Saturday Clothes: Menswear for the Weekend

Ralph Lauren started Polo in 1967 with a line of ties, grew it into a full menswear collection in 1968, and added the Polo shirt in 1972. He later said he was selling a feeling, and Saturday is exactly that feeling: nowhere to be, so you dress for yourself. People are buying it again. Ralph Lauren ranked seventh on the Lyst Index for the second quarter of 2026, and GQ's 2026 trend forecast quotes a stylist saying the Americana thing is really coming back. Weekend clothes are Americana at its most practical: a jacket you do not baby, a soft sweater, jeans that already look lived in. I start with the outer layer. Aimé Leon Dore, founded by Teddy Santis in Queens in 2014, makes the corduroy-trimmed denim jacket in green, and it carries the Queens-meets-Greece mood the label is built on. Polo Ralph Lauren's brown corduroy jacket is the traditional answer, and the Drake's reversible blouson in army green gives you two jackets for one hanger. Wear any of them over a white tee and nothing else needs to happen. What I would skip is the Mr P. checked virgin wool jacket on a hot Saturday, because it is a cool-weather layer.

Sweatpants are where a weekend outfit goes right or wrong. The Elder Statesman began in 2007 when Greg Chait made cashmere blankets, and it still works from its own factory in downtown Los Angeles with hand-spun yarns and handloom knitters. That is why the tapered drawstring sweatpants in blue hang the way they do. Our Legacy, founded in Stockholm in 2005, started by printing T-shirts on a family's vinyl equipment, and its brown brushed-knit zip-up hoodie has a soft, sweater-like surface I prefer to plain fleece. Higher up, the Drake's ribbed wool cardigan in gray is my pick for a cold market morning, and Aimé Leon Dore's navy knitted polo sweater is smarter than it sounds. My test is simple: if the outfit can handle a coffee shop, a gallery and a friend's dinner without changing, it is working. Put the cardigan over the gray ADON sweatpants and keep everything else tonal. What I would skip is the Cherry Los Angeles distressed fleece zip-up when you are meeting someone's parents, since the distressing is the whole point of it.

The Row began in 2006 with a white T-shirt that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen spent a year and a half perfecting. I think about that every time I put on the Maiko cotton-jersey tee in black, because a plain shirt only looks plain from far away. Auralee, launched in Tokyo in 2015 by Ryota Iwai, builds everything around original fabric development, and the Finx cotton-poplin shirt in green is the one I would reach for first. Rag & Bone's Tomlin checked flannel in navy is the weekday-to-Saturday shirt, and the James Perse convertible-collar linen shirt in white is what I would wear on a warm morning with the sleeves pushed up. For something sportier, the Drake's striped rugby shirt and the A.P.C. Tristan striped polo both cover the stripes without trying too hard. Wear one striped piece and keep the trousers plain. What I would skip is the Paul Smith cream linen and wool overshirt on a day involving a picnic or anything messy, because cream shows every mark.

FULLCOUNT was founded in Osaka in 1993 by Mikiharu Tsujita, and it is known for denim made from rare Zimbabwe cotton woven on vintage shuttle looms in Okayama. The Santa Monica 0105W-1354 jean in blue is the straight, proper one in this grid. Next to it I like orSlow's Grand Dad's wide-leg jeans in ecru, from Ichiro Nakatsu, a designer known for his archive of vintage American clothing. The Row's Moe straight-leg jean and the Dries Van Noten straight-leg in blue are cleaner and quieter. If you would rather skip denim, KAPITAL's Boogie Day panelled twill trousers in beige and the Drake's green cargo trousers carry the same relaxed shape. A good test for a weekend trouser is whether you can sit on a curb in it without thinking. Roll the hem once and wear it with a loafer or a low sneaker. What I would skip is the TOTEME Kick slim-fit jean for a long brunch when you want room, since everything else here is cut looser.

Shoes decide whether the outfit reads as relaxed or as sloppy. Tod's Gommino is named for the 133 rubber pebbles on its sole, and the suede pair in brown is what I would put on for a day that includes a lot of walking and one nice lunch. Polo Ralph Lauren's Ranger full-grain leather loafers in black are the neater option. For sneakers, Golden Goose, founded in 2000 near Venice, does deliberately distressed and handcrafted pairs, and the Ball Star in dark brown looks better the more beaten it is. Diemme was founded in 1992 in Montebelluna, a Veneto town known for mountain boots, and the Ampezzo suede hiking sneaker in black borrows that trail heritage. Officine Creative's Boss 002 suede boots in brown are the pair for cooler weeks. My rule is one dressy shoe and one sporty shoe in rotation, never two of the same mood. What I would skip is the Thom Browne suede boat shoes on a wet Saturday, because suede and puddles do not get along.

Small things decide whether a casual outfit feels finished. A.P.C. was created in Paris in 1987 by Jean Touitou, and its first collection was simply called WINTER 87, which tells you everything about the label's lack of fuss. The Fragment logo-print canvas tote in blue is the bag I would carry to the farmers market. DITA was founded in Los Angeles in 1995 and handcrafts every frame in Japan, and the Flight-Seven aviator in gold is the classic shape done properly. AHLEM, started in Los Angeles in 2014 by Paris-born Ahlem Manai-Platt, makes the Jules round frame in green acetate, a better choice if you want something with more attitude. For belts, the Beams Plus suede belt in brown is the quiet one and the Saint Laurent leather belt in burgundy adds a little color. Caps from Drake's and Frescobol Carioca are the lazy fix for an unwashed head. What I would skip is the David Yurman sculpted cable titanium ring on a day when you are moving furniture or gardening.

If I had to build a weekend wardrobe from this edit, I would go in order of how often each piece gets worn. Jeans or trousers first, because you will put them on every week. Then a shirt or tee you like the feel of, then one jacket, and only then the shoes. A denim jacket, a pair of straight jeans, a white tee and a suede loafer already make a complete outfit, and everything else is a refinement. The rest is mixing moods. Pair something soft with something sharp, a knit polo with wide trousers, a corduroy jacket with sneakers. Keep one item that has a little personality, whether that is a green shirt or a burgundy belt, and let the others stay quiet. Saturday clothes should survive a bad night's sleep and a spontaneous plan. If you can wear them to errands, to lunch and to the pub without feeling overdressed or underdressed, you have bought well.

Saturday clothes should feel like you did not try, and this shelf is full of pieces that suit that. Start with the jacket: the OrSlow cotton-canvas jacket or the Polo Ralph Lauren suede jacket, depending on the weather. Then the jeans, where the KAPITAL straight-leg pair is the simple choice and the ssstein barrel-leg pair is the shapely one. For something softer, the Dries Van Noten alpaca-blend sweater and oversized sweatshirt are the warm layers, the Drake's striped polo and KAPITAL Thunderbird shirt sit in between, and the SAINT LAURENT jersey tee goes under any of them. The Drake's wide-leg chinos, Common Projects Winter Driving sneakers and SAINT LAURENT twill espadrilles complete it. What I would skip: the alpaca-blend sweater on a warm afternoon. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Baby Clothes and Maternity Clothes.