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Most men keep their training kit and their proper clothes in separate drawers. That line has been blurring for a while, and some of the best brands were built on the crossover. Represent's 247 range grew from a trouser meant to be as at home in the gym as on the street. District Vision first launched in stores like Dover Street Market and Colette, and Satisfy launched during Paris men's fashion week.
So the first edit from Kit & Grit Men, which now has its own Instagram at @kitandgritmen, follows one week through six outfits, from a 06:12 run club in Victoria Park to a late dinner in Milan. The colours stay within espresso, chocolate, stone and black, which is why so many pieces could swap frames without anyone noticing. I've also spent longer than I'd like to admit deciding whether espresso and chocolate count as different browns. They do.
01
01. Run club, Victoria Park, 06:12
At 06:12 the park is still grey, the paths are damp and the only people about are runners and dog walkers. It's the hour for kit that does its job and gets out of the way.
The big decision is the jacket. District Vision's ultralight wind jacket comes in espresso rather than black, and that one change makes the off-white of Satisfy's MothTech singlet look warm rather than stark. The jacket packs into its own pocket once you've warmed up, and the singlet's small holes are there to let the heat out.
Below the waist it stays simple: black split shorts from SOAR, founded in Hackney in 2015 by designer and runner Tim Soar, and Satisfy's black tube socks pulled up. That leaves room for the olive of Satisfy's TheROCKER in Covert Green. Olive with espresso is an underrated pairing. District Vision's Junya Racer in slate finishes it.
02
02. Weights, Hackney Wick, 18:40
Represent's 247 Alpha Hoodie is the piece that lets this outfit leave the gym. Represent started in Manchester in 2011 as the Heaton brothers' college project, and the 247 line carries that streetwear eye into training. The hoodie is cut big, and it keeps you warm between sets without cooking you once you start working.
Hackney Wick after work is canal towpaths and old warehouses with the light going orange, and all-black kit looks dull in that light unless the textures vary. Here they do: the knitted face of the hoodie, District Vision's boxy compression tee (espresso, with black compression sleeves built in) and their matte Performance Lab trackpants, which zip at the ankle so they come off over your trainers.
TYR is better known for swimwear, but its DropZero 2 Powerstrap is a flat, strapped training shoe that keeps your feet planted under a bar, worn with District Vision's Cordura socks in a blue-black called Obsidian. Then there's Represent's waffle beanie in rust. It's the only warm colour in the frame, and without it the outfit would disappear into the evening.
03
03. Trail run, Epping Forest, 07:50
The trail look is the most technical of the week and, oddly, the easiest to wear anywhere else, because the colours are so forgiving: black, greyish taupe, warm stone and sand. That's more or less Epping Forest at 07:50 too, all leaf litter, mud and low light through the trees.
Satisfy's black Pertex windbreaker goes over their TechSilk half-zip, with Rippy trail shorts in a shade called Subterranean. The best thing in the frame is their 5L hydration vest in Falcon. It's pigment dyed, so it fades differently on everyone and should improve with a few muddy months.
The shoes are norda's 001A in a sandy colour called Loam, worn with a grey norda performance sock. Willa and Nick Martire founded norda in Montreal in 2020 and tested the first prototypes in Quebec, in temperatures from -35°C to +35°C. District Vision's Yukinori Range Finder comes in tortoiseshell rather than black, which stops the whole thing looking like race-day kit.
04
04. Breakfast, Shoreditch, 10:15
Mid-morning in Shoreditch, showered, coffee on and nowhere to be until lunch, is when a good fleece set earns its keep.
District Vision's reverse brushed fleece and fleece track pants in melange brown are soft and heathered. A brown matching set can tip into pyjamas, and two details stop it here: a slightly boxy jacket with a shiny silver zip, and trousers that fall straight instead of gathering at the ankle. Underneath, the Aloe tee in a pale grey-green called Oyster lifts all that brown.
On the feet are norda's 008 recovery slides in a warm tan called Oud, with cream Retro Socks. Cream socks with tan slides sounds wrong and looks right. If that's a step too far, the TheROCKER from Victoria Park would do the same job. District Vision's cotton cap in espresso ties it back to the run. The fleece jacket on its own would go over almost anything else this week.
05
05. Brunch, Columbia Road, 12:30
Columbia Road on a Sunday means buckets of flowers, a crowd moving at strolling pace and a queue for coffee. The trainers go, and Studio Nicholson takes over.
Nick Wakeman launched the label in 2010, added menswear in 2017, and once said that in 200 years, on the moon, we'll still be wearing trench coats. The Revere trench in Parcel, a sandy beige, makes her case. It's cut oversized, with dropped shoulders so it hangs rather than stands to attention, and the lamb-leather collar is the detail that would make me choose it over any other beige trench.
Underneath are the Falmouth knit polo in charcoal wool and cashmere and the Poole trousers in chocolate twill, with a single pleat and an easy leg, then black suede Elkann loafers. Chocolate with black is a less obvious pairing than brown with brown, and I think it's the better one, because the black keeps the browns sharp.
District Vision's Takeyoshi sunglasses in brown tortoise are the one sports piece left. Their temples are shaped to fit under a helmet, which brunch doesn't strictly require.
06
06. Dinner, Milan, 21:40
In Milan, 21:40 is about when dinner gets going. It's mostly Lemaire, the Paris house run by Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran. Christophe was artistic director at Lacoste and Hermès before focusing on his own label.
The convertible-collar shirt is a taupe and blue striped cupro with a soft shine, worn open at the collar. The black dry silk trousers are slightly crinkled, so they read relaxed rather than formal, and Lemaire's black loafers are polished calf. The small cartridge bag, made with the Italian leather goods maker Il Bussetto, is moulded and hand-finished, so no two are quite alike.
Over the top goes Studio Nicholson's Kendal leather jacket, a short, slightly boxy blouson in a shade they call Black Grape. A leather bomber over a shiny shirt is the best idea in the whole week: something tough over something soft, and it would work just as well on an ordinary Thursday.
Every piece is in the Monday to Milan Edit and in the list below.
07
Shop the Edit
06:12, Victoria Park
18:40, Hackney Wick
- District Vision Boxy Compression Training Tee in Espresso/Black, £121.39
- Represent 247 Alpha Hoodie in Jet Black, £200
- District Vision Performance Lab Trackpants in Black, £208.64
- TYR DropZero 2 Powerstrap Barefoot Trainers in Black, £96
- District Vision Cordura Socks in Obsidian, £34.14
- Represent 247 Waffle Beanie in Rust, £40
07:50, Epping Forest
- Satisfy TechSilk Drift Trail Half-Zip T-Shirt in Black, £220
- Satisfy Pertex Diamond Fuse Windbreaker in Black, £270
- Satisfy Rippy Cordura 5" Trail Shorts in Subterranean, £220
- Satisfy TechSilk Drift Cordura 5L Hydration Vest in Falcon, £250
- norda 001A in Loam, £260
- norda Performance Sock in Cinder, £20
- District Vision Yukinori Range Finder, Tortoise/D+ G15, £299.69
10:15, Shoreditch
12:30, Columbia Road
21:40, Milano
Shop every piece in the Monday to Milan Edit →
