smart casual clothes for a man not designer not cheap timeless - any thoughts?

[blimey]

My first ever style and beauty thread as I am very clueless and have little time to learn at the mo but would love to! But in the interests of helping my man I would love some advice from the wise ladeez and gents of mumsnet on this issue. Any ethical brands even better!

I should have added a comma after not cheap!

Gap

also v good for man-shopping techniques ie once you find a style that suits you you can buy it in 3 colours

ta v much MrsB

Agree with Gap. Also Timberland (but v expensive). I dress my fashion-loathing husband in plain T shirts from Gap or Uniqlo, Levis (lots of styles available), Converse boots, Timberland or CAT boots etc. All of these are 'familiar' enough not to scare a man who doesn't really know what he wants. M&S do some nice fairtrade cotton basic plain casual shirts. Howies (online) is also worth a look for clothing that is designed to be lasting and low-impact on the environment. They have good sales, too.

Hi I went into H& M yesterday and bought my ds some great summer clothes. We walked past the mens section and it did look pretty good albeit in my quick glance.

depends on shape of man - H&M is IME cut for young and/or slim men. No good for rugby-player shapes or incipient paunches.

Horton is spot on though - Uniqlo is great (one style in 5 colours again).
Remember if he has a fat face a double chin I mean a rounder jaw then collared shirts or polo shirts are much more flattering than crew-neck t-shirts, and jumpers with a zip neck or even a hood are better than roundnecks.

Casual, possibly slightly skatey, khakis (Gap again) can also be more flattering than jeans for many men

and don't let him tuck anything in (unless formal shirt with formal trous)

Gap H&M Some FCUK

Charles Tywritt are doing a good deal on shirts at the moment, 4 for £100 and they are really good quality and last ages.

"and don't let him tuck anything in"

Heh! That made me laugh. And so true.

Slightly skatey is good, I agree, and even places like Next now have quite decent khakis/long shorts which are great for summer, much lighter than jeans. Fatface, Seasalt and White Stuff are all good for this kind of look.

Thanks muchly, love the don't tuck things in ref
luckily he has no double chin but is a bit paunchy!!

He wants the clothes for work - he is a trainer and he has noticed that a lot of people work in smart casual these days even in the city. He is 41 so does not want to be ram dressed as lamb but also wants to appear vaguely with it and not too old!

I don't think any of the things mentioned would be too 'young'. Polo shirts in particular sound just the kind of thing he might be comfortable in. If it's not too stuffy for him, I think M&S also do fairtrade cotton chinos which might be good for smart casual.

Was in Uniqlo yesterday and they have lovely cotton longish shorts in four or five sludgey colours which might be nice for hot days if that's not too casual.,xld;llkd,cc,,,v,,v

Sorry, child on keyboard.

Uniqlo is fab.

I think Gap has gone downhill and is rather crap in terms of quality these days.

Horton - lol
was trying to decipher your abbreviations until I saw the last line!

I think Massimo Dutti has some good mens stuff at the smarter end of casual, good for work stuff.

Haha, blimey! Are you very tired, by any chance?

Bamford or Margaret Howell if he / you have a higher budget than M&S, etc. Good quality, very stylish.

Margaret Howell is gorgeous but really expensive.

Second Margaret Howell, lasts forever too. Nicole Farhi for men is good too.

Your quality and lasting comments are making me crave Margaret Howell for myself. They have some beautiful stuff.

MH has amazing sample sales twice a year, just behind Bond ST Tube.

Yes Horton - teething 8 month old DS3!
more good ideas, thanks all!

Howies

Well made, casual, cool, ethical.
Mail order and shops in London and Bristol. I love them, but wait for sales!

ah I see

he needs to be working an oxford-shirt-and-chinos look imo

very classic, not too young, smart enough for work and good for tums

inspiration thus

Hi,
My wife got me to look at all your responses and I just had to join in!
Thanks to all of you - very useful.
Popped into Uniqlo - great - nice linen shirt.
Got some Howie's jeans = fab.
I'm not aiming for chinos...slightly too old school for me mostly.
Will look at the other options too.

Thanks again and any more ideas will be welcome...