Practical Thoughts on Coherent Combinations for

Beginners

All credit for production of this document belongs to former Styleforum contributor
F. Corbera. The original document has vanished into the mist of time and is
preserved only in the Wayback Machine archive - it is reproduced here for the
purposes of preservation and better presentation.

Note: Images are attributed wherever possible to original owner or uploader, as
many of the images used in the original document belong to persons who have since
abandoned their accounts or are otherwise uncontactable. If you own one of the
images below or are pictured within them and wish to be removed, please comment
and I will do so as quickly as possible. I did not intend to upset or offend anyone in
the reformatting of this article, merely to preserve its fantastic advice and well-
chosen imagery for the future reference of others.

As a final note, please excuse my ignorance as to the source of certain unknown
photographs. While they may have at a time been posted by very well-known and
respected members of the Styleforum community, the original threads and in many
cases images they posted have been lost, being preserved only in Best of Styleforum
Pre-2010 threads and often posted without attribution.
Index

A. Practical Thoughts on Coherent Combinations for Beginners: Introduction
B. What is a Beginner?
C. Discordancy or Harmony?
D. Are You a Dandy?
E.1. Principle 1: Navigate all elements of each fit to one point in the path from
country to city
E.1.a. Get Your Act in Line
E.1.b. Forces Undermining Coherent City/Formal/Public Combinations
for Beginners
E.1.c. Examples of Coherent City/Formal/Public Combinations for
Beginners
E.1.d. Thinking about the Casual Suit
E.1.e. A City Look Self-assessment
E.1.f. What is the Casual Suit?
E.1.g. The Two Types of Casual Suits
E.1.h. The Odd Jacket
E.1.i. The Odd Jacket from City to Country, from Formal to Informal
E.1.j. The City/Formal Odd Jacket
E.1.k. The Country/Casual Odd Jacket


Here we go.

A. Practical Thoughts on Coherent Combinations for Beginners:
Introduction

In this thread, we will examine largely undiscussed approaches to organizing the
process of selecting elements that compose coat-and-tie ensembles that have a
coherent look.

By "coherent," I mean an ensemble, an outfit, a "fit," in which the component
elements relate to each other most successfully, as if they all belong together.

The much-discussed approaches to organizing this selection process are:

Color Coordination
Pattern and Texture Coordination
Contrast Combination

To some extent, these are favored for discussion since they seem somewhat
objective or even pseudo-scientific, giving apparent freedom from the weight of
culture and tradition. Here is the apex symbol of these discussions, the color
wheel:


(Original Source uncertain, Image retrieved September 9, 2014 from
http://cdn.styleforum.net/3/30/30094dce_color-wheel01-1p5671w.gif)

These three aspects of putting together a look are important, but I will not discuss
them here except incidentally. Why? There is useful material on those subjects
already.

Instead, in this thread, I will talk about practical approaches that are little
discussed.





We will start out with two, and then go from there as the thread continues:

Navigate all elements of each fit to one point in the path from country to
city.
Keep elements of each fit within (a) the same aesthetic and (b) within the
same level of quality.

I will use examples from photographs posted voluntarily by members on SF. If any
of the original posters would prefer that I not, simply send me a PM and I will
substitute another image.

I do not plan on answering any questions, offering clarifications, or engaging
in discussion in this thread. Neither will I "critique fits." You can send me a
private message, if you wish, but I am hopeful that the thread itself will be clear
enough.

Let's set a few things up generally for this thread before we examine these first
two practical approaches.




B. What is a beginner?

There is a wide variety of material
in books, in magazines, and in
various online media that aim to
guide the beginner who is
starting out to dress in a more
formal manner. There is no
shortage of advice. Perhaps
there is even too much of it.


(Apparel Arts Anniversary Issue
(1936). Original source user WH1 of
the Fedora Lounge, August 31, 2009.
Image retrieved at:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t
36/wh1fedora/HSM%20Book/APParel
%20Arts%201936%20Final/PICT1745
.jpg)

The pace of the medium self-selects the bias of the advice. Books will tend toward
a profession of classicism; magazines will aim toward the au courant; and whats
online will range from the chaotic (most) to the superb (a few.)



(G. Bruce Boyer (1985). Elegance: A Guide
to Quality in Menswear. Image retrieved
September 9, 2014 at:
http://g-ecx.images-
amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/c2/01/b20b828
fd7a066a677d86110.L.jpg )

But, what is a beginner? The term itself
implies a progression or at least a
potential development, a concept itself
which is a little odd to me. Rather than
explore this thought, I will simply define
beginner as a person who takes the
time to register on an online forum, such
as this one, to ask either or both of the
following questions:

What should I wear?
Why should I wear it?

These are two separate questions and not every beginner asks both. In fact, it is
quite possible to dress better than most by asking and stopping with the first
question.



(H.R.H. The Duke of Windsor
(1960). Windsor Revisited.
Image retrieved September 9,
2014 at:
http://www.keikari.com/blogi/wp-
content/kuvat/2012/10/Windsor_R
evisited_1960.jpg )

These are not new questions.
What seems to be new, at least
to me, is that they asked by
men who seem to have no one
to whom they can address the
questions personally. They are
often asked by men who did
not grow up with learning how
to dress in coat and tie, and
who seem to have not a soul in
their personal, social, professional, or even retail lives who can counsel them (or if
there are such people, they are people who are not trusted.) This raises the
potential paradox that even if good advice is found on a clothing forum, how does
one test out whether it works? Well, it seems, you ask the forum again..."How did I
do, guys?"a circular arrangement if there ever was one.





(Nik Cohn (1971). Today There Are No
Gentlemen. Image retrieved September
9, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/f/f8/f8aae312_2
9183.jpeg)

Nearly all of the good books
discussing wearing classic tailored
clothes presume an existing basic
exposure and personal experience
with coat and tie. This is because to
assume otherwise is rather alien to
the generation of men who wrote (or
write) such books, even ones that
continue to be published today. Those
fwockers are oldguess their age and
add twenty, thirty, forty years. In fact,
the best books themselves are old.













What to do?

If you do not like my definition of a
beginner, then feel free to substitute
the following: you are a beginner if you
think that you are and you present
yourself as one while seeking
suggestions on how to dress.


