Style Scenario: Super Sharp on a Cold Grey Rainy Day

What are you going to wear? Sometimes it’s good to look at a few suggestions then add your own tweaks and ideas. Y’know what a lot of us don’t do enough of? Wear our suits. So while it might sound counter-intuitive to break out the suit on a bad weather day, what better way to get uber comfortable with a suit than to wear it on a cold, blustery, wet day? If you only wear your suits when you have to or in prime conditions, you’ll never feel truly at ease in one. And if you don’t feel at ease in one, you just can’t look totally at ease either. So channel your inner Brit, put on a grey suit, fire up the kettle for tea, and treat yourself to a small Scotch at lunch. Sometimes (read: often) looking great doesn’t mean you have to have big patterns or loud colors that shout. Let the tailoring and sleekness of minimalism work for you here.

The Raincoat: Michael Kors Trim Fit Cotton/Nylon Mac – $275.00. Steep for a simple raincoat, but it gets all the details right. A trimmer fit than most. A decent sized collar good for turning up against the wind. Hacking pockets for your hands. Stretchy fabric for ease of movement. Want something more reasonably priced? This option from Tommy Hilfiger should do.

The Suit: Suitsupply Napoli Grey – $399. One of the best deals in the business. Ships and returns for free. Do know that Suitsupply insists on functioning sleeve button cuffs, so you may be in for some tailoring difficulties if you want to shorten the sleeves.

The Shirt: Nordstrom Smartcare Trim Fit Solid Dress Shirt – $55.00. Or, whatever your favorite white dress shirt happens to be. Ships and returns for free.

The Collar Stays: Alloy Collar Stays – $9.95. Worth repeating. Go ahead and put a slight bend in these things, and your collar won’t pancake out under your lapels.

The Pocket Square: TheTieBar Linen w/ Navy Border – $11.99. Hey look! Color! Well, at least a little bit. One way to look your best when going tieless is to use a subtle, crisp pocket square. The navy border here is a nice touch.

The Watch: Orient “Adventurer” World Time Power Reserve Automatic – $269.00. Somewhere between a super dressy watch and a smart casual watch. So, again, perfect for wearing a suit without a tie. Full review here.

The Gloves: Nordstrom Leather Driving Gloves – $69.90. Something to keep your hands protected from the wet elements. It’s not snowing, just raining. So driving gloves are perfect. Ships and returns free which is terrific, being that gloves can sometimes be a little tough to size over the web.

The Belt: Marino Genuine Leather Ratchet Dress Belt – $29.99. Don’t knock em’ till you’ve tried them. Super comfortable. Much more precise fit than a standard dress belt. And that open buckle style makes it look almost identical to a standard belt.

The Socks: Nordstrom Over the Calf Wool Socks in Charcoal – $14.90. The best in the business. Washable as long as you keep the washer and dryer between warm and cool. Runs a touch large and long, so if you’re on the border between sizes, size down. Remember… match your socks to your PANTS. Not your shoes. It’ll make you look taller.

The Boots: Nordstrom Calibrate “Huntley” Chelsea – $149.00. A new arrival with immense potential. Ships and returns for free. Synthetic/rubber sole should hopefully keep you upright on wet, slippery sidewalks. Also available in a medium brown “luggage” shade.

The Umbrella: Totes “Gentleman’s” Wood Handle Umbrella – $20. This thing will stop getting mentioned when a better alternative for twenty bucks shows up.