There's been plenty of gentlemanly menswear to choose from these past couple of years, but new British-based label Universal Works, designed by David Keyte, takes one of the most professorial bents we've seen yet. Thom Browne and others goes super schoolboy, but this season's Universal Works collection is for the deans, principals and teachers among us, and not just because of those suede elbow patches.
The real nostalgia to men's fashion these days is for an era when guys looked comfortably good. Keyte calls the clothes "garments for everyone," and that's a philosophy important to our contemporary reminiscing. Wearing a good look hasn't always made you a peacock—knits, button-downs and trousers were default for all dudes not long ago—and Universal Works will school you in this attitude. It's under-styled to a tee, filled with well-made, beautiful clothes but no flashy details or loud flourishes in sight, and the label walks the line between the conservative and the classic—in really sensible shoes, of course.