(Hardy Amies (1994). The Englishmans
Suit. Image retrieved September 9, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/a/a4/a4f9917a_25
32539.jpeg)














(Farid Chenoune (1996).
History of Men's Fashion.
Image Retrieved
September 9, 2014 at:
http://ecx.images-
amazon.com/images/I/515
5TJDWWSL.jpg)




C. Discordancy or Harmony?

We should get a philosophical issue out of the way before the rest of this thread
continues.

Do you aim for a discordant look? Chaos? Does the look of WTF please you?
Waiters smashing into each other, mouths agape? Dogs issuing shrill yowls?

Discordancy as an aesthetic objective is very modern. Those who want it can be
thankful that is so easy to achieve. There is absolutely no science or art to it at all.
That is the point. It is visceral. It is childs play.

Play your guitar in Times Square in your tighty whities. In fact, play your guitar
out of tune. Youre in prison? No problem, dont let the uniform stop you: tattoo
something on your forward, or better, gouge it in. Something that will piss off
someone else.

Youve done it! Youre somebody! Finally!

Dont get me wrong, the ease of discordancy does not make it illegitimate or
dishonest. It is one way of doing things.

As a beginner at coat and tie, however, you would be wise to decide if you are
such a person or not. If you are, participating in the Mens Clothing subforum of
Style Forum is a weak-ass way of getting good at it. Youre a maniac and youre
asking strangers about interview suits? Come on.

Perhaps you do not seek discordancy itself, but the desire to stand out from the
crowd. You know, just a touch of crazy. Just a tad, just a little, discordant. A
twist on the traditional.

But, what if it is the crowd that is touch crazy, just a tad, just little, discordant?

This is the paradox for the self-expressionist: standing out is simple. It is doing it
distinctively well that is unlikely...and by definition; it can only be a game of the
few. As a beginner, are you one of those few? Maybe someday, but now? The test
of that distinctiveness is not the very people (other forum members, in the case of
this thread) who provide the enabling suggestion: Where is your pocket square?
It would really help that fit pop.

Where, indeed?

Is there an alternative for the beginner? Perhaps.

How about harmony?

That coat that you are trying to put so smoothly on your back, that tie that you are
trying to loop so softly around your neck, are part of a set of traditions valuing

belonging, order, and respect. Belonging, order, and respect can, unfortunately, be
conformity, ossification, and servilitybut, they dont have to be.

In the next post, we will use a well-known member of SF as an example to help
you think about
this, and then
(finally!) we will
talk about the first
two practical
thoughts on
coherent
combinations for
beginners.


(Catherine Emily (2009). To The Fairest One. Image retrieved 9 September, 2014 at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/catherine-emily/3272211327/)




D. Are You a Dandy?

We continue with the final preliminary post before going on to some concrete,
practical considerations for wearing coherent coat and tie combinations.

In my last post, I opposed discordancy in such combinations with harmony. Most
abstractions have fuzzy boundaries when applied to reality. The opposition that I
proposed is no different. As a beginner in the coat and tie world, however, you
really can benefit from coming to the earliest possible understanding on which
side you fall.

We can make things a bit more concrete by looking at a specific example, in this
case, the famous and once-active Style Forum member, Jeffrey Ying (LabelKing.)

LK started posting here and elsewhere as a teenager many years ago. It is next to
impossible to find any post that he made that does not have something interesting,
insightful, or humorous about it.

Here he is about four years ago at a Style Forum "meet-up" when the overall
atmosphere here was more convivial:







(Jeffery Ying (2008). Image
retrieved September 9, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/7/76/
76e28cdf_DSC067941.jpeg)

Study the photograph carefully. Think
about your own reaction to it.

Here is LK more recently, reflecting a
period in which his interests and
perspective on style formed a persona
intersecting the world of the fashion
business and fashion personalities:














(Jeffery Ying (2010). Image retrieved
September 9, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/9/95/95dc1f11_
tumblr_lmajpvsrL41qg9lao1.jpeg)

Study the photograph carefully.
Think about your own reaction to
it. Let's hear the more recent LK
speak:

(Video available at
http://vimeo.com/11929130)

Now, by opposing the two
photographs, I do not mean to
imply any change over time in
what LK likes, or that he dressed
one way at one time and another
at a later time. His specifics are
not important to this thread.





But, as a beginner in the coat and tie world, where do you fall? Make up your
mind, at least to the extent that allows you to pick a jacket, a suit, a shirt, a tie, and
have them all look like they belong together. You must make a decision before you
can be good at doing either: discordancy or harmony.

This premise will not be popular on this forum. The vast majority of you seem
deluded into believing that you will look good by over-laying, festooning,
"twisting," something "boring" (you think) with a bit of something "interesting,"
something with "personality," something that "sets you apart." Nothing could be
further from the truth. You are diluting, you are marring, you are sinking into a
type of mediocrity, of conformity, in coat and tie dress that is little different than
the low-cost, mass-merchandized world from which most of you are trying to
escape.

If you really are a dandy, an iconoclast, you can only be successful at it by
committing full on...like LabelKing does. If you hold back, then all you are doing is
dressing weakly. You are unlikely to be good, and you will never be excellent.




E.1. Principle 1: Navigate all elements of each fit to one point in the path
from country to city.

In the preceding posts in this thread, I suggested that beginners thoughtfully
consider whether the effect that they wish to produce with their coat and tie
ensembles is discordancy or harmony. I made the case that discordancy in
tailored dress was nothing special, being so easy to achieve.

Do not be fooled that there are some men who do well with this approach: as a
beginner, you are not one of them. In fact, most of you who do not consider
yourselves beginners are not one of them either.

We now look at specific, practical approaches beyond those typically discussed to
putting together fits that can improve the chances of success for beginners who
want to look harmonious in coat and tie. The presumption going forward is that
you want to look harmonious if you can.

You have already looked into the basics, which are:

Color Coordination
Pattern and Texture Coordination
Contrast Combination

Great. Are you done? No, you are not.

Not only is it possible to yet put together a discordant ensemble even while
successfully addressing those three basic elements, on Style Forum and in the
wider world, it is almost a certainty that the fit will still have considerable
failure points.

So: what are some other practical considerations?

What we will discuss now and further into this thread are not rules. Think of
them, instead, as approaches to organizing choices, whether those choices are
what you buy or what you specifically select to go together each day.

Here is the first one.

Navigate all elements of each fit to one point in the path from country to
city.



