How to Take Your Outfit From Office to Off-Duty in One Minute

Kenneth Cole & Sharp

It’s playoff season. Which means you’ll likely be spending many hours at muggy bars after work. (Well, unless your team gets swept — though that may just result in more carousing.) And when that time comes, you don’t want to be that guy: the sweaty one, in a rumpled, hastily undone suit, who looks like he just rolled out of his cubicle. Just because happy hour sometimes ends in a sloppy, regrettable mess doesn’t mean you should look like one.

But, hey, we get it! Playoff games start early. (Stupid American time zones!) You don’t always have the time (or superhuman speed) for a Clark Kent-like wardrobe change. So, here’s a hack: Kenneth Cole’s new Techni-Cole line. It features pieces — the pants and shoes are dropping in Canada this spring — that have the look and cut of traditional tailoring, but use athletic fabric technology for optimal mobility, comfort, and breathability. It looks good in a business meeting, but is designed to keep working after you clock out. In a few quick steps, you can parlay these items into a fresh after-five fit.

1. Take your jacket off.

You’ll be at this bar for a while.

2. Loosen up.

Unbutton your collar and roll up those sleeves. Your boss isn’t here. (And if he is, you’re at the wrong bar.) But keep your button-up tucked in — leaving a wrinkled shirt tail hanging out makes you look like the teen rebel at a wedding.

3. Keep your pants on.

The Techni-Cole Flex Pant can go with just about any suit for a classic office look. Its performance stretch fabric feels like wool, but boasts enough flexibility and comfort to withstand the hardships of commutes, long workdays, and many hours of sitting on a bar stool. Plus, it comes with a flex waistband that stretches up to 1.5″, so you need not worry about your seams ripping after going a little wild on the beer and nachos.

4. Keep your shoes on.

Techni-Cole’s footwear range is made with 37.5 technology, which is used in the performance sports world, but is here exclusively infused into handsome, office-friendly kicks. It works like a thermostat, meaning it maintains your ideal core body temperature, 37.5°C, keeping your foot warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot. It also wicks sweat and traps odour molecules, so you won’t get playoff trench foot amid a triple-overtime nail-biter.

Photography: Jenn Goren/A+ Creative