What are you going to wear? Sometimes there’s an easy answer. Sometimes not. Sometimes it’s good to look at a few suggestions then add your own tweaks and ideas. That’s what these are for. Seems like there’s a get-together of some sort every other night this time of year. This outfit can work for many an office party as well, but why not look extra nice when headed over to a house party? Just make sure the hosts themselves won’t be sporting hooded sweatshirts. The below example is certainly dressed up without being stuck up. Top Photo: Elliot P.
The Suit: J. Crew Factory Thompson Wool Blend Jacket & Pant – $156.80 w/ 12DAYS. Yep, a suit. Even if you’re headed to a house party. BUT, we all could use more excuses to wear a suit, and this one is pretty casual thanks to the lighter grey flecks in the fabric. It’s a wintery look without the weight & bulk of a true flannel. Mostly wool with a little poly. Original review over here. Code is good for an extra 20% off + free shipping no min. Heck of a suit for $150.
The Pocket Square: TheTieBar Light Grey Flannel – $8.00. Something to add a little contrast at the chest pocket, without going too stiff with an all white pocket square.
The Shirt: Calibrate Trim Fit Red Gingham – $59.50. Terrific collar, so it’s perfect for going tieless. A bolder yet not enormous gingham injects some seasonal color into the outfit. Nice quality and a decently trim fit from the Nordstrom house brand. Ships and returns free.
The Watch: Tissot T-Classic Powermatic 80 – $424.84
The Gloves: Banana Republic Goatskin Drivers – $53.70 w/ BRTREAT. As long as your walk from the car (or train, or subway) isn’t too excruciatingly long, consider leaving the coat at home or in the car. We’ve all been to a packed house party. Lots of fun, but one less coat to throw on a spare bed would help out the situation. Wear gloves and wrap up in the scarf instead. It’ll be a lot easier to grab on the way out the door. Code is good for 40% off through today, 12/10/13, and these gloves got lots of love in the comments over here.
The Scarf: Lands’ End Alpaca Scarf – $49.99 (ships free w/ SLEIGH & 1500). Softer and smoother than lambswool without as much of the price increase compared to cashmere. Terrific windowpane pattern. 10″ wide. $6 more gets it monogrammed.
The Host/Hostess Gift: Avalon Cab – $12.99. If you’re headed over to someone’s place, don’t forget to bring something to show you appreciate the work they put in to hosting. A bottle of tasty yet affordable red wine is perfect, and Avalon’s Cab gets it done for surprisingly cheap.
The Belt: Ralph Lauren Leather Dress Belt – $26.99 ($45). Well reviewed. Simple. Let the cut of your suit do the talking.
The Boots: Aston Grey Hale Chukka – $99.95
The Socks: Wigwam Merino Airlite – $10.50
Those Calibrate Trim Fit shirts are great; I agree with Joe that the collar and construction is terrific. Be aware, however, that “trim fit” ain’t for everyone. I had to size up 1/2 shirt size because if you have any broadness to your shoulders, you’ll feel like you’re putting on your little brothers shirt.
I like the versatility of this. You can add a tie (although that looks like a spread collar) and go a step up. Or, go with Chino’s, or even Jeans and step it down.
No problems with adding a tie to a spread collar. Just make sure you have an appropriate knot.
Love it.
Avalon Cab is my standby. Always have a bottle or two on hand to take to house parties or for guests… or me.
No pants = best holiday party
A great list for those of you that don’t really get a winter. In the Great White North no so much but if you swap out the boots and gloves and add a good overcoat it is on target.
Agreed, but… Suits generally include pants.
See the note about the coat in the gloves bit. And plenty of us are awfully aware of what getting a winter feels like 🙂
Most outfits, including this one, are pretty easy to tweak for cold weather. Temps here stayed below 0°F all week last week, and dipped down to -25°F at times. I really didn’t change how I dressed except piling on more outerwear and switching out of boots and into regular shoes at the office.
it’s the latest swag
How wide are the lapels on the Thompson suits? Google is failing me.
No criticism intended Joe – it already helped a lot with my choices for the office party this week. And right you are BenR, many people up here don’t think about what they are going to wear once the coat and boots are in the cupboard
They’re trim, but not too skinny.
Keep in mind that they have three cuts: regular, slim fit, and trim fit (with trim being the *most* slim*).
+1 to rnjbond’s comment – I think they’re just right. Trim, but not Express fashiony slim.
Really liking this post, Joe. Perfect timing, too, as there are a bunch of upcoming events.
plus, it clearly says Jacket + pants in the description
Pulled the trigger on the J. Crew Factory Thompson as my go-to suit for when I want to wear a suit but don’t necessarily care if it gets dirty. We’ll see how I end up liking it as this is my first J. Crew suit.
Tried it on in store yesterday, they were somewhere around 2.3-2.4 inches. The lapels and buttons didn’t work on me (6′ 200#), but all for the best because they were totally out of matching pants.
Hey Joe, thanks to your inspiration here, I did my damn-bestest to copy this look, with similar items already in my wardrobe, for some family Christmas pics and a night out afterwards for my daughters music recital. Here’s a link to the WIWT pic over in *Threads*, if you’re interested:
http://threads.dappered.com/showthread.php/3663-WIWT?p=143090&viewfull=1#post143090
I may have taken it a bit too far on the *emulating* tip, but hey!… I needed a little red in my getup and I hardly ever wear my red(ish) gingham shirt, so buh-BAM! Thanks for the outfit idea!