(Mario, Carlo &
Massimiliano Caraceni
(2010). Image Retrieved
September 9, 2014 at:
http://www.gentlemansgaze
tte.com/wp-
content/uploads/2010/06/CA
RACENI3.jpg)

From the day that the
sober, woolen clothes of
the Englishman in the
country became the
standard of gentlemanly
dress throughout the West,
there has been a steady,
unrelenting migration of
country dress into the city.
If the phrase country to
city feels too antiquarian
to you, feel free to substitute casual to formal or private to public. Today, the
diffusion of country/casual/private into city/formal/public seems nearly complete.

But is it?

You have already answered this question for yourself by deciding to dress in coat
and tie for at least part of your life. And whether by occasion, profession, or
inclination, tailored clothes and the tailored look are very much still alive,
although perhaps not in ascendency.

This means something very practical for you as a beginner. There still is a
graduation of country to city, of casual to formal, of private to public.

Understanding this graduation can help you look better.

Here is one of the hoariest Internet clothing memes, the Losse Chart of Correct
Dress for All Occasions:





































(JW Losse Progressive Tailoring Company (Uncertain,
likely 1920s-30s). Image retrieved September 9, 2014 at:
http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lry40nAR0a1qb5wqoo1_400.jpg)


Dont worry, I am not suggesting that you follow the chart and go into full-scale
historical re-enactment in how you dress. But, do look at the chart and think about
it.

You share a kinship with the original readers of this chart. Generally speaking,
such charts, and the books and magazines that contained this type of information,
were addressed to the aspirational man. Aristocrats and swells already knew how
to dress. If you think of yourself as a beginner, you are inherently aspirational
as well, if not socially then at least aesthetically.

Rather than the specifics of the Losse chart, what I suggest that you consider from
it is a very simple but practical concept: that there are bands of formality and
that within each, certain things go together that are independent of the basics of
color coordination, pattern and texture coordination, and contrast combination.

We will look at specific examples from Style Forum members and others in the
next set of posts to see how this concept can be useful to you.




E.1.a. Get Your Act In Line.

In the previous post, I introduced the idea of selecting elements that compose coat-
and-tie ensembles based on where each element places between the continuums
from country/casual/private to city/formal/public. I will refer to this as country to
city from now on, but keep in mind that I do not necessarily mean this literally.


(Marchese Piero
Antinori (2010). Image
retrieved September 9,
2014 at:
http://www.iinuu.lv/us
erfiles/images/DzivesP
riekam/2010/Italija_vi
ni/image019.jpg)




Some of you spend your professional or working life in an environment that
expects suit and tie from every man. (I will ignore you for the moment, but will
include you later.)

In contrast, many of you do not.

Many contemporary men have professional or working lives today in which a coat
and tie look is an elective choice. In fact, quite a few of the members who post on
Style Forum point out that their decision to wear coat and tie is part of an
expression of individuality, aesthetics, or even eccentricitythe social penalties
for which are often mild or nonexistent today because dressing like a slob has
introduced a convenient low threshold of workplace tolerance for the ways that
men dress (women, too, as it turns out...but that is another issue.)

Moreover, outside of the workplace, expectations of coat and tie are in full scale
retreat. So, wearing it socially is even more a manifestation of choice rather than
of convention.

It is in this combination of freedom on one hand with being new to coat and tie on
the other that creates the potential for the type of problem that you, as a beginner,
will want to avoid.

Please look at this chart which is admittedly bereft of wit or humor:







(F. Corbera (2012) (Original,
produced by the author).
Image retrieved September 9,
2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/b/b8/
b89d1520_chart.jpeg)

The type of look that results
from the first set of decisions
is probably the most common
look presented on Style Forum
right now. The colors might be
coordinated (well,
sometimes.) The patterns and
textures might collaborate
(honestly? not often.) The
presence or absence of
contrast might be
manipulated (we hope.) But,
even after all those boxes are
checked, the resulting fits
are often cacophonous or
jarring.






The second type of look, and the consequences that flow from it which we will
discuss later in this thread, is the look that is barely represented anymore on SF as
members who are grounded in an understanding of the relationships of country to
city have redirected, curtailed, or stopped their activities here.

This is the point missed about, oh, the CBD (Conservative Business Dress) thread.
The fact that CBD approximately aligns the sliders in one band does not mean that
classic dress is confined to that set of combinations.

Why are so many guys all over the map within a single outfit? After all, cheap
access to a wide variety of well-made clothes has probably never been so
pervasive, nor the variety of choice so extensive. The world lays its goods at the
feet of nearly every man. So, why is there such incoherence?



I conclude that there are two reasons.

First, many of the currently-active posters are over-reaching their
environment. You have consciously made the decision to dress in tailored
clothes, or wish to do so at a level of refinement, atypical among those with
whom you interact personally. Your first step, then, is to smack the pick
axe at some point in the city spectrum. But you have doubts. It seems too
formal, the ice too cold. So, you begin the process of rusticating your city
look: Hello, crazy socks. Welcome to my breast pocket, multi-colored
square. Take a seat around my neck, wooly tie.

Second, you just have not learned what goes together. You did not learn it
or observe it around you growing up. Your friends and work mates do not
know either. And all the books, magazines and material online seem to
offer advice only on those three basics: color coordination; pattern and
texture coordination; and contrast combination.

The most practical way that beginners active on Style Forum who have developed
some facility with the basics can achieve more harmonious ensembles/outfits/fits
is (1) apply some fresh, objective thinking to your personal context in which you
wear coat and tie and (2) if you are not at the very extreme end of the city spectrum,
dial back your entire ensemble to the point that makes sense for your
circumstances of life.









What I just wrote will be very unpopular. As a group (and I include myself), we
are biased toward admiring the dresser who miraculously succeeds with the
effortless "twist" on the conventional.

As a beginner, resist making this bias manifest in your own ensembles.

We look next at several Style Forum examples illustrating how this works and I
will develop these points further.




E.1.b. Forces Undermining Coherent City/Formal/Public Combinations for
Beginners

In todays two posts, we work into specific examples representing combinations
that anchor the farthest margin of city/formal/public looks.
Three forces often confuse the beginner about the most citified of looks,
particularly the type of beginner on SF.

First, what we know as the suit today is itself derived from a form of an
earlier time that had a more casual purpose. This origination means that
there are many attributes, aspects of fabric and pattern, and accessories
that are casual or rustic at their source yet have become firmly
incorporated into coherent city looks. Maddeningly, at the same time, there
are many attributes, aspects of fabric and pattern, and accessories that are
casual or rustic at their source and remain so today, making them unsafe
choices for combining into a city look. How does one tell one from the
other? We will talk about this.

