Pick-a-Outfit: BR Part II.
Posted on September 10, 2009 in Casual, Denim, Fit Lesson, Outfit Ideas, Pants, Pick-a-Outfit, Shirts, Shoes.*Note: I’m not sure if this got published, because of the aforementioned deleting of the posts (dumb). If so, sorry for the reposting.
Last time I chose an outfit for a casual bar/lounge, where the motivation was to look effortlessly cool. Now we’ll ratchet up the trendiness factor just a tad. The outfit below was chosen for going out to a place that’s nicer than a beer house, but not incredibly dressy. Think a nicer lounge or a casual-trendy restaurant. The idea for a place like this is to look put together and modern, but again not like you’re expending too much energy in the process. You want to show your style and taste, but not flaunt it by making too much of a point.
A quick recap of the rules:
– Gotta be something that just about any guy in the US can get in any mall
– All the items should be from one store
– A budget of $250 for all items.
This week we’re still focusing on Banana Republic. Next series we’ll move on to a different shop.
Pants
I wanted to go with denim again, but this time I opted for a darker, more modern wash. There are two jeans that would work. The first is a slim straight leg jean in a dark wash. This is a clean modern jean, that will work very well with the shirt selected below. The fit and wash show that you’re on top of the most recent style trends.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
However, it may not work for those with larger legs, so I’ve chosen a second pair. The picture for this pair of jeans doesn’t show it to fit as well as the first, but I think if you got a shorter inseam it will do away with the bunching of the fabric around the shoe. It’s still a dark wash, which is good, and the straight leg fit will still create clean lines without sacrificing comfort for the boys.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
Shirt
The idea is to wear a cool and modern shirt, but not one that looks like a work shirt. The shirt I’ve chosen is a dressier shirt than from yesterday, but has a cool pattern. I like plaid, because it’s visually distinct, and will immediately set you aside from those in solids or the horrendous broad striped shirts of the early ’00s.
The slim fit of the shirt will skew the traditional (and boring plaid) into the modern and stylish realm. Tuck in the shirt and roll the sleeves. The combination of the fit and the sleeve roll will completely prevent you from looking like you just stepped out of the office.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
As an aside, if you’re going to unbutton 1-2 buttons (perfectly acceptable), keep in mind two things: your undershirt (or lack of), and the rigidity of the sides of the shirt. I’ve seen some guys with their shirt unbuttoned, but the sides of the shirt surrounding the opening are limp, so the shirt just sort of droops there. This is unattractive. Make sure that area is decently crisp (I don’t mean starched), so when you do go unbuttoned, it doesn’t just flop open like a schlub.
Shoes
My knee-jerk reaction was to go with a wingtip. As you know, I love these shoes. But, for the purpose of diversity I’ve gone with a different shoe.
I wanted one with a more substantial heel and sole, to pair with the weight of the denim. Below is a cap-toed oxford (the horizontal line on the point is what makes it a cap-toe) in a very nice shade of brown. I know most of you use black as your go-to going out shoe, but that’s precisely why brown will shake things up. The rich color of this brown shoe, contrasted with the dark modern jeans, will immediately set you apart.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
Bottom Line
Slim Jeans: 100
Other jeans: 80
Shirt $80
Shoes $140
Total with slim jeans: $320
Total with straight jeans: $300
So, $50 over budget. I’ll have to do better next time.
I used to be big on plaid. Nice to see that it’s cool now; I may have to get back into it.
It’s definitely come back in style, but in a slightly different way. Notice how the patterns are of the smaller category as opposed to large 90’s plaid, similar to buffalo plaid.