A mid khaki / tan light (micro) houndstooth is perfect for the cool days of summer. It is something that can be worn over light chinos without looking too close in color, gives your navy blazer a break, allows you to wear an odd jacket that is on the lighter side while not being lighter than the pants (which is fine and wonderful but just a different side) and it is a sport coat which while technically being patterned, actually feels very neutral, flexible and wearable with many different ties. The key to all of this is finding one which is breezy and fit for warmer weather while also not too dark yet also not too light.
While I love the khaki / tan houndstooth, I only like my current version of it. It is a nice jacket, don't get me wrong, but not perfect. It is 8/10 but I am currently on the hunt for another one. My issue with this is the length. It isn't undersized. It is a just fine length. But personally I always love the slightly longer jackets. In the past jackets were longer and over time, even respectable brands shortened them. I am not talking about fast fashion, even the mode du jour among rock solid, middle of the road, classic and traditional makers tends to be just slightly shorter than I love. My solution for this is vintage. You don't need to go too vintage. If you go back more than 20 years you will be getting closer toward the old school. I am currently looking for the perfect version of this jacket with just perhaps 1.5 inches more in terms of length. Still, I am trying not to be too sensitive about the matter, I shouldn't sell this jacket down the river, it is nice and most importantly, it works.
As for its role in this outfit, I set this with a lavender university stripe, a green and blue rep tie, light chinos and a reddish brown belt. The lavender in the university stripe is hard to discern in this photo. In some light, like outside, it is very obviously a beautiful purplish lavender while in this light it appears just very light, faint and of a bluish hue. Which, to be fair is another description of lavender. There are faint threads of blue and green in the micro houndstooth on the sport coat which play nicely if even ever so faintly with the green, blue and lavender of the tie and shirt. It can sometimes be difficult to pull reps off with university stripes that are not blue. The lavender is a bit easier than some of these, because it is very close to blue. Still, it's really only ties in this general territory - cool blues and greens - that are going to work. It is still quite limited. Nevertheless I love this outfit for a cool summer day. It feels fun, bright, easy and even has an almost devil-may-care quality while not being too in your face.