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. Just about every man needs to have at least one suit in his closet. It is good to have it ready for those dressed up situations. However, as our society has grown more casual in recent years, and a global pandemic entered the mix, those essential suits see less wear. So a good way to get some use out of your suit is to skip the shirt and tie and wear the suit more casually. A suit with a turtleneck sweater is a great way to do that. Since it’s usually recommended that a man’s first suit be navy blue or charcoal gray, we’re going to do it with my navy blue suit.
The Sweater: Nordstrom Washable Merino Wool Turtleneck – $51 ($85). The sweater I am wearing is no longer available, and it’s getting to be that time of year when finding sweaters in a good variety of sizes can be tough… but the Nordy option is a plenty fine substitute. Other options include this one from Amazon’s Goodthreads, this one from Express, or this all cashmere turtleneck from UNIQLO. Navy blue is such a versatile suit color that nearly any color sweater would work well here, but brown makes for a nice contrast with the blue.
The Suit: Spier & Mackay Core Line Navy Suit – $222.40 w/ EOS20 ($348). Or your favorite navy blue suit. A man should have a well-fitting navy blue (or charcoal gray) suit ready to go. There are options out there for all budgets, and it does not have to be expensive to look good. Truth be told, the suit I’m wearing in the photo is actually some off the rack JC Penney suit separates (here’s the jacket and pants) that I took to my local tailor (shout-out to Yanez Alterations in Springdale, Arkansas) to get adjusted. But the half canvas, all Australian Merino wool Spier is just too good at that on sale and extra 20% off price.
The Pocket Square: The Tie Bar Mini Dots Sandstone Pocket Square – $25.00. Patterned with two different shades of brown to coordinate with the sweater.
The Watch: MVMT The 40 – Rose Gold Natural Tan – $120.00. My go-to watch that I wear almost every day. Clean, simple white face. Rose gold casing is a nice touch. This watch was featured in The Daily Dress Watch: The Best Simple Affordable Watches for Men.
The Belt: Banana Republic Italian Leather Belt – $59.50. A basic brown leather belt. Keep it simple. On sale more often than not.
The Socks: Nordstrom Men’s Shop Over the Calf Wool Socks – $5.80 ($14.50). Pretty basic. Navy blue socks to go with a navy blue suit. Merino wool blend is soft, lightweight, and temperature regulating. And currently on sale!
The Shoes: Magnanni Marco Plain Toe Monk Shoe – $350. Since we are dressing the suit down slightly with the turtleneck, a pair of monk strap shoes also reduces the formality of the suit, while still being dressy. And it’s hard to go wrong pairing eye-catching brown shoes with a navy blue suit. Bonus tip: These shoes typically go on sale during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, which is when I got my pair. So you might save $100+ if you can hold on until (checks calendar) July.
About the author: DeJuan is a husband, father of a 10-year old son and 3-year old daughter, and a chemical engineer. He enjoys watching sports, reading, playing and listening to music, and of course men’s style. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and works from home in inside sales for a chemical process equipment supplier.