Style Scenario – Valentine’s date night dressed up, going out

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. Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. The restaurants will be packed, the menus will be pre-fixe, and the lovebirds will be twitterpated. If that’s you, here’s one way to look your best on love’s big night out.  (Top Photo by Asena on Unsplash)

The Suit: Spier & Mackay R&T Half Canvas Medium Gray Wool Suit – $278. From Spier’s base line. Yet unlike almost all other sub $300 suits, these still have a half canvas construction to the jacket, and the fabric is 100% merino wool. That’s a tough trick to pull these days at that price. If it’s your first suit purchase from them, it’ll ship and return for free.

The Shirt: Duchamp Pink Gingham Dress Shirt – $49.97 ($125).

“A pink shirt on Valentine’s? Isn’t that a little cliche?”
It’s Valentine’s! Whole bloomin’ thing is cliche! Embrace it, and have fun. Because y’know what they say about Valentine’s… You either FEEL THE LOVE, or SMELL THE GLOVE.
“What? Who says that?”
Nobody.
“What does that even mean?”
Don’t know, but it belongs on a greeting card somewhere.

The Pocket Square: Tie Bar Burgundy Linen with White Border – $14. That’ll do nicely for Valentine’s Day. Plays well with the dress shirt, and different in shade as to prevent any “matchy matchy” issues.

The Watch: Timex Waterbury Metropolitian Chrono – $149.25 ($199). On sale at Nordstrom, so it ships and returns for free. Switching out the brown strap for a black strap to match your belt and shoes should be easy, as it comes with quick release spring bars.

The Socks: Pink Dot Made in the USA Over the Calf Boardroom Socks – $19.75. True dress socks with a charcoal base and a Valentine’s-appropriate pink dot pattern.

The Shoes: Made in Italy Nordstrom Chukkas – $169.96 ($225). One way to dress down a suit a touch (like while not wearing a tie,) is to wear smart boots instead of dress shoes. Makes it look much more intentional, and not like you just came from work / ripped off a necktie in a hurry. These from Nordstrom are versatile in shape, have textured Italian leather uppers, and have a stitched, Blake construction. They also ship & return for free.

The Belt: Black Leather Ratchet Dress Belt – $16.99 (via Amazon). Looks like a dress belt but with a super precise ratchet system. Dorky? Genius? Maybe a little of both, and no one can really tell. And they’re extremely comfortable. So yes, you’re absolutely ordering dessert.