I'm going clothes shopping, what do you suggest?

[Ugarte]

The black blazer is good but not as good as navy -- though it may not seem like much difference, black presents a whole different vibe.

I also note that you can tie a necktie properly. That's always good.

You probably know this already, but one thing to keep in mind with double breasted jackets is that they look horribly sloppy when unbuttoned. DB's are always buttoned. The rigid code with SB's is that they are unbuttoned when you sit. I have tried to follow that code and it always feels awkward buttoning and unbuttoning. I don't think they look bad unbuttoned. Others may have their opinion.

And vests (waistcoats to our associates from the UK) are a very nice option with or without a jacket. I'd love to have a couple myself someday.

As for the coat, Tomasso has offered a couple of really nice suggestions. You might want to pop into the Adventurer's Gear thread. They can dig up some nice stuff. Ultimately, you may want to spring for a nice leather jacket. I like them when the weather is right for a light jacket and they can look really stylish.

Keep up the good work my man.

Mark
.

 

[ScottyBlues]

Coming in late with some advice...

To me, the clothes do not make the man, but they project an initial image of who we are. Pick your clothes to match the image of yourself. For some, that may be formal. For others it may be casual elegance. Some may craft a rugged traveler look.

Everything flows from this starting position. Shoes that work for a formal look will look oddly out of place for a more rugged look. Having said that, one of the most fun aspects of personal style is blurring the lines and finding some intentional mismatches. For example, wearing a pair of blue jeans with a mock turtleneck, blazer, and nice pair of dress shoes shows some creativity and says more about who you are than robotically imitating a specific style of dress.

Rather than telling you what you should wear, let me discuss how this applies to me. My daily dress is business casual. I don't need to wear suits or ties, but I do elect to wear ties on occasion. This is in contrast to my peers who all wear jeans and T-shirts. I'm 46, 6' 1", and weigh 245.

My basic outfit is a pair of casual dress pants, like Dockers or other twill pants. I'm starting to wear more dressy pants in thinner fabrics but without going to full-on dress pants. I like clothes that don't need to be dry cleaned. I wear mostly dress shirts with button-down collars. With that I almost always pair a sweater, typically a cardigan. I often wear a dark T-shirt under my dress shirt and leave the collar unbuttoned an extra button. I have a variety of dressy casual shoes, all leather, no athletic shoes.

A day or so a week I upgrade this look to a better pair of dress pants, a dress shirt, tie, and jacket. With that I wear one of my better pairs of dress shoes. I have some Allen Edmunds that I'm wild about.

This projects a casual elegance image. One that is comfortable but shows more attention to style and appearance than the typical "thow on some jeans and go to work" look that most of my peers use. As an advid hat-wearer, I find that this look works very well with a broad range of hats.

I believe that layering is one of the most important aspects to an interesting style. A shirt with a sweater is far more interesting than a shirt, alone. A shirt with a colored T-shirt underneath looks great. Another look is to wear a mock turtleneck under a dress shirt. Or a mock turtleneck with a jacket.

Lastly, let me suggest that you just look around until you see someone whose look you really like and try to emulate that. You might see people in movies or in magazines who dress the way you want to dress. Analyze their clothes and determine which of those elements will work for you. Look for those opportunities to interject your own style, but starting with a look that you already like is a great place to start.

 

[Trotsky]

If you want vests, Sweater Vests are always an option. Dockers make some nice ones. I wear a sweater vest nearly everyday at work, with tie and collar.

Thrift Stores are Great, Great, Great if you can find a decent one. I just got back from a Goodwill, 10 ties for $5.00, some 40s, some 50s, some 60s, all very nice. I have also found a good number of Brooks Brothers shirts, and a very nice pair of crisp white tab collared shirts that are awesome.

