Vintage 1990s Polo Ralph Lauren geometric tie, blue butcher stripe broadcloth, khaki chino shorts (with crease) and of course a navy blazer (not pictured). This is a very intense and intentional look, yet also a terribly fun look. The extreme 90s feel from the tie paired with the broadcloth and the bold, in your face, carefree tie (and implied blazer) with shorts is a intentionally spirited look. This is a perfect summer workday look in my world. This look of course isn't for everyone. Not everyone has developed the taste for a 1990s wink and nod or the rekindling of 1990s futurism. For many a blazer with shorts is also too far, they may feel more naturally at home staying away from something so directly bold.
I love this look and looks similar to this look - looks that cultivate this same spirit. When you touch just a little of the 90s with a tie like this you tweak things back (or forward) in a sharp little way that isn't overbearing yet totally clear in spirit. It shifts the entire feel but not in an overwrought way. This kind of look is great with the navy blazer or without when "getting to work". The blazer has to be implied, it has to be there at one point. The key to having the blazer there at one point is that it anchors the presumed "ideal form" of the outfit so that when you take the blazer off the right spirit comes across. Taking the blazer off conveys a getting down to business, freeing yourself up to work, really getting into it. It conveys a "stepping down" in terms of formality. It is a stepping down that wasn't intentional but rather something that just had to be. It mustn't start there. The day must start with the blazer. This step is a step away from the original intention which must be with the blazer.
Under the hot summer sun, a light breeze coming through the trees, the delicate silk of the 30 year old Polo Ralph Lauren geometric tie dances. The broadcloth, light and airy, breathes with the climbing temperature. With no sign or signal as to what year this photo was taken, we are lost in a dreamy confused state. 1990s heat.