Over the course of his immensely popular Great Continental Railway Journeys series, host Michael Portillo has become renowned for his sense of fashion and wild colour schemes - which is actually a part of the show's appeal. This is a man unafraid to combine a lilac jacket and lime-green shirt whilst accessorising with his trusty Bradshaw’s Guide.
To get further insight into his style secrets, we asked Sarah Willcocks, the editor of Style Melbourne, to cast her discerning eye over Portillo’s dapper approach...
Exhibit A: Effortless co-ordination
Sarah says: “Michael's co-ordination game here is on point, as the kids might say. Not only is he complementing the colours of the train but his choice of reading materials too. That's next level.”
Exhibit B: Fearless and bold
Sarah says: “The tone of the yellow jacket is discordant with the tone of the red pants. A deeper golden or mustard jacket may have worked better but as the saying goes, 'There are no rules in an robot-automated Dutch dock'.
Exhibit C: Model boat chic
Sarah says: “Michael's been paying attention to his colour wheel; purple and yellow are complementary so this outfit works for me. Maybe he's off to a spring garden party after a long day of looking at tiny ships and stern gentlemen?”
Exhibit D: Pin. Stripes.
Sarah says: “I like to call this one, 'Muggle substitute teacher's first day at Hogwart's'. Also, I'd wear the hell out of that preppy blazer.”
Exhibit E: "Why yes, the book does match the belt."
Sarah says: “The outfit is totally workable. And I suspect we may be able to play a drinking game whenever Michael matches his books to his accessories.”
Exhibit F: The more colours the merrier
Sarah says: “Anyone else have a sudden, mysterious craving for gelato?”
Exhibit G: Smart casual
Sarah says: “He's giving off a real 'cool granddad you wish you had' vibe here."
Exhibit H: Always wear peach with pasta
Sarah says: “I’d like to have a boozy lunch with this man. Here's an example where breaking the rules works. The tonal difference between the peachy blazer and the magenta pocket square looks intentional but it’s confined to such a small area that the clash isn't too aggressive. Even the napkin pattern suits the outfit.”
Great Continental Railway Journeys, series 5 airs on Tuesdays at 7:30pm on SBS. Missed the last episode? Watch it right here:
