Waistcoat Question

[HeyMoe]

Hey folks-

I recently added a self backed tweed waistcoat to my wardrobe primarily as an extra layer for work. I typically wear a shirt and tie to work but as I am in Vermont and my office can get a but chilly, I figured the waistcoat would help and indeed it has.

So while I save up for a few more in various colors, I have a question: how often can one get away with wearing the same waistcoat? The color I have mixes well with my normal and usual wardrobe and I would not wear it should it not compliment my outfit for the day. So is wearing it daily too much? A few times a week? Once a week? Never?

 

[Bfd70]

I'd say needs to be treated same as a shirt. If your willing to wear the same shirt or same looking shirt everyday (a move i fully support) then you can with a waist coat. Otherwise i personally think of it less as outerwear and more as an accesory and shouldn't be worn 2 days in a row.

 

[tropicalbob]

Hey folks-

I recently added a self backed tweed waistcoat to my wardrobe primarily as an extra layer for work. I typically wear a shirt and tie to work but as I am in Vermont and my office can get a but chilly, I figured the waistcoat would help and indeed it has.

So while I save up for a few more in various colors, I have a question: how often can one get away with wearing the same waistcoat? The color I have mixes well with my normal and usual wardrobe and I would not wear it should it not compliment my outfit for the day. So is wearing it daily too much? A few times a week? Once a week? Never?

Really good question. I'm a waistcoat fanatic and wear them all year, but I got a very nice one recently (Orvis olive green moleskin with a tweed back and pocket trimmings) and I find myself in the same predicament as you. I'm justifying to myself wearing it way too often by reminding myself that the season for it will be over in a month or so. I think the only solution is to just get more vests. I'm up to about twenty now.

 

[scottyrocks]

If I was wearing them every day, and I had a five day work week, I'd want five of them.

I have four or five now but I don't wear them to work much at all.

 

[HeyMoe]

Ok Gents thanks for the advise. I have decided to pull the internet trigger on another tweed waistcoat but would like to hear your thoughts on color. Currently I have a herringbone charcoal tweed. I wear a lot of blues (medium to dark trousers and medium to light shirts) and greys (medium to light trousers) and on occasion, Browns. I was thinking a navy or light grey but I am wondering if I would be better off with a tan color as it would have more versatility across the colors I wear? Thoughts?

 

[scottyrocks]

I don't like mixing browns and grays. Blues and grays go great together, imho. But that doesn't mean that browns and grays can't be done.

I'd have a brown and/or a tan waistcoat in my collection, but mostly various shades of gray (tweed/herringbone) if my wardrobe resembled yours.

My absolute favorite is herringbone. If I could only have two WCs, they'd be a brown and a gray in HB.

 

[avedwards]

If you're wearing a waistcoat daily or several times a week then I think you should have more than one, in the same way that you wouldn't want to wear the same tie or jacket every day.

You already have a charcoal waistcoat, which is an excellent and very versatile choice. Light grey would also be a good choice, as would browns or tans. A personal favourite of mine is burgundy, which is surprisingly versatile. Personally I don't find navy waistcoats work that well (when worn as odd waistcoats) but they may work for you.

Another way to get more variety is with patterns. Herringbone is great, as are checks (especially microchecks). Stripes less so as they risk looking like orphaned suit pieces.

If you are wearing an odd waistcoat make sure there is enough contrast with your jacket and trousers.

(BTW, none of these are "rules", they are just my view on what looks coordinated and tasteful, having regularly worn odd waistcoats with suits for several yeats.)

 

[tropicalbob]

You might also consider sleeveless cardigans. I wouldn't match a tweed waistcoat with a tweed jacket (unless as part of a suit), but a cardigan looks great with any jacket or blazer. I recently picked up a very nice dark blue Donegal tweed jacket and paired it the other day with a light blue cardigan vest and striped tie. Fair Isle sweater vests look very nice with blazers as well.

 

[Canadian]

I would treat it as like a suit or a sweater. You wouldn't wear it every day, but if it's something that keeps you warm, I'd wear it.

A waistcoat in tweed is kind of informal. Even more informal as mentioned by Tropicalbob, is a cardigan or sleeveless cardigan. But I love the look. I wear Dickies pants, a dress shirt, tie and jacket to work, virtually every day, but I will put on my tweed waistcoat or my cardigans if it's chilly. I'm in a part of the world where I might wake up, look out the window and see six inches of snow on my car. So it's less of a fashion statement and more of a practical issue.

Is it proper to wear it every day? I wouldn't, I'd rotate in a group of sweater vests, cardigans and maybe, if your office is cold, long underwear. However, as there is no demand to clean it every time you wear it, I'd treat it like any item which you would wear once in a while. If it's taken care of, it will be okay once a week.

 

[Twelvefret]

Do a search on wool hunting vest on EBay. I have an L.L. Bean wool vest in Adirondack plaid that I would not mind to wear everyday like a coat or sweater.

 

[Zoukatron]

I will simply say that, in terms of how often you could get away with wearing a waistcoat, treat it the same as a suit jacket.

 

[Cocker]

I was looking for a waiscoat for sometimes, and someone at VLJ posted about this one:

Fell in love with the look, a very vintage workwear vibe coupled with WW2 deck jacket. Thanks to him, I should receive mine the next week or so!

 

[Edward]

Any link to that? Looks interesting. I agree -echoes of the USAAF C3 design, via later USN deck jackets. Great for workwear type uses, especially when too warm for a jacket.

 

[Cocker]

Well, it's available on TaoBao (the chinese eBay):

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.1-c.w4004-17316499430.44.701b22bbEK2Q8l&id=562582144504

I was lucky that my friend is working with people in China and was able to order directly from them. I sincerely don't know how to order on TaoBao otherwise!