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The holy grail for guys who like to get the most out of their clothing, separates – i.e. combining non-matching blazers and trousers – will not only breathe new life into an existing tailoring collection, they also let you create a wealth of smart-casual or formal looks.

Yet while anyone can throw together two different garments, it takes a little thought to nail the best colour and fabric combinations. To ensure you are successful, here are seven fail-safe separates pairings that utilise pieces the majority of men already have in their wardrobe.

Navy Jacket With Beige/Khaki Trousers

A navy jacket worn with beige trousers or chinos is about the most versatile mash-up of separates you can get.

To complete the look, add a shirt, tie and leather Derby shoes to look smart for something like an evening wedding reception, or a crew neck T-shirt and minimal leather sneakers to come of casual when meeting friends for lunch.

Grey Jacket With Navy Trousers

One of the most timeless combinations available to men, a grey blazer teamed with navy trousers is a match made in sartorial heaven. Whether worn to the office or for drinks at the weekend, this tag team of versatile, masculine hues will ensure you always look confident and stylish.

Black Jacket With Grey Trousers

Best for those who like to appear smart and understated, black and grey – when combined with a shirt, tie and shoes – is the ideal combination for life’s more formal occasions. While monochrome separates may conjure up images of the boardroom, make a few alterations and you have a sharp off-duty weekend look.

Unstructured Jacket With Chinos

Laid-back layering that’s smart enough for the office doesn’t get easier or more comfortable than this combination. The foundations are formal but softer materials and more relaxed fits de-stuff the look for a smooth transition from business hours to happy hour.

Tonal Blue Jacket And Trousers

Separates don’t have to mean separate colours top and bottom. You can pair a jacket and trousers in similar tones without looking like you’ve got your suits mixed up. Greys can work but blue is the safest colour when you’re going tonal.

The only rule to think about here is making sure there’s some point of difference between the upper and lower body. It could be a noticeable gear-shift in colour: a petrol blue jacket with navy chinos or a navy jacket on sky blue trousers. Alternatively, you can keep the tones similar but add some distinction with the material. Try a cross-hatch pattern on the jacket or a different fabric entirely.

Tweed With Denim

One specifically for autumn/winter, this ever-popular combination has been a gentleman’s favourite for generations. Ideal for guys who take a more rugged approach to style, the heavyweight pairing walks a nice line between sartorial and casual without skimping on practicality.

White Trousers With Coloured Blazers

Any outfit with white trousers is a fairly loud one, and this summer-ready separates combination screams French Riviera in particular. Opt for a blazer in sky blue, green or even a pastel shade of yellow or pink, teaming it with white jeans or trousers for a sophisticated look, no matter where you reside.

Mens Fashion, Mens Basics

As us gents have become more fashion savvy so have the ways in which we dress resulting in the lines between casual & formal merging to such an extent we can now step outside the fashion ox without the fear of humiliation from our peers.

The traditional navy blazer is a perfect case in point; once the persevere of the office & weddings,this formal item of clothing can now be worn for all manner of occasion.Here are five best ways to utilise your blazer in 2016.

Summer Days

When those summer evenings do appear & you want something a little smarter

than a sweater, the navy blazer is the ideal companion.

Of course you will want to keep the look casual so we at TrendsHub suggest a simple block colour t_shirt, some lightweight chinos & a pair of sandals for that relaxed evening feel.

Weekend Away

Wearing a suit blazer with a pair of jeans would have once been frowned upon & mocked but thankfully us men have wised up & it's now the norm to pair these once contradicting items of clothing.

Perfect for the weekend gateway, team the Jeans & Blazer with a casual sweater & pair of hi_yop trainers for the ideal weekend look.

The Artist

Nothing quite says a man is confident in the way he dresses than bold, daring pants.By teaming those peacock colours with a navy blazer helps to add a sense of dashing while still retains a sense of individuality.

Keep the top half of your outfit relatively print free & instead invest in a pair of coloured chinos for that perfect eccentric look.

Date Night

This look is all about keeping the suit but ditching the shirt & tie.

You don't want to look too casual but at the same juncture you don't want to look like you've just stepped out of the office.

The turtle neck seater & pair of loafers are the prefect pieces for this look: smart, cool & casual.

The Classic

Of course there will always be a time when the suit needed for the formal occasion & the navy blue blazer can be called upon for such an event.

Keep your shirt traditional white & your shoes smart but feel free to add a little spice to your outfit with printed tie & pocket square.

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There’s a great anecdote in issue 17 of football quarterly The Blizzard about how Malcolm ‘Big Mal’ Allison, famed for his trademark fedora and fur coat, was upstaged – as Sporting Lisbon manager in the 1982 Portuguese Cup final

Sadly, this sort of flex is the exception rather than the rule. Aside from a few ‘antihero pieces’ – Arsène Wenger’s bin bag coat, Tim Sherwood’s gilet, Tony Pulis’ magic hat – the touchline barely attracts any style commentary worth speaking about.

1. Pep Guardiola

Guardiola’s swag is often spoken of in terms more breathless than Brazilian Ronaldo on the first day of pre-season training. But like his management style, Pep’s wardrobe is not beyond reproach.

His suits can be on the shiny side, and he frequently teams them with a belt, which is a yellow card offence in our book. (It saws you in half visually: besides, if you need a belt, then your suit doesn’t fit properly.)

The Tactic: Keep It (Fairly) Tight

No, we’re not talking about his porous defences. The main reason that Guardiola is in another league to his rivals is because his clothes, particularly his suits, are close-fitting.

