants were on sale for $35. Plus, I got a 20% off discount on top of that, so the coat and pants were $71 total – no tax or shipping. For that price, I had to say, “why the frock not.”

This month, Dr. Martens, in collaboration with the Soane Museum in London, introduced a capsule collection featuring the work of artist William Hogarth, in particular his most famous piece, “A Rake’s Progress.” This series of 8 paintings illustrates the rise and fall of a ne’er-do-well who inherits money and squanders it all on gambling, drinking and women and ends up losing his mind in Bedlam. (At least he should’ve squandered all his money on shoes.)

When I saw these at the Dr. Martens store, I could not believe how beautiful and unique they were. They’re literally a walking piece of art. I doubt that Hogarth would have ever imagined that more than 200 years after he completed these paintings that they would be licensed to be reproduced on shoes. But as he was also a satirist and social critic, I think he would’ve gotten a chuckle out of the notion. 

Pants by Maison Martin Margiela for H&M. T-shirt is Heattech from Uniqlo.

I have no problems ordering clothes, even suits, online. I’ve bought numerous suits from Topman online, and they’ve been great. (I always assume I am going to the tailor to do some alternations.) So how did my first J. Crew suit fit? Let’s start with the jacket. I usually wear a 36 short. And the Ludlow 36 short fit perfectly. Even with the Topman jackets, I have to take in the sleeves. But with the Ludlow, the sleeves were perfect. And there’s a really nice taper to the jacket so it doesn’t feel boxy at all. I love it.

The pants, on the other hand, did not fit as well. I usually wear a 30″ waist. (With some stores like H&M and Uniqlo, I have to up that size.) The Ludlow pants are supposed to be trimmer, but they were huge on me. The waist was fine, but the pants were so baggy, so I just took the pants to the tailor to make the legs more fitted. They’re still not as skinny as I’d like, but my tailor really has an aversion to skinny pants.

This suit goes with a lot of shoes that I own. It looks great with my navy suede wingtips, or even my black plain toe bluchers. For this pic, I chose my teal Cole Haan wingtips. A bold suit deserves a bold pair of shoes.

Photos by Lynn Pelkey.

I bought this plain, tan blazer at Uniqlo for $39. Such a deal, and cheap enough that I felt I could experiment with it. I printed union jack flags onto some Craft Attitude film and applied the film to the lapels with a permanent glue stick. I’ve had this jacket now for more than two years, and the film is staying on just fine.

The gorgeous shoes I’m wearing are Dr. Martens Made in England brogues with blue and red striped silk. Swoon.

Jacket: Uniqlo. Pants: H&M. Tie: Zara. Shoes: Dr. Martens. Glasses: Warby Parker

Being an ex-Brit, I love the look of Carnaby Street in the 60s, which I’ve channeled in this modern version of it. The college blazer is from Topman, and the trousers are from Paul Smith – both from England. I actually found the Paul Smith pants at the Barney’s Warehouse Sale. As you know, it’s really impossible to try on any clothes at the Barney’s Warehouse Sale, so when I saw these pants on the rack, I had to take it on faith that they would fit me. And they did! Although I have to hold my breath and not eat anything that day.

Jacket: Topman, Shirt: H&M, Tie: Banana Republic, Pants: Paul Smith, Shoes: Banana Republic, Sunglasses: Warby Parker

I also bought this trilby hat at Topman, this time at the store in Soho. Not a lot of hats look good on me, but when I tried this one on, I just loved it. Unfortunately, my dog Gershwin ate the band of the hat, so I glue gunned this new band on it with ribbon I got at etsy. It’s even cooler now.

In going with the whole black and white theme, these are the Dr. Martens shoes I like to wear with this ensemble. Who knew Dr. Martens made such cool shoes, right? I bought these online from a store called vixensandangels.com. They have some unique styles and great prices.

Short suits look great with regular neck ties, but they’re also fun with bow ties. (My bow tie here is from Brooks Brothers.) And since there are no long pant legs to cover up the shoes, you can really make a statement down there. Here I wore them with my pink and yellow Cole Haan wingtips.