Second, there are certainly regional, cultural and professional differences
in what makes sense. If such forces are a powerful determinant in how you
dress for the day, you already possess your marching orders. You are a
financier in the City of London? Fine, dress sharp and dress loud, dress like
your mates. Are you a zookeeper in San Diego? Great, wear your chambray
shirt with the San Diego Zoo logo with your khaki shorts. What is most
likely, however, for the man on SF who is new to coat and tie is that you
exist in an environment of wider insensitivity to nuanced clothes, an
insensitivity that allows you to think, Yeah, I can wear coat and tie. I will
wear coat and tie. So, regional, cultural and professional differences do
not narrow choice for you, they agglomerate together into a vast riot of
choices made easily available because of the ease of cheap global
commerce and free online information (like this thread.) This is not good
for coherence in your look.

Finally, many has been and many will be the snappy dresser who plays
with a rusticating factor in his city look. This creates a strong impulse in
beginners to emulate what seems clever. This is quite often a mistake.


As you look at the examples in
the next post, think not only
about what elements constitute
them but whether this type of
look is appropriate for you. If it
is, do it and do it right. If not,
however, reconsider if a city
look is really for you or whether
you should dial back your entire
typical ensemble to something
more casual.

(This Is Spinal Tap (1984). Image retrieved September
9, 2014 at: http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/05/this-one-goes-to-11.jpg)



E.1.c. Examples of Coherent City/Formal/Public Combinations for
Beginners







(Gildo Zegna (2010). Image
retrieved September 9, 2014 at:
http://images.thesartorialist.co
m/photos/62110MRZ_4952Web.j
pg)








Here is the graphic cheat sheet that I used two posts back:

So what are the elements
that anchor an ensemble
at the furthest margin of
city/formal/public? All the
sliders to the right?

Lets take a look.












(See previous citation.)






(Styleforum user
Manton (Original post
gone, rehosted 2012).
Image Retrieved
September 9, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.
net/5/58/58e1374d_Mj1
9z.jpeg)





1. It is always a suit. It can be a two piece suit, single or double breasted, but
single breasted is safer. A three piece suit with a single breasted vest
(waistcoat if you prefer) without lapels can be a tolerable archaism
depending on location and what you do.




2. The color of the suit is always dark blue, or shades of gray. Not brown, not
tan. The pattern is solid, or variants of solids like birds-eyes, nailheads,
sharkskin, etc. Acceptable patterns from the casual world include discreet
pinstripes, chalk stripes (don't let this throw you, but striped suits come
from tennis and ball sports) and fine herringbones. Plaids and box checks,
well, any check, are too rusticating for a role here.

3. The material is always
smoothly finished
worsted wool (not
flannel, silk, cotton etc.
which we will discuss
later.)





(Graeme W, of Most ExeRent bRog
(2012).Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at
http://media.tumblr.com/
717cebf8df8e54915964a60e291a5555/
tumblr_inline_mrj2pbLtDC1qz4rgp.jpg)






(Styleforum user
Parker (2011).
Image retrieved
September 10, 2014
at:
http://cdn.styleforu
m.net/4/40/4015611
3_ce230b8d_prkr72
6a1.jpeg)




4. The hip pockets on the jacket have straight flaps. The breast pocket is a
welt. Pants can have flat or pleated fronts. The pants can be held up with a
belt, suspenders, or waistband adjustors as you prefer. Acceptable forms
from the casual spectrum, depending on where you live and what you do,
are cuffs on the pants, and center, side vents, and hacking and ticket
pockets on the jacket. Patch pockets are too rusticating.

5. Shirts are white, either barrel or double cuffs, point or semi-spread collars.
Acceptable forms from the casual spectrum, depending on where live and
what you do, are solid light blue shirts or blue and white stripes.

6. Neckties are solid grenadines or other textured woven silks, wedding tie
patterns in silk, silk prints with discrete repeating non-figurative patterns.
Sheen is medium to matte during the day, can be more at night. Diagonally
striped ties are okay unless youre British, for whom special rules still exist
about such patterns.








(Possibly Styleforum user COLD
WAR PAINTER (2012). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/d/d3/900
x900px-LL-
d369a8a3_prkr4261.jpeg



7. Breast pockets have no squares or hankies. Acceptable from the casual
spectrum are fine white linen hankies, puffed in or edges out in a plain
fold. A silk print square is okay in principle, but is often undermining in
practice.

8. Shoes are black lace up plain or cap toe oxfords. Acceptable influences
from the casual world are discreet broguing on a cap toe or a wingtip, and
shoes in a dark oxblood or dark brown. Not suede. Derby versions outside
of the Anglo-American sphere are fine.

9. Socks are not fun.

















Now, do not misinterpret this
list. Deviations from it that
remain for all practical extents
equivalently formal and good
looking are many. The exact
elements might differ slightly
here and there depending on
where one lives. Climates with
seasonality, or ones of extremes,
might suggest options not
presented above.









(Styleforum user gdl203 (2011). Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/a/ab/ab10eec0_i-wKkNbB9.jpeg)






(Uncertain, likely
deleted. Source as
provided in original
document. Image
retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.ne
t/9/98/986d44f0_i-
qGDdHxm.jpeg.)






Nevertheless:

If your goal as a beginner is to look great, well, here is a way that you can do it
reliably every time in a way that works all across the world and in nearly every
social circle that expects coat and tie. In fact, every man should be able to
assemble this look even if he needs to call on it rarely.






(Styleforum user incontro (Original image deleted, reuploaded 2011). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/3/37/37be47f2_971681161.jpeg)



(Styleforum user / clothier
Henry Carter (2012). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014
at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/1/18
/350x467px-LL-
18171ecb_Fri.jpeg)

So, why is it happening so
infrequently? It could be
that when a look is made so
plain, the wearer feels that a
lack of quality in make or fit
is more keenly revealed. "I'll
fool the eye," the thinking
might go, "with this crazy
sock, or this pizza grenade
pocket square, or
maybe...just maybe...a color
common in the women's
department."






This might be true, but I do not conclude it is the most common issue. I think that
what I see is that a lot of guys probably know, even today, how this type of look
gets put together. They've seen it in movies, on TV, and some even still read.

