If you have any friends that work in the style world, no doubt yourInstagram/ Twitter/ Facebook feed will have begun to fill up this weekend with the obligatory blurry runway shots and ecstatic emojis that tend to herald the launch of the menswear shows in Milan, featuring new collections from the likes of Italian big guns such asGucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. (If you don’t have any friends that work in the style world, just count yourself lucky and read on). Anyway, as ever, though we at MR PORTER were equally thrilled by the goings on on various runways since last Thursday, we were also out there in Milan keeping a keen eye on what was happening off-schedule, on the street. What follows is a brief summary of the tips and tricks we gleaned from all the city’s stylish passers-by. 

WEAR YOUR BOMBER WITH A SHIRT

Though this bomber jacket, with its printed sleeves and rich olive colour, is what we might call an “impactful” piece, the wearer has managed to keep it looking incredibly sharp and grown-up by restricting the rest of his outfit to black and white, and wearing ashirt underneath instead of the customary T-shirt. It harks back to a1950s sense of off-duty dressing, in which “casual” meant “you don’t absolutely have to wear a tie”. Which is charming, really.  
 

COMBINE MILITARY COLOURS

It’s one of those style lessons that should be engraved in a stone plinth and erected somewhere public. Colours that come from military dress – khaki, beige, olive, brown – go together marvelously. They’re also especially good for undercutting the formality of something like ablazer, as seen above. It’s as simple as that.

LET YOUR SHIRT CUFFS HANG OUT

We saw this little styling trick at Pitti Uomo this year, and (perhaps unsurprisingly, given everyone there hops on a northbound train straight after) we saw it in Milan too. And we’re writing about it again because, well, we like it. An unbuttoned cuff, neatly tucked round the cuff of a blazer, gives a sprezzatura feel to a tailored outfit that really makes it clear that the wearer is enjoying himself here. And why wouldn’t he be? He is, after all, clutching a ticket in his right hand to some no-doubt fabulous event.

PLAY IT SAFE WITH PATTERNS

To paraphrase Spiderman’s Uncle Ben: with great pattern comes great responsibility. The above jackets are clearly not for everyone, but if you do have the urge (and requisite jolly personality) to step out in a highly patterned jacket, you need to keep everything else very simple. Pristine white sneakers and navy chinos: great. White T-shirt, black trousers: great. Do not be tempted by the houndstooth trousers or palm-print sneakers. That way madness lies.