The way people who tell you what's in fashion carry on often resembles the behaviour of the middle-aged Jamaican woman who, in the mid-90s, used to march up and down the pavement near my flat shouting, "I want Hitler back!" You think: I hear what you are saying, but even if you're crackers, I'm baffled as to how you reached the conclusion that this was a good idea.
But not this time: you can understand why they're punting the brightly coloured trouser at gentlemen this autumn. The season's menswear palette is a bit dowdy (navy blue, black, grey) and this adds a shot of colour. Similarly, menswear has taken a utilitarian turn recently: denim, workwear, the notion that we should dress like lumberjacks (definite hint of "I want Hitler back" about that). Coloured trousers add a hint of dandyism.
The "but" you may have guessed is coming centres on the incontrovertible fact that only two subsections of society can carry off the loud trouser: the east London hipster, who has been rocking the retina-searing tight jeans for some time; and this column's old Chelsea-based friend Olly, the Bloody Good Bloke. Like the deck shoe and the rugby shirt with its collar popped, the loud trouser has long been a staple of the BGB wardrobe. Perhaps this is the moment they're reclaimed from the poshos' clutches, but the minute I put on a pair, I felt the BGB's essence upon me: I felt impelled to ring someone called Al and bray about "totty". As Olly would say: shockage.
• Alexis wears trousers, £85, by Ede & Ravenscroft, www.edeandravenscroft.co.uk. Jumper, £100, by St James at Urban Outfitters. Boot's, £42, by Topman.
Photograph: David Newby for the Guardian. Styling: Aradia Crockett. Grooming: Nikki Palmer at Mandy Coakley.