These guys (maybe you!) then develop doubts: maybe it is too formal, too public,
too city.

And you know what? It just might be...for you. Think about this.

The most common reaction seems to be to rusticate this formality by taking the
city look and staging a country invasion. After all, don't those snappy dressers do
this often?




(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as
provided in original document.
Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/2/2f/2f6e5
1fa_p1050613ou61.jpeg)

Well, some do, some don't.

The case that I will make in the
next set of examples is that it is
better for beginners to do this
holistically across the board rather
than piecemeal. Do not put a
moustache on the Mona Lisa of the
city look if the city look is not right
for your life. Save it for that event
or occasion for which is it right for
your personal circumstances.

(Styleforum user patrickBOOTH (2012).
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/a/a6/a647d188_7cc5f65d.jpeg)







(Styleforum user FRED49
(2012). Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://i1225.photobucket.co
m/albums/ee388/Fred4949/
FredRA11212.jpg)

Don't worry: we have not
given up on the suit. In the
next post, we will look at
examples where the
sliders all move back
toward the casual/
private/country.




E.1.d. Thinking About the Casual Suit

Rare is the man who cannot look well turned out in a decent black tie rig. Rare,
too, is the man who cannot look splendid in a discreet, unmarred city ensemble.

Why not dress in both every day, then? Awesome, right?

Black tie every night? you think, Thats nuts. It is.

Wearing a city look every day might be nuts for you, too, though.

I am hoping that you, as a beginner, have given this some thought at this point in
this thread and have made a decision on which way to go.

If a city look does work for you, execute the basic and unimpeachable versions of
it first until everything about it becomes second nature. The combinations are
simple and known. What will happen if you are interested in clothes is that such
simplicity will lead you to thinking productively about quality and fit. It will not
be dour, it will be great fun.

If a city look does not work for you, rather than going first to the country/casual
clothes department to accessorize and rusticate your charcoal gray pinstripe, what
I would like you to consider instead is what we will call the casual suit. In the old
days we might have called it a weekend suit or even a Friday suit.








(Styleforum user gdl203 (2012).
Image retrieved September 10,
2014 at:
http://img.photobucket.com/albu
ms/v178/gdl203/IMG00357-
20111213-0933.jpg)













What I will call a casual suit has one or more of the following attributes:

1. Country colors are now fine: browns and other earth tones now work.
2. Check patterns are brought into play as options: plaids and box checks.
3. Fabrics in a wider variety of materials can be selected: these range from
flannels at one end of the spectrum to things like cottons and tweeds at the
other, necktie fabrics can go farther afield from silk.
4. Casualizing details can be incorporated: patch pockets, perhaps, or types of
buttons that do not work well with a city suit.
5. Accessories can extend into the more casual: shirt patterns and fabrics,
neckties, pocket squares, and shoes.











(Styleforum user Iammatt (2009).
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://media.tumblr.com/919a232f54cbf266233fb
a251537fc13/tumblr_inline_mkz0y69s2h1qz4rgp.j
pg)











(Mark Cho of The Armory (2011).
Image retrieved September 10,
2014 at:
http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr
_lwuegdPzwm1qad1efo1_500.jpg)

For the wearer of RTW, there is
probably a wider variety of such
suits than ever before. Much of
this output is terrible.
Nevertheless, there is a lot of good
looking stuff that if, de-Pitti-fied in
the way that they are put
together, offer useful options for
the man dressing in this casual
suit spectrum.

We will look at examples next. In
the meantime, it could be an
interesting exercise for some of
you to look through the
Sartorialist and the Non-
Satorialist threads to see if you
can find any fits that if shorn of
their Pitti might look good.









(Styleforum user
Voxsartoria (incidentally,
another account of the
author of this piece)
(2009). Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://stulenstil.files.word
press.com/2011/05/i-
ql4kgbj.jpg)



E.1.e. A City Look Self-assessment

Even today, every man needs to be able to put together a formal city look. So, have
at least one possible way to do it ready in your closet.

Beyond that, a beginner should ask himself the question: can I wear a city look
appropriately most days of the week? Social comfort is an elastic concept that
differs for every individuals circumstances. Its range is bounded fundamentally
by how willing you are to make others uncomfortable and how well you can
survive their discomfort.

Epictetus wrote, Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.
This is true, but for most, one needs to know others as well.

Some of us love the city look. Even we who do, however, must confess that its
pervasive ascendency has been severely eroded in many social, geographical, and
professional contexts in which its presence was once always presumed. Among
professional environments in which the city look still finds favor, it has become
commonplace for jackets to fly off the backs of everyone minutes after entering
the office, bringing the mail room to the board room.

It is difficult to rusticate, casualize, and informalize the city look successfully. In
contrast, it is very easy to unbalance it, and unbalance it many do, particularly
those beginners who brave (or enjoy) pubic exposure on this forum and other
online social arenas.


(Patrick Grant (2009).
Image retrieved September
10, 2014 at:
http://www.bbook.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/11/bla
ckbook.Image7825.PATRICK
GRANT_image.jpg)

So, by this point you have
asked and answered for
yourself the question, Can
I wear a city look
appropriately most days of
the week? In the next few
posts, I address suggestions
for those of you who have
answered with a, No.




E.1.f. What is the Casual Suit?

What is a casual, or country,
or weekend, or Friday suit? It
sounds rather arbitrary, and it
is. If we go back to about the
time (and no further!) when
todays business suit, the
lounge or sack, defeated the
bodycoat as serious daywear, the
city suits country cousins were
either for actual use in the
country or for leisure pursuits in
the city. To the extent that it
began to creep into the week, it
was for the practicality of easy
transition from work to leisure,
or simply to signal that you were
able to go back and forth from
work to play freely.



(Styleforum user Parker (2010). Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj212/LucTessa/tweedfull.jpg)

When we examined the city look, we took account of its features of colors, fabrics,
and patterns. We could do the same with the casual suit.

The range of the casual suit in those terms, however, is relatively vast. So, a
shortcut for the beginner is to think of it simply as a type of suit for which casual
accessories are appropriate.


(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as
provided in original document. Image
retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/8/86/865367fd
_4851_R_15d58af0.jpeg)

And what are casual accessories? These
are the accessories that are never or
seldom appropriate for a city suit, or if
they are okay, constitute a significant
rusticity failure point in the coherence
of city ensembles created by beginners.





