Outfit

Flannel suit - Uniqlo

Shirt - Savile Row Company

Cardigan - Uniqlo

Pocket square - Tie Rack

Tie - Tie Rack

Tie clip - eBay

Fabric buttonhole - H&M

Outfit

Double monkstrap shoes - Jones Black Collection

Houndstooth trousers - Uniqlo

Check blazer - Zara

Polka dot scarf - Boden

Brown v-neck jumper - Zara

Pink shirt - Hardy Amies

How to wear bright chinos: Part 3

Another way to wear brights is to pale-up the palette on the rest of the items, for a warm-weather holiday ensemble. Combining peanut colour suede lace ups with a seersucker jacket, light blue shirt, cotton madras tie and linen square, the chinos stand out but do not heavily contrast, unlike the blue blazer. The seersucker jacket is more casual, accentuated by the (optional) rolled-up sleeves. 

Shoes - Zara

Chinos - Gant

Seersucker jacket - ASOS

Tie - Ralph Lauren

Shirt - Zara

Pocket square - Massimo Dutti

How to wear bright chinos: Part 2

One of the other ways to wear bright chinos is to combine them with a relatively conservative, but still colourful, top half. 

Pink works very well with green (think how beautiful ripe rhubarb looks) and this can help perk up the hackneyed and often rather dull blazer-and-chino fix. Throwing a yellow square into the mix means that the jacket has it's work cut out to keep the party at a healthy, comfortable decibel level. You could go ultra-safe and plump for a plain white but you're already playing when in pink and bright green - a bright square looks right at home. 

A club-stripe tie is preppy but also a nice balance; they tend to look a little 'clubby' and snooty when worn with bland suits. Wearing them with such a riot of colours makes the stripe less about it's elite identity or meaning and more about the colours on display.   

Shoes - Nunes Correa

Chinos - Gant

Blazer - Uniqlo (buttons added)

Shirt - Charles Tyrwhitt

Tie - Ede & Ravenscroft

Pocket square - Tie Rack

How to wear bright chinos: Part 1

Bright chinos are not your average man's wardrobe staple. In fact, when it comes to summer trousers, most men play it safe. Very safe.

"Navy blue" is the response I'm most likely to get from one particular friend when I ask him what he is looking for on one of his regular shops for comfortable cotton chinos. He would never buy brights. It just doesn't make sense to him. When last summer I strolled up for evening drinks wearing orange trousers, the look on his face was priceless.

I must admit, you need to be rather blasé about other's opinions to pull off the look confidently. However, men are incredibly boring when it comes to letting go in the (hopefully) brighter spring and summer months. As the flowers burst open confidently and the sun beams down happily, we should be engaging some of that 'Come on why not?' spirit. We should be showing the world that we want to kick the winter cobwebs away with some sockless loafers some sporty élan and a pair of pink chinos.

And these are pink. None of that 'white trousers got mixed up in the wash with a red jumper' pink. Saturated pink. Confident pink.

There is no need to be afraid of a tone this strong. It's actually one of the best ways to inject youthful vim into otherwise lifeless ensembles. Staidness is blown away by such colours; fustiness runs and hides.

One of the best ways to do this is keep it casual with a sporty cricket jumper, a classic striped shirt, polka dot bow tie. With more subtle chinos - khaki or navy - this would be a smart but, let's face it, pleasantly bland get-up.

Finding chinos like this can be tricky. These come from Gant - purveyors of classic American prep - who offer a veritable rainbow of options for spring and summer.

Shoes - Herring

Chinos - Gant

Cricket jumper - Uniqlo

Bow tie - Vintage

Shirt - TM Lewin

Outfit

Boots - Zara

Cords - Zara

Gloves - H&M

Jumper - COS

Shirt - TM Lewin

Tie - Vintage

Cap - H&M

Coat - TopMan

Outfit

Boots - Loake

Cords - Zara

Jumper - Gant

Shirt - TM Lewin

Bow tie - Vintage

Wax jacket - Barbour

Cap - H&M

Gloves - H&M