Gianni Agnelli’s Style: The Habits Behind the Look and How to Borrow Them

Agnelli buckled his watch over his shirt cuff, and the habit is now so closely tied to him that many people will think of him when they see it.

Writers have offered several explanations, from close-cut shirt cuffs to impatience, but none is confirmed.

If you like the look, try it with a casual shirt and a simple watch on a leather or fabric strap, where it reads as relaxed rather than showy.

If you prefer something quieter, wear your watch under a barrel cuff that is loose enough to slide over it.

Any well-made watch with a clean dial works; the brand matters less than how it sits with the rest of the outfit.

Agnelli often wore his tie slightly askew, with the narrow back blade left free of the keeper loop on the back of the tie.

In some photographs the back blade shows beside or below the front blade.

To borrow the idea, tie your tie so the front blade ends near your waistband and let the back blade sit loose rather than tucked away.

Keep the rest of the outfit neat, so the loose tie looks chosen rather than forgotten.

Agnelli’s tie knot often sat a little off-centre, and the dimple under the knot was soft rather than sharply pressed.

A tie in a soft silk, wool or knitted fabric gives this look more easily than a stiff, heavily lined tie.

Many tie makers sell suitable ties, including Emma Willis, New & Lingwood and Drake’s; none is required.

Agnelli often left the buttons of his button-down collar undone, even with a tie, so the collar points sat freely.

With a soft flannel or tweed jacket the effect looks relaxed rather than untidy.

To try it, choose an Oxford cloth button-down with a collar that rolls well, and wear it with a soft jacket or a classic blazer.

Adopt one or two of these habits rather than all of them at once, so the outfit still looks like yours.

Agnelli was relaxed about buttons: he often left double-breasted jackets open, or fastened only the lower button.

If your jacket has working cuff buttons, fastening them is the usual choice; leaving one open is a matter of taste rather than a sign of quality.

A gentler way to get a similar ease is to leave an unbuttoned barrel shirt cuff showing under a casual jacket.

Agnelli wore moccasins and loafers with his suits, and in some photographs he wore hiking boots with tailoring.

Loafers with a grey flannel suit are an easy way to make a suit feel less formal.

Choose a shoe that suits the occasion: a sleek loafer or a suede chukka boot works with a flannel suit in a relaxed office, while a formal event usually calls for lace-ups.

Suede chukka boots such as Cheaney’s or Edward Green’s are examples of the style, not requirements.

Agnelli was photographed in a white popover shirt, which has a short buttoned placket and is pulled on over the head.

He also wore jeans with Western-style denim shirts and with pale shirts in his leisure time.

A popover shirt in white or pale blue cotton or linen is a practical summer shirt that looks neat with jeans or loafers.

Grey flannel suits appear again and again in photographs of Agnelli, and grey flannel remains one of the most useful suit cloths for cooler months.

For evenings he was photographed in a blue dinner jacket with black satin lapels, worn open.

Midnight blue has long been accepted for black tie alongside black.

If you choose a coloured dinner jacket, keep the shirt, bow tie and shoes classic so the jacket is the only unusual detail.

Focus on fit, a few good fabrics and one or two personal touches, and use Agnelli as inspiration rather than a costume.