(Barbour Shetland Wool Tie (2011). Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/c/ce/ce8f3102_0047180000000.jpeg)



Neckties in materials other
than silk: wools, cashmeres, or
mixes, or if silk, in rusticated
finishes like madders or
weaves like knits. Checked,
multi-striped, and colored
shirts. Button-down shirts.
Multi-colored pocket squares
in silks and other fabrics.
Patterned socks. Colored and
brogued shoes, monks,
derbiesor loafers.



(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as provided in original document. Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at: http://cdn.styleforum.net/5/53/53cf3f09__IGP9452.jpeg)












(Drakes of London
(2012). Image
retrieved September
10, 2014 at:
http://properashell.fil
es.wordpress.com/20
12/12/img-
thing.jpeg?w=300)












Again, the temptation to incorporate one or more of these items into a city suit
look is strong. Did not James Bond wear a black silk knit tie with all of his suits?
Can a madder tie not look swell? What is wrong with a multi-hued silk pocket
square? Yes, yes, and nothing...but, leave that for later because each one of those
types of rusticating and informalizing items can go wrong just as easily as well.

If the city look is not
practical for you,
move everything,
top to bottom,
toward something
more casual. The
next stop along this
spectrum is the
casual suit.

We will look at the
two types of casual
suits next.



(Styleforum user tchoy (2011). Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/6000905216_76d9027e27_b.jpg)





E.1.g. The Two Types of Casual Suits

Casual suits are made from fabrics, done in
patterns, and/or have stylistic features that move
them toward the country/informal spectrum.

Their main utility for the beginner for whom a
city look is unwise is their inherently greater
informality combined with the possibility of
incorporating a range of more casual accessories
that are discordant or inappropriate with a city
ensemble.












This overall
informalization of suit
and tie often
synchronizes more
easily with colleagues
and friends who do not
wear suits, or who
wear coat and tie
sporadically. Such men
are often either
intimidated socially or
aesthetically by a smart
city look, or are part of
the increasing numbers
who view the city look
as generationally
archaic.




(Styleforum user NOBD (2012).
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://i.imgur.com/ZdYWI.jpg)

(Styleforum user gdl203 (2012). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/gdl203/IMG00357-
20111213-0933.jpg)


From a beginners viewpoint, the wide range of variety among casual suits can be
divided into two categories:

Casual suits that can be combined with city look accessories.
Casual suits that should not be combined with city look accessories.

The first group of casual suits overlaps with city look suits. The second does not.


(Styleforum user Manton (Original post gone, rehosted 2011).
Image Retrieved September 9, 2014 at:
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj212/LucTessa/RUB7f.jpg)






The degree of overlap differs by place and culture. The overlap is a consequence
of how much country was accepted into the city in the years after the lounge suit
won its place of supremacy. There remain narrow contexts in which no overlap
exists even today. Generally speaking, however, this mode of casualization is
acceptable in most places.

http://cdn.styleforum.net/d/da/da943727_5514002868_ccd3649104_z.jpeg

The key concept is that casual suits in the first group can be made to fit in
completely fine in a city look when combined with city accessories. Unlike a city
suit, these suits can also be combined with more rustic elements successfully to
dial back the whole look to something more casual.







(Jeremy Hackett (2008). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://image.fnckolon.com/custom
ellow/upload/contents/edit/128733
7664632.jpg)


And that is what we are
after if we want an easy
execution of a coherent look.














In contrast, the casual suits in
the second groupby fabric,
feature or patternsare never
intended to be anything more
than casual: they have no
substitution value or intent for
a city look. They are casual
suits through and through.

What are casual suits in this
first group, the ones that
overlap with the city suit?

(Styleforum user pooPoker
(2012). Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/
uu112/SpooPoker/e334442d.jpg)














(G. Bruce Boyer (2011). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://www.menofhabit.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/05/Men-of-
Habit-G.-Bruce-Boyer.jpg)

The first attribute is that
they are cut and featured
exactly the same way as
their city look cousins (no
patch pockets, no throat
latches, etc.).








The second attribute is that their
fabrics are more rustic, in the
following range:

Blue, gray and brown flannel
suits in solids or stripes (and
the seasonal equivalent of
flannels, such as frescos,
hopsacks, etc.)
Brown suits in city worsted
solids or stripes.
Blue, gray and brown worsted
suits in urbanized country
patterns: muted and small
scale glen checks; houndstooth;
etc.






(Styleforum user Iammatt (2009). Source as provided in original document. Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at: http://cdn.styleforum.net/f/fb/fbcf720d_i-pzjVNf7.jpeg)


How far one can get from the first to
the third bullet, from week day to
weekend, is a function, again, of place
and culture. Fortunately, empirical
determination is easy. If you find
yourself in an environment in which
a city look does not work, it is safe to
say that you are not in an
environment so formal as to
inherently disqualify a casual suit in
the first group as irredeemably
informal.

City accessories will have no
problems co-existing with these suits;
neither will the more rustic types of
accessories that we discussed in the
previous posts in this thread.












(Styleforum user Il Vecchio
(Uncertain, reuploaded 2011). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237
/1646/dsc00481sd0.jpg)

What are casual suits in the
second group, the one that
does not overlap with the
city suit?










(Styleforum user Forex (2012).
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://i.imgur.com/XLm6R.jpg)








(Uncertain, likely
deleted. Source as
provided in original
document.
Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.
net/8/8d/8d5164d0_i-
zSwB59m.jpeg)












Well, the simplest way to think about this is everything that is not in the first
group fits into the second. This includes:

Suits in alternative fabrics such as
cottons, silks, linens, tweeds real and
faux, corduroy, (dare I say denim? It
has been done), etc.
Suits in explicit country, loud, or
obvious patterns, or unusual colors.
Suits with informalizing, sporting
features, such as a jacket with three
patch pockets, action or belted backs,
etc.


(A suitable Wardrobe (2011).
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i_JRlRzoT2c/
TtBAwc-wrdI/AAAAAAAAHpw
/B4Q9gfiiv7c/s400/old%2Bclothes.jpg)











In this second group, it
is very difficult or
impossible to make
most city accessories
look good. Casual suits
in this category are the
opposite of the city look
when it comes to
accessories: they look
great with the informal
accessories that
typically look terrible
with a city suit.






