Style Scenario: Dressing Down a Suit w/ Blue and Gray Business Layers

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, since we’ll all encounter dressed up situations from time to time. However, as our society has grown more casual and a global pandemic entered the mix, that suit or those suits have see less wear. A good way to get more use out of your suit(s) is to wear them a bit more casually and creatively. In my last style scenario we wore a turtleneck sweater under the suit. This time, we are going to wear a shirt sans tie, under a V-neck sweater. It’s a great business casual outfit that looks professional yet slightly more relaxed.

The Suit: Spier & Mackay Core Line Navy Suit – $249 FINAL SALE ($348). Or your favorite navy blue suit. Most style experts will tell you that a man should start his suit collection with a well-fitting navy blue (or charcoal gray) suit. You can spend a lot, but you don’t have to. Half canvas construction here. Nice Australian merino wool fabric. Two fits (slim and a more athletic leaning contemporary).

The Sweater: Banana Republic Merino V-Neck Sweater in Responsible Wool – $41.70 w/ BRFLASH ($69.50). The additional layer of a sweater brings a different dimension to the look of the suit. In a more casual, festive setting you could jazz this outfit up a bit with a colorful sweater, but for business we will go with a conservative gray. Should drop to 50% off tomorrow with BR’s upcoming friends and family sale.

The Shirt: Spier & Mackay Medium Blue Stripe Oxford – $39. After solid white, and solid light blue, a white/blue striped dress shirt is a great addition to a classic wardrobe. The button down collar dresses the shirt down another touch, and looks great layered under the merino sweater and sharp suit.

The Pocket Square: The Tie Bar Domino Dots Navy Pocket Square – $14.00. A simple white and blue patterned pocket square to coordinate with the shirt. The pocket square by Harrison Blake Apparel that I am wearing is no longer available, but this pocket square looks almost identical to it.

The Watch: Orient Bambino Automatic – $115. Can’t beat a classic like this. Crisp hands, just-right size, timeless design.

The Belt: Banana Republic Italian Leather Belt – $35.70 w/ BRFLASH ($59.50). A basic brown leather belt. Keep it simple. Currently on sale, as it often is.

The Socks: Nordstrom Signature Merino Wool Blend Socks – $6.60 ($16.50). Keeping with the relatively conservative nature of this outfit, navy blue socks to go with the navy blue suit. Merino wool blend is soft, lightweight, and temperature regulating. And you can’t beat the current price. Plus since they’re sold by Nordstrom they ship for free!

The Shoes: Allen Edmonds Bond Street Cap-Toe Oxford – $199.97 ($425.00). These brown oxfords will work well with this and many more dressed up outfits. Simple, classic brown oxfords are appropriate for most offices, and these come with a little bit of texture. That texture plus the button down collar on the shirt and no tie all pull in the same direction of dressing down the formality of the suit. If the texture isn’t your thing, a double monk strap would balance this look out too.

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.