Pick-a-Outfit: BR Part III.
Posted on September 10, 2009 in Dress, Fit Lesson, Outfit Ideas, Pants, Pick-a-Outfit, Shirts, Shoes.The previous parts of this series tackled a casual night out, followed by a slightly dressier occasion. Today will be selecting an outfit for a trendy club/lounge or a nice restaurant.
Here is your chance to show a little bit of your style. Previously, it’s been a bit more subtle, yet the outfits maintained a good sense of quality style. Now, under the right type of occasion, you can (and should) dress it up.
That may sound dramatic, especially after viewing the outfit, but the idea is to break out of your normal mode of dressing down for an occasion, and instead rise to the occasion. The outfit is still subtle, but it’s stylish in the pieces selected and the fit of it all.
To the outfit…
Vest
The order is a bit different this time, as I’m starting with a top. We’re going with a vest, because vests are just flat out cool. They look good on just about any body type. The key, as usual, is to ensure that it fits. This is particularly important with a vest – if it looks boxy and not form-fitting then you’ve completely lost all the effect you would have gained.
Most vests (as is the one below) have a silk backing, which isn’t difficult for a tailor to take in. So, make sure it fits in the shoulders, and then (if need be) take it into a tailor to get the torso cinched in.
This vest is just a medium grey in color with a subtle pattern to the wool.
As with all vests, do not button the last button.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
Pants
I’m going with dress trousers here. No more jeans (though, this entire outfit could go with an exceptionally good looking pair of jeans). This was a tough choice, so I broke it down into two options.
The first choice is a navy blue pinstripe pant. It’s my first choice because of the color coordination with the vest: the deep navy, and the light grey should go very well together. Also, I think the pinstripe will add an extra dash of style to the the outfit. However, I’m aware that some may feel put off by the pinstripe, but it the trousers have only a subtle stripe, which helps take away some of the showiness.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
An alternative would be to go with the pants below. They’re a standard dark charcoal suit trousers. I’d prefer a slightly better fit (i.e. slimmer), but it’ll have to do. I chose dark charcoal again to contrast with the medium/light of the vest. The dark grey of the trousers should match very well with the grey of the vest.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
The contrast is important so it doesn’t look like you came from wearing a 3-piece suit. This is not to say that 3-piece suits are bad, because I love them. The thing is that if you look like you’re wearing a 3-piece, you might as well be wearing one. With this outfit, nobody thinks you just took your suit jacket off and untied your tie. It appears deliberately stylish.
Shirt
To balance the contrasting shades and patterns of the vest and the trousers, I selected a solid dress shirt in a neutral color (though I kept the color in the same general family: blues & greys). The shirt should just be there. Not contributing too much other than a clean backdrop for the rest of the outfit.
Since your vest is form fitting, it’s doubly important that your shirt be as well. If the shirt doesn’t fit as well as your vest you’ll get bunching of the shirt under the vest. Take special notice of the armholes of the vest, because this is the most likely area where you’ll run into trouble.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
Shoes
The shoes must of course match the occasion. So, a dressier shoe was chosen to complement the sleek and modern outfit. A longer nose, and a thin sole (though I wish it were slightly thinner), helps to tie together the entire outfit. It’s cool, clean, and stylish.
Photo credit: Banana Republic.
Bottom Line
Vest: $99
Pants: $150
Shirt: $80
Shoes: $140
Total: $469.
Phew…way off budget. However, you’ll have a fantastic outfit whose individual pieces are highly versatile and interchangeable.