At one time, it was relatively difficult to find RTW suits in this group. Today,
however, it seems that a lot of choice is available as a wide variety of alternative
fabrics are marketed in the form of suits.

Suits in this category also essentially overlap with the next category that we will
discuss as we move one step further toward the country/informal : coat and tie
with the odd jacket.







(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as
provided in original document.
Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/1/15/15ba62
6a_i-rrccwKG.jpeg)


(Simone Righi (2010). Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0FjPCtl8nPY/S5K7KCBJ0LI/
AAAAAAAAEqs/zRmFJLVj4ZU/s1600/tyts.jpg)


Why should a beginner consider
casual suit suits in this second
category, then, if he can simply
achieve a similar level of informality
by wearing the familiar odd jacket
and tie?

The most important reason is that
suits are easier. The jacket and
pants already are coordinated.

Do not underestimate the value of
this simple fact, especially for you,
the beginner.


(Styleforum user acecow (2011).
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://i.imgur.com/jEtS2.jpg)







Moreover, despite the overlap
with the familiar odd jacket/odd
trouser, the casual suit has a
debonair pedigree that lends it a
continuing debonair affect that
can be appealing to men who like
clothes well enough to think
about them. That might also be
you, despite being a beginner.



(Alistair 1958 (2010). Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BtGOxwyuj_A/THXud57lMCI/AAAAAAAAA1E/r
Q5XIG1eZCg/s400/tumblr_l6irwgcWkz1qazg1ao5_400.jpg)


Just try to line up the range of formality of accessories, on one hand, to the type of
suit, on the other, if you wish to achieve a coherent look more effortlessly.





E.1.h. The Odd Jacket

In the prior set of posts, I suggested a practical way at looking at the suit that
offers a beginner who already has a handle on the fundamentals (which again are:
color coordination, pattern and texture coordination, and contrast combination) a
simple technique to achieve greater harmony in the fits that he assembles.

This technique is to observe, learn, and apply the concept that suits can be usefully
categorized into basic bands of different formalitytheir position in the
city/formal to country/informal spectrumso that they can be accessorized with
like things.

We are now going to do the same thing with odd jacket ensembles. An odd jacket,
by the way, is a jacket with which the pants do not match, unlike a suit in which
they do.



(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as provided in original document. Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at: http://cdn1.cdnme.se/cdn/9-2/972632/images/2010/cj13_73032090.jpg)




Let me reiterate that we are not talking about rules. We are, however, talking
about practical ways to organize the approach that you, as a beginner, might use
to put together your wardrobe and how you might select things from it for the
most reliably good effect.

In social or work contexts where others do not wear suits, a casual suit as we
discussed before might work. What would probably work better, however, is the
odd jacket.

This is something that you should think about if such a context applies to you.
Every man should have a city suit, but not every man need or should wear a suit
daily today.

Ironically, while odd jackets occupy the most informal side of the tailored clothing
spectrum, they add a significant dimension of potential complexity for the simple
reason that you also have to choose pants. Having a way to organize odd jackets
into their own position in the city/formal to country/informal spectrum can help
you with this. We are going to think about pants as if they are an accessory, no
different than a shirt, necktie, or shoes.

We will get started in the next post by dividing odd jackets into four categories.

E.1.i. The Odd Jacket from City to Country, from Formal to Informal

Unlike Gaul, all odd jackets are divided into four parts, ranging from the
city/formal/weekday spectrum to the country/informal/weekend end of things:

The navy blazer and other solid navy odd jackets.
Jackets in other solid colors (such as camel) or all classic jacket colors in
weaves and textures that resolve to a solid except up close.
Country and obviously patterned jackets, all tweeds (even more subtle ones
such as Donegals), heavily textured fabrics like corduroys, etc.
Unstructured, untailored jackets.

We will count the jackets in the first two bullets as city/formal, and the jackets in
the last two bullets as country/casual.

Before looking at each category individually with examples, I note three
considerations that you would be wise to keep in mind.

First, there is absolutely nothing that you (or the designer or tailor) can do to
formalize the jackets in the last two bullets. They are always
country/casual/weekend. Always. Think of it this way: the most formal thing that
you can do with such jackets is to pair them with matching pants. This makes it
into a casual suit. It does not make it into a city look suit. In contrast, the jackets in
the first two bullets can be rusticated by styling them with casual details (patch
pockets, action backs, half belts, etc.)







Second, a beginner can and should follow a very simple pattern combining
strategy when pairing odd trousers with an odd jacket. Solid city/formal jackets
can be paired with solid pants or be parts of more informal ensembles that
incorporate patterned pants. Country/casual jackets, however, should never be
paired with patterned pants. Yes it is possible, but do not aim for the possible, aim
for the certain. Do you want to avoid a train wreck? Do not get on the train. There
are plenty of other ways to lend charm, elegance and interest to your fit as a
beginner.

Third, when it makes sense, you can lose the necktie. It might make sense rarely,
or it might make sense all of the time. Only you can figure this out. If you lose the
necktie, it usually looks good to add an appropriate pocket square or hanky even if
you normally do not wear them.





E.1.j. The City/Formal Odd Jacket


For our purposesputting
together coherent fits
easilyodd jackets in the
city/formal spectrum have
one thing in common:
nearly all city look suit
accessories work with
these odd jackets. If you
are wearing a city look
gray suit, striped shirt,
neatly patterned silk tie,
and black oxfords, you can
remove the suit jacket and
replace it with a navy blue
blazer without another
thought.
(Prince Michael of Kent (2012). Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_
6PtPxOqUtjQ/TOdK54GwJcI/AAAAAAAADT0/
S2XXsyQG1DE/s320/prince+mike.jpg)




(Styleforum user Iammatt (2009).
Source as provided in original document.
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/5/56/561ef05c_tdx
001rb01.jpeg)


In several of the previous posts in
this thread, we discussed how it was
unwise to attempt to informalize a
city suit with accessories
appropriate for a casual suit. Once
we include odd jackets in the mix,
however, we now have a way to
informalize that city look
successfully, which is to replace the
suit jacket with a city/formal odd
jacket.








(Styleforum user Parker (Reuploaded 2011). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://i.imgur.com/huv63.jpg)

Such jackets, again, are:

The navy blazer and other solid
navy odd jackets done in classic
serge, hopsack, flannels, but also
cashmeres, camel hair, linen,
cotton, silks.
Jackets in other solid colors (such
as beige camel) or all classic jacket
colors in weaves and textures that
resolve to a solid except up close.















