What goes on holiday, stays on holiday. Or so they say.

   I don't believe that as an adult I've ever warn a baseball cap outside of minimum wage job requirement or as part of fancy dress outfits (specifically Fred Durst) - yet here is photographic proof that on my recent trip to the land of the brave and the free that I betrayed these principles. A wise friend on my trip told me, rather sagely, that "California will make you casual". Truer words, I'm not sure have ever been spoken.

   Yet, even though I took to wearing sport apparel, something I've previously decried as being the equivalent of wearing fancy dress (and indeed I felt I was playing dress-up as a hipster tourist), it seemed that you could take the starch English guy out of England but you can't take his starchy English-ness away - I couldn't quite get into the spirit of things and go full on casual.

   If it were up to me, I'd wear a button up shirt seven days a week (I often do) but I realised that I couldn't quite justify wearing crisp, plain white shirts in one of the most colourful cities in the world (I accidentally timed my tip to San Francisco with Pride... on the week Prop 8 got repealed... it was a colourful, party place to say the least!)

   My compromise? Flower print!

   The Jeff Banks shirt I'm sporting on these photographs comes from Debenhams (and retails fr a very reasonable £40). To me, it ticked all the boxes I was looking to fill. Flower print, particularly in this hyacinth form, is at its best when kept subtle like this shirt. The print means that I could get away with wearing it strolling the high street or even if I decided to do something more upscale such as pop into Francis Ford Coppola's restaurant Cafe Zoetrope (I did, and I did. Amazing wine served by the friendliest of staff who all took great pride not just in the drinks they served but also in their appearance - something lacking in many eateries these days!)

   Similarly, Flower print is always a wonderful choice for the summer - it's masculine but seasonal and compliments just about any outfit. It's smart without strangling an outfit with it's sobriety. It's fun without being incredibly wacky. Ultimately it's something I'd have equal comfort in wearing to the office and wearing in the baking San Francisco heat too.


* This shirt was kindly provided to me by Debenhams