 

[dhermann1]

Ties

I'm lucky in that a standard L shirt has a neck that's just right for me. So I can wear a tie with a casual shirt. If you csn find casual shirts with a collar that's a comfortable circumference, wearing a shortish knit tie with it can look sharp without looking too "dressy", and without the tie being too much in the way. A small tie clip can help also. Knit ties are hard to find nowadays, but they're out there. I also have a couple of vintage wool plaid ties that are very short by modern standards, but can look cool with that sort of style as well. I think of it as the "Mark Trail" look, if you remember that vintage comic strip.

 

[Paisley]

I like the pants and blazer. The jacket--if it suits you and you like it, that's what's important. But I won't say I love it. With the tan pants, it looks a bit like a uniform. The jackets Tomasso posted look great, if those are up your alley. I find that a cotton trench coat is just right for cool days and looks good with casual or dressy (daytime) clothes. It's a classic.

The pants look like they fit better than the jeans. One suggestion: hem them. If you hem them (or take them to a tailor, which should cost about $10 per pair), make sure you wear the shoes you'd normally wear with the pants. You could take one pair to the tailor and hem the other yourself to the same length. In all, I think $30 was a good deal.

 

[Ugarte]

If you csn find casual shirts with a collar that's a comfortable circumference, wearing a shortish knit tie with it can look sharp without looking too "dressy", and without the tie being too much in the way.

Or a bow tie!

(ducking)

Mark
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[Mike in Seattle]

I'm a blue-collar guy, the only opportunities for me to wear a suit are at weddings and funerals.

Every day is an opportunity to wear a suit or nice slacks and sport coat, or even just a dressier shirt and tie. I'm not saying you have to, that it's a daily requirement, but that you probably could if you chose to. It's probably that you're not used to doing it and feel self-conscious doing so - and that's completely understandable. It's a change of style and mind-set, and takes a little time to get used to.

I've never heard of anywhere banishing someone for being dressed too well. But for dressing below a certain level of attire, yes ("No shirt? No shoes? No service!"). The bar keeps getting lowered - it's time to start raising it some in my humble opinion.

Seattle story - we hadn't been to Sunday brunch at Palisades in years & years & years. We had guests from out of town who've been to the Needle and Ivar's and Salty's before, so we decided to take them to Palisades. We called to check if the dress code had changed over the years. It used to be at least a sport coat but no tie was tolerated for brunch, suit & tie for dinner. They'd loosened it do "dressy business casual."

We're all nicely dressed. There's a big sign when you come in that brunch requires dressy business casual attire. We're seated and I start to look around the room. Half the room was appropriate. Another quarter was OK, but the rest... I was rather surprised to see that, to others in the room, "dressy business casual" included torn t-shirts and tank tops, ratty shorts and work boots, flip-flops, and all I could think is, well, another bastion of civility has fallen. For Denny's, IHOP, Ivar's, Salty's - OK...but for Palisades... :eusa_doh:

But as others have posted - at least start thinking about a classic blue blazer and keep an eye out for a good deal on one. It's the foundation of any man's wardrobe. It can be worn almost anytime, anywhere and can be used with different ties (or not), shoes, shirts & slacks for a variety of looks from casual to dressy. The black blazer from a uniform paired with casual slacks is always going to look a little...off. But it'll certainly do in a pinch, and you'll certainly look a lot better attired than many who show up for places & events woefully underdressed.

And we're not trying to slam you, or jump all over your ideas - you asked for help & advice and that's what we're trying to give you.

 

[Paisley]

What's nice about wearing a blazer to go out is if you find you're a little overdressed, you can take it off. But if you go out without one and find you're underdressed, you're stuck.

However, since you don't have many occasions to wear one, and you're losing weight, I wouldn't rush out to buy one now. Just look at them, compare fabrics, try some on. When you reach your target weight, you'll be ready to get a blazer that looks and feels great.

 

[dhermann1]

Or a bow tie!
(ducking)
Mark
.

The one risk you run with the bow tie is somebody asking you to check their oil and clean the windshield . . . (ducking and running FAST . . .)
Actually, I recently wore my one vintage bowtie to work with my new Fair Isle sleeveless pullover. It was instantly dubbed the Jimmy Olson look. lol