"... don't need to be coy roy..."

I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard a Paul Simon song. As a kid I remember the line being, "...don't need to be corduroy...", but that wasn't it. It was, "...don't need to be coy roy..." .That made me realize, like the lyrics to the song, that corduroy is misunderstood. Which started me thinking about fall and all the options we have with corduroy in our wardrobe such as suits, sport coats and pants.
Most people think of corduroy being paired with a flannel shirt and desert boots. I see it as an opportunity to dress up a wool patterned sport coat. It's very country and if you pair it with the right accessories you can look quite dapper. Like a wool check sport coat in olive and burgundy with a pair of slim cut olive cords, muted color tie, brown suede vest and brown suede lace ups. You cab also try an open collared shirt, wool vest with brown chuka boots. You see a lot of this in Ralph Lauren's country collection. I think it's a great English look especially in the early fall when there is a crispness in the air and you can layer with sweaters and scarves.
I would wear a brown corduroy sport coat using the same ideas but throw in a pair of charcoal flannel trousers to dress it up a bit.
There are a couple of different types of corduroy and they need not be daunting if you follow a few simple rules:
Pin Whale: The narrower the whale the dressier the corduroy.
Wide Whale: The wider the whale the more casual the look.
You can still wear the wider whale cords with the same pattered sport coat but I would dress it down with a sweater and no tie or maybe even a bow tie for a hipsters look.

Lastly, I love a corduroy suit and I own a brown pin whale that I had made. I could wear this twice a week in the fall and winter I love it so much. The corduroy is so soft that the nap is almost like velvet. I usually wear this with a pair of brown Cole Haan derby shoes and an ecru, tiny grey and brown windowpain shirt, silk knit or wool tie.

So, like the song I heard so many times as a kid and misunderstood the lyrics, don't misunderstand corduroy.
There are so many options, dressy and casual you are missing the boat if you don't have any, cause you should.