Style Scenario: The Dressed Up Holiday Party

What are you going to wear? Sometimes it’s good to look at a few suggestions then add your own tweaks and ideas. That’s what these are for. To the long-time readers of this corner of the web… a tieless suit is pretty familiar. But  just because it’s been done before doesn’t make it the wrong play. If you’re headed to a dressed up affair, whether it be a work holiday party or New Year’s, one way to look more dashing (while dashing through the snow) and less like you just walked out of a job interview, is to lose the tie. Not comfortable w/out one? Wear one that’s solid w/ some texture.

The Suit: Suitsupply Napoli Deep Navy – $399. Or, whatever your favorite dark navy suit happens to be. A more true blue suit would be tough to pull off with black leathers (shoes, watch strap, belt), but here the buttons are dark enough that it looks really good. And navy with black is super sharp, especially for a dressed up, festive night on the town.

The Pocket Square: The Tie Bar Hunter Green Flannel Herringbone – $10. Blue, black, and now some green. Looks familiar, right? The texture of soft flannel and subtle herringbone pattern will produce some visual contrast between it, and the Super 110s of the suit.

The Watch: Armogan Spirit of St. Louis Silver Dial w/ Black Suede Strap – $199. A Bespoke Post exclusive. Silver-grey dial, and a black suede strap. A little different than a standard dress watch, but you’re skipping the tie here, so you can take a few more liberties.

The Shirt: Nordstrom Smartcare Herringbone Trim Fit Dress Shirt – $38.90 ($65). Gets mentioned plenty and for plenty of good reasons. It’s usually on sale, it ships and returns free, the quality is quite nice for the price, and the faint, tonal herringbone looks great up against solid suits or sportcoats.

The Topcoat: Stafford Wool Blend Topcoat in Charcoal – $90.44 w/ GR8DEAL. A bargain for a classic. Seems to be made out of their camel-wool fabric, so there’s a little bit of softness and texture to the shell. Perfect for over a suit.

The Scarf: Made in the USA Faribault Woolen Mills Scarf – $60. Made in Minnesota and injects some color without getting wacky.

The Shoes: Banana Republic “Ty” Italian Leather Single Monk – $105.69 w/ BRGETSET ($168). One of the steals of the year. Especially good if the weather might be crappy, and you don’t want to put on a high quality pair of lace-ups. Leather is more than fine for the price, and they’re often on sale.

The Socks: Nordstrom Over The Calf Wool Blend Socks in Navy – $14.50. A perfect thickness in a breathable wool blend. The over the calf length also helps keep your socks up all night, instead of risking any annoying slouching down around your ankles. And remember, match your socks to your trousers instead of your shoes. It makes your legs look longer, and therefor, you look taller.

The Belt: Stafford Reversible Leather Belt – $20 ($25). A basic with a nicely shaped buckle. No sharp, pointy edges. Everythings just a bit more beveled. Reversible. Fair price.

The Gloves: Polo Ralph Lauren Quilted Leather Racing Gloves – $88. Ralph Lauren puts out a couple of just-different-enough glove designs every year, and this year’s quilted “racing” gloves should look great both casual and dressed way up. Lined in wool, but not too bulky for the rest of the outfit. Will often go on sale direct through RL, or sometimes at Macys. Ships & returns free via Nordstrom.

Coming up tomorrow: A style scenario for a smart-casual party. Not quite as dressed up. Then we’ll move on after that to a much more dressed down/laid back style scenario for a holiday get together