2. Roberto Mancini

Ageing like a fine Barolo, oozing sprezzatura, Mancini is one of those well-dressed mature Italian men who would look as at home on The Sartorialist as in the dugout. You half-expect to see street style photographer Tommy Ton crouched pitchside trying to get a details shot.

The Tactic: Don’t Always Buy The Big Names

Mancini is a fan of Giorgio Armani, rightly declaring his compatriot one of the best designers in history. But he gets his suits from his own “small” tailor in Naples

3. Zinedine Zidane

The current holder of the bucking bronco that is the Real Madrid hot-saddle, Zizou is relatively new to management but no stranger to fashion. The talented former midfield maestro has previously modelled for Louis Vuitton, adidas Y-3 and Mango.

The Tactic: Play With Your Head

The most striking thing about Zidane is clear enough. (Just ask Marco Materazzi.) Yes, his baldness is an asset, but it’s one he assists by sticking to understated pieces and subdued colours. Whether in a suit or a tracksuit, his palette doesn’t distract from his pate.

4. Luis Enrique

With Guardiola as his near-predecessor at Barcelona, the Spaniard had big shoes to fill. Or in his case, trainers worn with a suit.

The Tactic: Get Your Foot On The Ball

Enrique gives a masterclass in getting the trainers with a suit thing right: keep the kicks classic and/or minimal, and the tailoring trim.

5. Quique Sánchez Flores

Like a Mediterranean version of Hugh Laurie in House, the Watford gaffer seems as likely to impart tactical information to his skipper Troy Deeney as grumpily diagnose him with some obscure condition.

The Tactic: Adopt A Less Rigid Formation

It’s not just diving and actually being good at football that continental fancy Dans have imported to these shores. They’ve also brought relaxed, soft-shouldered tailoring that looks and feels less stuffy, so much so that you can wear it with a T-shirt.

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As Ray Winstone’s disembodied head would say, have a bang on the comments below.

Sandals stopped being a fashion choice around the time German tourists adopted them as a uniform. Like the bulky cargo shorts guys from Düsseldorf often pair them with, sandals are a victim of their own design. Sturdy and breezy, they make perfect sense when you’re strolling over sun-scorched pavements.

Birkenstock Mayari Cross Strap Sandal

The classic Birkenstock has endured since the 1960s. And for good reason; the cork sole is flexible and the straps minimalist, but effective. Unlike your yoga teacher’s favourite sandals, the Mayari’s straps wrap around your big toe. Which keeps your look from veering too classic.

Available at Birkenstock, priced £59.95.

Hudson Matto Woven Leather Sandal

If you’re wary of going foot full-frontal, this Hudson sandal-loafer hybrid lets you dip a mostly covered toe. The woven leather adds texture, which means they play nice with more rugged (and rather warmer) fabrics.

Available at ASOS, priced £80.

Adidas Adilette Textured Rubber Slides

Practical, easy to pack and last season’s most unexpected trend, pool sliders are your newest holiday essential – and no-one does them better than the Three Stripes.

Available at Mr Porter, priced £25.

Mango Buckle Leather Sandals

Crafted in Spain from 100 per cent bovine leather and featuring a traction rubber sole, these Mango sandals will quickly become your new wear-anywhere summer shoe.

Available at Mango, priced £39.99.

Kurt Geiger London Kalil Navy Sandals

Kurt Geiger has given the traditional thong sandal a modern twist by reproducing it in navy leather complete with a sporty white rubber outsole. Slip them on with everything in your warm-weather wardrobe, from linen trousers to jersey shorts.

Available at Kurt Geiger, priced £135.

ALDO Turoc Sandals

ALDO butches up the classic sling back by subbing out flimsy straps for wide leather versions, with their brown colouring meaning they’re a shoo-in for teaming with both selvedge denim and light neutral chinos.

Available at ALDO, priced £65.

Times are tough in Geneva. The Swiss watch industry hasn’t contracted this hard since the 1970s Quartz Crisis, when the rise of cheap, more accurate movements suddenly made throwing thousands at a mechanical watch hard to fathom. Forty years on, it’s the global recession and growth of smartwatches making consumers reconsider car-priced wristwear. But this time, the big brands aren’t sleeping.

Frederique Constant Classic Index GMT

Most complications are watchmakers flexing their manufacture muscles. But for travellers, the GMT is genuinely invaluable. The extra hand tells the time in a second location, so you don’t wake up your other half with a 4am call because you misjudged the time difference on a Tokyo trip.

Available at Watch Shop, priced £1,510.

Tyrol TXMO89

Taking its style cues from Junghans’ Max Bill Chronoscope, this minimalist chronograph is powered by a quartz movement, hence the wallet-friendly price tag Available at Tayroc, priced £89.99.

Seiko Prosper SRP775K1

It’s easy to overlook the Japanese giants when buying a new watch, such is the Swiss grip on the industry, but Seiko, lest we forget, make robust, long-lasting timepieces that are well-designed and tremendous value for money.

Available at Amazon, priced £333.90

Bremont Jaguar MKIII

One of three models in Bremont’s Jaguar range, the MKIII takes its design cues from the much-loved E-type. That means a subtle tyre-tread pattern on the winding crown and a red quadrant between three and four o’clock, which pays tribute to the E-type’s dashboard (and gives an otherwise muted dial a bit of pop).

Available at Jura Watches, priced £3,495.

Triwa Charles Falken

Another cool Scandinavian brand that has managed to distinguish itself from the horological herd, Triwa make some of the nicest looking watches around. They also put a huge amount of thought into their straps, which are made at a centuries-old Swedish tannery and cannot be beaten for comfort or appearance.

Available at Triwa, priced £149.

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