Since I have been ostracized for wearing short-sleeved button down shirts, I realize that I can only turn to the AF community for appropriate fashion answers.
I realize that I need to wear a coat from time to time, in order to impress people. (Not wearing a tie–that’s going a little too far.) Is there anything inherently wrong with just getting a suit and wearing the coat? (This way you kill two birds with one stone. You have a suit, and you have a coat when you’re not wearing the suit.) Or is this just gay beyond belief?
The real appeal to buying a full-blown suit is the fact that you also have the option of wearing the suit. (You know, that once a year that I actually wear a suit. Usually to the Valentine’s Day daddy-daughter dance.)
Well it is true that the jacket part of the suit tends to last longer than the pants (some people even buy 2 pants and 1 jacket). So, it does sort of make sense to wear the jacket without the pants once in a while. Not sure what is the gay part - people tend to associate various colors with sexual preference, but I don’t know if you can really tell from looking at clothes.
“Gay” here is used as it was on the playground. Not necessarily denoting sexual preference, but rather that something is really stupid, awkward, or lame. (EG - putting oranges in your Bud Light.)
Perhaps “lame” would have been a better term. Now that I think about it, I don’t think we’re supposed to use the term “gay” pejoritavely anymore, like we did in elementary school, or junior high, or high school, or college, or in the military, or…pretty much the way we used it up until four years ago.
Which also makes me think–I should probably stop using the phrase “gay as two men playing naked leapfrog”.
Suit jackets are usually cut a little differently than a sports coat and use lighter fabrics. If you get a solid blue suit though, most people probably won’t notice the difference between the jacket and a sports coat.
I think the most noticeable difference is that suit jackets tend to be made from the soft fabric that comprises the whole suit. Sports coats tend to be made of more robust material. However, the noticeable difference can be minimized with selection of fabric.
How often do you really need to wear a suit? I’m guessing not that often. A sport coat, on the other hand, can be worn all the time - church picnic, business casual dining, anytime at the office, etc.
You need a good navy blazer. That’s your first purchase. Although still completely acceptable, I’d avoid the ones with the gold buttons. If you can fit into the Ludlow from J Crew, that’s your best bang for the buck. No matter where you ultimately find one, the navy blazer is your first buy due to its versatility and appropriateness in nearly every situation. Looks good with jeans too.
Then, if you decide you really need a suit, get a charcoal suit. Don’t get black. Navy should be your second suit. After you have those two, you can get a little more creative if you feel the need to express yourself.
Your suit jacket will wear out differently then your suit pants. The jacket will begin to wear and fade a bit while the pants remain the same and you will notice the difference when you go outside and natural light hits your unmatched suit.
Buy a navy sport coat or blazer. You can match navy with almost any pair of pants and shoes. You can look dressed up without looking like Richard Nixon at a ball game.
@Sweep - I have only one suit, and I wear it very infrequently (never, if I can help it). It’s black.
And that’s kinda the genesis of this whole thing. I had to semi-dress up the other day, so I grabbed it. I was wearing khakis and a white button-down (long-sleeved, of course). I could immediately tell that I’d rather have navy than black, but I don’t have a navy coat.
That’s why I ask–just get the coat, or get the whole suit? If there’s a difference between the suit coat and the sport coat, then I’ll just get the coat. If they’re the same, then why not get both.
All these rules…I just don’t understand…
For all my hatred and discontent toward the military, I must admit that fashion sense was much, much easier.
black is usually reserved for formal wear/sombre events now. I have a black suit and black tie i took out of the rotation and it’s dedicated to funerals. As a civilian, just throw whatever you learned about dressing in the marines out the window.
For you, I’d just get a nice sportscoat - its near impossible to make a suit jacket work with pants other than the original pants. Just don’t do it. People can also tell pretty easily when your clothes are mismatched. Another pro tip is to never take fashion tips from celebrities. They dress to stand out and their dressing etiquette is all over the place.
A good quality, Navy sportscoat is probably the best choice as others have said. Also, get some nice brown shoes and a belt to match, and see if the missus reacts.
