The choice of the socks. In the last years socks have become a very important accessories in menswear, so much so that women often wear “men’s” crew socks. The reason could be that they’re the cheaper fashion accessories, or that designers have understood that the right choice of the socks is trendy, mainly if they have very peculiar colours, prints and textures. In Italy this is a very recent trend, while American, French and especially British care about the choice of the socks as they care about choosing shoes. It is not by chance that the British designer Paul Smith has been one of the first to propose and value coloured and printed socks, matching them in contrast with the trousers, or in the same shades. For example: plain coloured trousers with optical-checked socks, or beige glencheck trousers with darker glencheck socks. Picture taken from “A gentleman’s guide to Dress and Style” by Nick Clemens (Goodwood).

Outdoor. The parka with double hood, made of acid green cotton canvas, the round-neck sweatshirt with contrasting hems and the denim shirt. White sneakers with blue stripes and socks with a graphic pattern. An outdoor total look, perfect for the young British actor Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game, An Education) portrayed by Rankin. An alternative way of wearing colours, with a mood of fashionable free-time in contrast with the same old “jeans with grey sweatshirt”. But for the Over 30s (the maximum age allowed for such a strong menswear)? First of all, avoid the acid colours. Prefer sneakers with performing upper and non-colours, like white, black or grey. Trousers have to be mentioned apart, because there are a lot of them, but all the same and it’s easy to choose the usual chino or the denim 5pockets. But how many of them do you already have? If you’d like to buy new trousers for your free time, opt for some special details.

Spa Code. When you stay in a big hotel, a 5-star with excellent cookery and a beautiful spa like the Relilax Miramonti in Montegrotto Terme, even if the atmosphere invites to relax, it doesn’t mean that you can have breakfast half-naked wearing slippers. Be careful about lapses of style. It’s possible to dress with taste without carrying a heavy luggage. You can wear a tracksuit with sneakers for breakfast; at lunch opt for a pair of dark jeans or velvet trousers, with a polo shirt or a plain colour shirt. In the evening, a simple but stylish, preferibly single-colour, look: round-neck sweater, shirt and gabardine trousers, to match with classic and comfortable desert boots. And in the spa or at the pool? First of all, turn off the mobile phone (or rather leave it in the room); then opt for swimming trunks and bathrobe. Finally, in the water, avoid the butterfly stroke: these are places where silence is the rule. The pool of the Relilax Miramonti Hotel, in Montegrotto Terme.

At a man’s feet. It is said that a man’s elegance stays also (and especially) in the shoes he wears. A pair of shoes can be fashionable, classic or sporty, depending on the kind of man that wears it and, for every variety of shoes, there are rules to be respected in terms of elegance. Style has nothing to do with beauty and quality of an accessory: when style is absent, the accessory itself loose its identity. The wider is the offer, the higher is the chance to get wrong. The crocodile – for example – has to be “impoverished” by a minimal look; the chelsea-boot mustn’t be worn with wide-bottomed trousers; bicolor shoes has to be worn with caution and, in case of bright colours’ matches, it’s good to bear in mind that they’re “dedicated” to trendy under 30. Age has its weight talking about sneakers too: if you are over 30 but you wear them because they’re comfortable, do it just in the spare time. In doubt, it’s better to choose classic: a brogue in calf leather, but never in black before 6 pm.