Suit without a tie...

[avedwards]

Back on to the prime topic of suits without ties, I will make a horrifying confession and say that I have worn a dinner suit without any form of neckwear on several occasions. The shirt I wore was a dark red and heavily textured. I wore this particular outfit to go out to casual dinners with friends a few times (I'd never do it to anything actually black tie).

I'm not averse to the look you were trying to convey but agree with you that it should be done with a lounge suit rather than a dinner jacket. In the last year I've grown quite fond of patterned shirts, which I find don't go well with ties but can be made to work with a dark suit for a dressed up casual look.

Or to put my views on this whole topic another way: I really like wearing suits and tailored jackets. It would be a shame to only be able to wear them on occasions when I want to wear a tie. As fond as I am of ties, I don't feel that a suit has to be reliant on one to look good.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Ugh. I don't care who you are. It makes me wince. The world is coming to an end.

 

[avedwards]

That's another poor example of suits without ties. All of them look like they just took off their ties, which is probably the case.

 

[Patrick Hall]

That's another poor example of suits without ties. All of them look like they just took off their ties, which is probably the case.

And another poor example of coats with egregious armholes as well.

 

[Hal]

In the last year I've grown quite fond of patterned shirts, which I find don't go well with ties but can be made to work with a dark suit for a dressed up casual look...I really like wearing suits and tailored jackets. It would be a shame to only be able to wear them on occasions when I want to wear a tie. As fond as I am of ties, I don't feel that a suit has to be reliant on one to look good.

I'm sorry, but I stick to my view that a suit IS reliant on a tie in order to look good. With a patterned shirt, wear a plain-coloured tie.

 

[GHT]

I am sorry, but I strongly dislike this look - there is a massive incongruity between the casualness of the open-necked shirt and the formality of the suit. Mixed modes, mixed messages. But I also dislike the open-necked shirt with sports jacket or blazer - the aesthetic effect of the combination is the same as that of suit without tie (I know that this goes against the opinion of many today). If I wear a jacket I wear a tie, the only exception being that I like a roll-necked pullover under a tweed jacket (or even with a tweed suit) in autumn and winter.
I suspect that many will come down on me like a ton of bricks when I say that to me a tie without a jacket is perfectly fine. It's the tieless but jacketed look that I find distasteful.

Rest assured, I certainly wouldn't come down on you, or anyone else for expressing an opinion, differing views make this forum the enjoyable place that it is. Nobody ever chastised me when I once owned up to disliking denim, there's not a pair of jeans or any other popular denim garment in my wardrobe.

So, you say that a jacket must be accompanied by a tie. I both agree and disagree, let me qualify that. If the shirt is a formal buttoned to the top style, then a tie would look better because wearing the shirt open neck creates an appearance of, couldn't care, rather than casual, and frankly, that is the attitude of most guys who think fussing over their appearance is not what men do. If, however, the shirt is designed with an open neck and the open part has a lapel appearance, then to me, that looks as good as a neck tie. It helps if the shirt is clearly a floral or other patterned casual type. Here's my point, and I'm setting myself up here. Same blazer, same hat, differing shirts, one with a tie, one without. By the way, what do you think of the 1920's Oxford Baggy pants that my wife made for me?

 

[scottyrocks]

I'd undo another button.^

 

[Hal]

...If the shirt is a formal buttoned to the top style, then a tie would look better because wearing the shirt open neck creates an appearance of, couldn't care, rather than casual, and frankly, that is the attitude of most guys who think fussing over their appearance is not what men do...

I think most of us who have contributed to this thread agree with you - I certainly do.

If, however, the shirt is designed with an open neck and the open part has a lapel appearance, then to me, that looks as good as a neck tie. It helps if the shirt is clearly a floral or other patterned casual type.

Yes, but why, in that case, wear any jacket? The sort of shirt you describe is a warm-weather item.

 

[GHT]

Yes, but why, in that case, wear any jacket? The sort of shirt you describe is a warm-weather item.

Because I have standards.

 

[Zoukatron]

I think I see both sides to this point - I don't own any shirts specifically cut to be worn open collared, but if I did, and it wasn't too warm, I would certainly want to wear them with a jacket... Although I would still want to wear a shirt with a tie more.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Yeah you don't need a tie. Or pants.

 

[GHT]

Yeah you don't need a tie. Or pants.

Nice shoes, but do you know, if you wear a shirt come shorts onesie, a pocket hanky with it is so yesterday?

 

[Hal]

Because I have standards.

I am sorry, but I am quite unable to see how adding a jacket to a tieless outfit raises the standard of dress. Is my perception defective?

 

[scottyrocks]

Who said anything about 'raises?' Standards are one's own personal guidelines, if you will. Why are some so quick to jump on others' opinions?

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Yeah you don't need a tie. Or pants.

Greetings All:
Is there anything right with this picture or is it just me? Ok...the shoes match the bag...but??
Be well. Bowen

 

[scottyrocks]

Greetings All:
Is there anything right with this picture or is it just me? Ok...the shoes match the bag...but??
Be well. Bowen

Well, the shirt matches the shorts.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Maybe has a different outfit in the bag in case he has to go somewhere someone might see him.

What if he put on a pair of white pants and a striped tie? Would it be appropriate resort wear? Loud, but appropriate for a tropical vacation?

 

[Stanley Doble]

What about this dude? At least he is wearing a tie with his suit jacket.

 

[Hal]

Who said anything about 'raises?' Standards are one's own personal guidelines, if you will...

In normal parlance the word "standards" is usually taken to mean levels of excellence, which was what I thought GHT meant.
But if standards are indeed personal guidelines, my comment was certainly not justified.

 

[scottyrocks]

In normal parlance the word "standards" is usually taken to mean levels of excellence, which was what I thought GHT meant.
But if standards are indeed personal guidelines, my comment was certainly not justified.

If I was to say 'I have standards,' I would be talking about my own personal version of them. That's how I took GHT's statement. I could be wrong, though.

My nit with part of this discussion, however, is the way some opinions are expressed. It is one thing to say you don't favor something, but to put a label on it - 'horrifying' comes to mind - is just rude.