Variety is the spice of life, they say. And nobody wants an unseasoned casserole. Novelty, experimentation and the unfamiliar make things interesting. Even a diet of fillet steak and Lafite Rothschild gets dull without the odd hamburger and Pepsi chucked in for good measure. Similarly, your wardrobe should maintain a fine balancing act between the tried-and-tested and the unexpected. The classics are classic for a reason — they’re the foundation of any wardrobe, and will get you out of any number of tight spots. But that doesn’t mean you can’t supplement them with some alternatives from time to time. Here are a few to bear in mind.

The Classic: Chinos

The history of the now-ubiquitous chino is suitably international. Designed by a 19th-century British lieutenant during a campaign in the Indian sub-continent, the flat-fronted cotton kecks got their name in the Spanish-American war of 1898 from the Hispanic word for China, where their thread was sourced. Today, the smart-casual trouser has been taken up by almost every menswear tribe imaginable, from the preppy yachtsmen of Nantucket to the streetwear addicts of Harajuku.

The Alternative: Cargo Trousers

To many, cargo trousers conjure up unwelcome flashbacks to all the bad parts of the nineties. But the baggy stalwarts of that decade have now given way to a slimmer, altogether more elegant offspring — and well-tailored, understated cargo trousers can add a touch of utilitarian, continental style to any wardrobe. (Stone Island, J Crew, Mr P and Brunello Cucinelli all have their own winning takes on this throwback.)

How To Wear Them

Less is more with cargo trousers. Opt for an unfussy silhouette, and stick to fabrics that are true to their military roots — cargo joggers in fleece, for example, tend to fall well short of the ideal. Opt for a simple, semi-smart shirt up top, perhaps with a light jacket in understated charcoal or navy. Chunkier-soled footwear, like a country brogue or a Derby, can work well here as can shoes with a military subtle lean, like desert boots. (Overly bulky, infantry-style boots with cargo trousers can leave things looking a little Mad Max, however.)

The Classic: Oxford Shirt

The Oxford shirt was one of four prototypes invented by Scottish basket weavers in the 19th century (its siblings, the Cambridge, Yale and Harvard never quite caught on). Its distinctive soft-textured weave combined two yarns of different colours for a lightly marbled look, while its breathable cotton made it a firm favourite in the casual ensembles of Britain’s warmer colonies. (The shirt’s other defining feature, its button-down collar, was added by the polo players of the British Raj to stop their collars flapping about as they played). It rose sharply to prominence in the Ivy League uniform of the sixties, before trickling steadily into just about every modern male wardrobe via the jazz scene, the Mods of London and punk culture.

The Alternative: Grandad Collar Shirt

With its roots in the detachable-collared shirt of the early twentieth century (not to mention its aged nickname), the grandad collar shirt may seem more historical than contemporary. But the garment is utterly modern in that it easily and confidently transcends several dress codes at once — and often adds the vaguest touch of vintage appeal to an outfit.

How To Wear It

With its clean lines and timeless styling, a grandad collar can happily stand up under a crew neck sweatshirt, or sit below an unstructured blazer, or work in linen by the pool, or pair with chinos and smart sneakers for work. But understatement in each of these is key. The workmanlike roots of the garment (one origin story is with the factory workers of 1920s America) mean that it works best with simple, staple items like selvedge denim, refined bomber jackets and flat-fronted chinos.