Alexis Petridis: It's all gone a bit old school

Never let it be said I'm afraid to admit when I'm wrong. A while back, I cracked wise at the expense of a fashion spread based on that awful photo of various future Tory MPs while members of the Bullingdon Club – the one in which George Osborne looks like a Soviet cartoonist's idea of the embodiment of capitalist evil – loudly guffawing at the notion that anyone in their right minds would want to look like a ghastly, bum-faced public schoolboy. Then the latest menswear magazines arrived, all declaring as one that the big look for autumn/winter 2010 would be – well, they didn't exactly use the term bum-faced public schoolboy, but there's a lot of monogrammed blazers, old school ties, scarves and suggestions to carry a satchel. You can argue that this is a British equivalent of the American preppy look, but it goes without saying that, once you're past a certain age, it should be approached with a degree of restraint. You don't want to end up looking like that poor bugger from AC/DC , who at some point in his early 20s thought that dressing like a schoolboy would be a neat on-stage gimmick, and now, at 55, finds himself still doing the same thing night after night: obviously, he can apply 100m album sales as balm to his shredded dignity, but still. Should that not persuade you to exercise caution where this look is concerned, I have three words to say that I suspect have never before featured in a menswear column: Wee Jimmy Krankie. • Alexis wears blazer, £60, and trousers, £30, both by Topman . Shirt and tie, both from a selection by Brooks Brothers , brooksbrothers.com Shoes, £80 by Rocha.John Rocha, from Debenhams , debenhams.com Photograph: David Newby for the Guardian. Grooming: Nikki Palmer at Mandy Coakley.