Natty Basics for Modern Men

When I have the money, I plan on buying the entirety of Drake’s new Easyday collection.

Why would someone unafraid of sartorial risks do this? Isn’t it frowned upon to dress head-to-toe in one brand? I wouldn’t wear all Drake’s, all of the time, but they nail the basics year after year, and with the right set of basics, you can break all the rules and switch all the codes of style in your favor.

The Easyday collection is their new basics line, more affordable than Drake’s other offerings. Affordable is a loaded word, since the shirts still run $165 and the suits venture past $1,000. This still makes them about 10-20 percent cheaper than other Drake’s garments, however, and without sacrificing quality.

While Drake’s could have done more to cut price and improve accessibility, these pieces will appeal to the prudent man who’s wary of spending money but is willing to go all-in on quality clothing that will last a lifetime. The suits, shirts, sweaters and accessories in the Easyday collection are the sort that will look good 20 years from now, and the brand knows better than to screw with their basic formula of top-notch fabrics: Trim (but not skinny) cuts and an old school elegance that’s too often missing from the wardrobes of modern men.

Yet Drake’s is going strong — and growing — despite society’s slog toward extreme nonchalance. While more men than ever are wearing sweatshirts to work, the bold and the noble are fighting the good fight, donning sport coats and ties when they’re no longer part of the dress code. Some claim tailoring is dead. When I walk down the streets of New York (the only American city where Drake’s has a shop) I see otherwise. This is in no small part thanks to Drake’s and similar brands, whose smart styles are versatile enough to dress down when needed.

Thus, then, is the beauty of Easyday. Splitting up suits is notoriously difficult, but the collection’s jackets and trousers could stand alone without raising eyebrows. Designing suiting in this manner has stumped even the best of makers, and they’d be wise to look toward Drake’s for a solution. This versatility also means you get more wear out of individual pieces. On a Monday, for instance, you could wear the Easyday Grey Flannel Wool Suit in full. On a Tuesday, you could wear the trousers with a navy jacket. On Wednesday, the suit jacket with jeans, and so on. Editing your wardrobe takes the guesswork out of getting dressed, and Drake’s succeeds by using materials that don’t connote formality, yet look dressed-up enough to function as multi-purpose apparel.

As much as I could fault Easyday for falling too close to Drake’s main line prices, the quality and versatility of the garments would convince a poor young man like me to spend the last of their paycheck on a suit. Come at me, Drake’s. You can have all of my money.