Men's smart casual for work

[MayIcarryYourSchoolBooks]

My DH is 48, 6" and slim, zero vanity and zero sense of style 😀.
He'll be starting a new job later this month and after working from home for many years, he'll need a completely new wardrobe. His position is very senior, executive level, and sometimes client facing.
He does not need to wear a suit, but will need to look very smart.

He has zero patience for shopping so we'll buy everything online, try it at home and return what doesn't fit. I quite enjoy browsing for outfits so I'm happy to do it. I was hoping for recommendations of brands and online shops I can try. So far I have bought a whole bunch of trousers and shirts from John Lewis and Next sales, the brands are mostly Reiss, Hackett, Paul Smith, Charles Tyrwhitt and Boss, but all in the sale, so shirts reduced from £100 to £50, and trousers reduced from £200 to £100, roughly.

I work with children in our local town so really have no idea what men might wear for work in London so would appreciate more ideas for brands and suggestions for shoes to wear with smart trousers, belts, and jackets, but not necessarily suit jackets. If I can buy good quality stuff and take advantage of the sales, even better!

Size wise, he's 34" in trousers and a L in shirts. Shoe size is a 12.

Thanks in advance if anyone wants to help me out with this! 💐

Cotton Traders for smart casual. Sale on at the moment. Quality is excellent.

I would suggest adding a blazer that matches with multiple chino colours.John Lewis will have plenty. Don’t need to rush and get too much, he can see what others are wearing when he gets there which might help. You could also look at their website for clues? Smart casual in some quarters such as tech etc includes smart jeans.

I'm afraid Cotton Traders is as far from how he needs to dress as it gets.
Jeans are definitely off the menu, even smart jeans.

Smart jeans and a few few nice blazers and some shirts that he can rotate! x smart and casual!

@MayIcarryYourSchoolBooks oh sorry just saw smart jeans off the table 😅

So chinos in various colours, shirts which you've covered, he has white, blues and navy shirts.

My DH then wears a blazer or a light knit crew neck wool jumper over the shirt chino combo.

Shoes are loafers and deck shoes, he does have dress shoes but only wears them with his one suit.

A nice trench coat works for wet, cold days but he also has a lecost lightweight jacket that kind of sit to his hips and is straight cut and a brown leather laptop bag. (Man bag)

His haircut, shaving and aftershaves all combine to make this a pretty standard look for most men in the city.

Tbh I would still get a suit in the sales as the suit trousers (slim fit) always look nice.

Sorry meant to say John Lewis is where we get most items, but he prefers the fit of the next chinos over his reiss ones.

Aubin and Carhart have the nicest crew necks, polo also do nice basics.

my wardrobe consists of around 5 suits, another 5 jackets and multiple shirts and trousers. I have 4 long wool trench coats too. I mix and match most of the time and very rarely wear a suit. My favourite trousers are Brax as they are super comfortable and hit the sweet spot to be smart enough but then can also be dressed down with a pair of trainers. I usually wear a variety of brown shoes as I’m not a major fan of black. I also have some purple docs and some pink docs that can lift the mood if required😂. I have matching belts for each shoe colour…even the pink.

All of my suits are 3 piece and I often wear the waistcoat with a different pair of trousers and not wear the jacket at all. A trench coat over that combination is very comfy and looks smart too. I think the key is versatility and the ability to mix and match to change things up.

Absolutely your prerogative, but can I ask why?

Cotton Traders do really good quality, shirts, chinos, shoes, polos, jackets and more formal wear.

Agree with @creamsnugjumper mostly chinos, shirts, with a nice blazer and v neck jumper for cold days. DH also wears polo shirts with jumper. But agree (not from Cotton Traders 🤔 , John Lewis is good.
Also nice pair of, ideally, brown boots eg https://www.johnlewis.com/base-london-douglas-leather-chelsea-boots/p112546206

Just noticed @ManchesterPie mentioned the brown boots also 👌

@JackieGoodman I might actually get those boots for DH!.