The Versatile Medium Gray Suit 3 Ways: #3 – All dressed up with a tie

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. Welcome to three style scenarios singing the praises of the medium gray suit. Not super dark charcoal. Not pale dove-gray either. A shade like one of these suits:

• Spier & Mackay Medium Gray Half Canvas Wool Suit – $378
• Suitsupply Mid Grey Italian Wool Half Canvas Wool Suit – $499
• Banana Republic Italian Nailhead Wool Suit Jackets + Matching Trousers = $600 (but $360 when 40% off)

A gray that’s somewhere in-between. And in this series, you’ll find out just how far that investment can go.

The Suit: Spier & Mackay Medium Gray Half Canvas Wool Suit – $378. Best suit value in the business. Half canvas construction, nice wool fabric, lined in a breathable bemberg fabric, and available in two fits. A note that only your first suit, shoes, or sportcoat purchase returns for free with Spier. After that, you’re on the hook for a $15 return label.

The Shirt: TheTieBar Pinpoint Solid Light Blue Non-Iron Dress Shirt – $55. Smooth pinpoint fabric. Perfect mid-spread collar that looks just as good without a tie as it does with. Perfect shade of light blue. That’s it, that’s the shirt you want.

The Tie: TheTieBar Pointed Tip Knit Black Tie – $25. Black knit ties are classy, versatile, and were favored by 007. And they look great with a light blue shirt. Dressed up, but not fussy. They walk that line perfectly. If you want a tie that’s a bit wider and a lot more expensive/higher quality, check out Kent Wang’s Italian made silk knit ties for $65.

The Watch: Dan Henry 1937 Mecha-Quartz Chronograph – $270. Clean looks, interesting thanks to the chrono function, and feels great on the wrist. The Orient Bambino would work great here too.

The Bag: Fossil Haskell Leather Double Zip Briefcase – $250ish: Yes, Fossil. It does not look or feel like a mall-buy from 2004. Super soft, pebbled leather. Barely visible, small, subtle branding stamp near the base.

The Belt: Marino Ratchet Belt in Deep Charcoal – $18.99. As comfortable as a belt gets. Ratchet system leads to super precise, easy to adjust fit. And unlike a lot of other ratchet belts, which can look clunky, these look like a regular belt.

The Shoes: Grant Stone Cap Toe Oxford – $340. Beautifully made from great materials. Goodyear welted. The more affordable option: Nordstrom’s Dane cap toes check in at $99.95, and should do well for the guy who doesn’t walk around in black cap toes on a weekly basis.

The Socks: Bombas Men’s Merino Wool Dress Knee High Socks – $24. Merino wool helps keep your feet cool and comfortable.

All three in case you missed them:

• The Versatile Medium Gray Suit 3 Ways: #1 – Casual – The first of three style scenarios showing just how much you can get out of one gray suit.
• The Versatile Medium Gray Suit 3 Ways: #2 – Tieless with a pocket square – Danny Ocean meets 007.
• The Versatile Medium Gray Suit 3 Ways: #3 – All dressed up with a tie – All business.