I am not a sporty gal, but I do enjoy wearing aspects of the Sporty Trend. Despite my magpie gene and preference for dressy clothing, there’s a modern simplicity about sporty items that appeals to me. And as long as I mix sporty items with tailored pieces in luxurious fabrications, they feel absolutely right. 

I wore this outfit yesterday while out shopping with a client. I wouldn’t ordinarily dress this casually on the job, but it was at my client’s request to see a casual outfit with sassy sneakers. I drew inspiration from this outfit on my pinterest board. Although the two outfits look quite different, the formula is the same. Match a classic shirt and blazer with narrow bottoms and hi-tops. The formula incorporates modern classics and current trends, which is my favourite way to dress. The shirt and blazer are updated classics, while the hi-tops and day clutch are trendy. 

A tuxedo shirt was on my Spring shopping list to wear as a new wardrobe essential, and I found exactly what I was looking for at J. Crew. The shirt is soft, yet crisp, and I am in love with its unstructured structure. I find the cut extremely comfortable because it isn’t tight and it’s made of soft cotton. It also creases very easily. But I like that feature because it relaxes the formal aspect of the tuxedo style. Wear it untucked with a white camisole over a pair of jeans or trousers, scrunch the sleeves, and you are set. No need to button right up to the top either. I’m duplicating the item next month. 

I have a few dead simple, classic blazers, and this one belongs to my Theory suit. It’s a grey pinstripe that’s made of an all-season wool that I find versatile. It works as well with fancy pumps as it does with cowboy boots and fashion sneakers. I like to scrunch the sleeves so that the shirt cuffs do not show in order to create a more minimal effect. 

The stretchy black cigarette pants are a couple of years old and still going strong. I like that they are looser then my Gap Real Skinnies and scrunch in a more exaggerated way at the hems. To my eye, super skinny jeans would have looked less chic with the sneakers.

And that brings me to the sneakers. These are my new hi-tops, the Converse “Hi-Ness”, which are my nod to the sassy sneaker trend. They’re a more refined and less chunky hi-top sneaker, which works better with my style and narrow ankles. Oversized wedge sneakers swallow up my feet. I tuck away the ends of the laces without tying a bow because that’s how they look the most streamlined. I put them through their paces for many hours while shopping with a client yesterday, and with the help of an additional cushioning insole I had happy feet. 

I finished off the outfit with white specs, gold watch, wedding ring and my newest wardrobe pet. I’ve been dreaming about this Alexander Wang clutch since I first saw it. The design of the handle and colour blew me away. So I saved up and I’m now a proud owner of the little darling. It also has a sporty integrity, so I guess I like sporty items more than I thought. 

This outfit feels “very 2013” because of the irregular juxtaposition of items, which, ironically, will feel completely regular before too long. As Greg put it, it’s formal on top and casual on the bottom. He took one look at the outfit, nodded his head, and said, “It’s very you because of the white shirt. I love the sneakers because they look modern”. How fun it is to hear the perspective of my in-house fashion stylist, who’s not afraid to tell me like it is, shaking his head sternly when he’s not fond of an outfit.