(Voxartoria (2012). Image
retrieved September 10,
2014 at:
http://38.media.tumblr.co
m/tumblr_mayk40G5J61rf1
jvro1_1280.jpg)













(Jeffery Diduch (2010). Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4
979060691_7216122bba_o.jpg)

Now, unlike a city look suit,
however, you can also successfully
informalize city/formal odd jackets
themselves (e.g., patch pockets), and
accessorize city/formal odd jacket
ensembles with the more
rustic/informal accessories that we
discussed in the previous sections
on the casual suit.








Examples include neckties in materials other than silk. Try a challis, Irish poplin,
Mogador, or a knit tie. Maybe lose the tie altogether. Add checked, multi-striped,
and colored shirts.
Button-down collars.
Sweater vests. Multi-
colored pocket squares.
Patterned but subtle
socks. Colored and
brogued shoesor
loafers. And even
patterned trousers or
ones in non-standard
colors.

(Styleforum user Kaplan
(2011). Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://i.imgur.com/892mQ.jpg)


























(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as provided in original
document. Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/c/c0/c0473623_0771.jpeg)



(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as provided in original
document. Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/3/3f/3fb5b53e_prkr516a1.jpeg)

Some of these casual options are going to be usually subtle. It is possible, but
difficult, to get a really crazy Irish poplin tie, for example. It is very easy, in
contrast, to get a pocket square or pants that are rather crazy.




(Styleforum user gdl203 (Reuploaded 2012). Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at: http://cdn.styleforum.net
/3/3e/3e2648bd_IMG01512-20110324-09211.jpeg)



(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as provided in original document.
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/8/83/833fc69b_mariano.jpeg)








Because odd jacket looks hold such wide
possibility for over-festooning, if you
experiment with a crazy accessory (in the
next post we will see this can be the odd
jacket itself), try keeping it to one item.
The crazier that one item, the more
chance of success you will have as a
beginner if you tone everything else back.


(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as provided in
original document. Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/e/ee/ee4c8cab_P10008201
1.jpeg)




E.1.k. The Country/Casual Odd Jacket



For our purposesputting together
coherent fits easilyodd jackets in
the country/casual spectrum have one
thing in common: nearly all city
look suit accessories are non-optimal
or even poor choices for these odd
jackets.

Such jackets, again, are:

Country and obviously
patterned jackets, all tweeds
(even more subtle ones such as
Donegals), heavily textured
fabrics like corduroys, etc.
Unstructured, untailored
jackets.


Styleforum user Edmorel (2011). Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/emorel98/ed.jpg)










(Styleforum user Iammatt (2008).
Image retrieved September 10,
2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/8/82/82b8
c8cc_td5002ni01.jpeg)
















(Styleforum user Docholliday
(2008). Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://i21.photobucket.com/alb
ums/b298/jadeb_/waytwed.jpg)







Tweeds have remarkable
popularity among online
denizens. Out in wild,
however, tweeds are far outnumbered by their city/formal odd jacket
counterparts. As a beginner, when you accessorize a tweed, you would be wise to
keep in mind that it is always a country jacket. Tweed in the city is rus in urbe,
country in the city. It is never, never urbane. So, you should typically match it
with rusticated accessories: shirts, ties, squares, shoes.






(Styleforum user YFYF (2010.)
Image retrieved September 10,
2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/c/c6/
c6761a46_yfyf-2010-12-27-
s1.jpeg)

You might protest, If I
do that, I might look like
an extra from All
Creatures Great and
Small. Well, some of you
oft do and it is odd to see
you tramping around a
metropolitan area
dressed that way.












(Styleforum user Montesquieu (2010).
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2249/2009
0331sf.jpg)




















(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as
provided in original document. Image
retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/e/e4/e4443d5
f_p1030737kf71.jpeg)





The trick with taming tweeds is to
(a) wear the relevant rustic
accessories but (b) go back to the
basics of color coordination,
pattern and texture coordination,
and contrast combination to tone
down the fit. This lends itself to
a quiet coherence that extends
the relevance of wearing tweed
into wider circumstances
compatible with city living. This
is why beginners should always
wear solid pants with tweed and
solid or subtle patterned,
textured, and knit neckties.

Again, the beginner who sports
the louder the country/casual
jacket, the bolder the pattern,
the more he should try calming
the other elements in the "fit."

(G. Bruce Boyer (2008). Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://images.thesartorialist.com/photos/s1600/BBoyerweb.jpg)


(Styleforum user iammatt
(Unsure, pre-2011). September 10, 2014 at:
http://stulenstil.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/rul
rgif7.jpg?w=558)

Few looks are more wonderful that a
no-holds-barred tweed look. You know,
Duke of Windsor-y, clash-on-clash. Yet,
I am sure that I will incite no
controversy if I were to note that doing
so outside of your estate or emerging
from your Daimler makes you stand out
in a dandified way. Does bold balance
bold? Yes it can, but it is not a natural
or inherent skill for most guys. If you
are a beginner who has gotten to this
point in this thread, you have already
decided this is not how you will
approach wearing coat and tie in your
immediate future.



(Styleforum user edmorel
(2008). Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://img.photobucket.com/alb
ums/v292/emorel98/P10007741
.jpg)







(Styleforum user
oldog/oldtrix (2011).
Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://i1220.photobucket.com
/albums/dd447/fred_h1/OFOT
3.jpg)




The same considerations that apply to all tweed and other country fabrics apply to
all obviously patterned odd jackets, even if made from more citified materials like
cashmeres or camel hair. A loud pattern says country/casual even if the fabric
inherently does not. Do not let the soft hand of that boldly checked cashmere
jacket fool you.




(Uncertain, likely
deleted. Source as
provided in original
document.
Image retrieved
September 10, 2014
at:
http://cdn.styleforum.
net/f/f5/f52b6beb_foo.
jpeg)








(Styleforum user voxsartoria
(2010). Image retrieved September
10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/2/2d/2d78
2a83_002we21.jpeg)


This leads us to a relatively
new but expanding category
of odd jackets, which are
unstructured, untailored
jackets. By untailored, I
mean lacking some of the
usual structural elements of
jackets, such as a canvas,
shoulder support, or even a
lining. These jackets are
unlikely to be urbane and
formal. Increasing numbers
of RTW examples, in fact, come from the niche fashion world that prizes
"workwear" and denim as every day, all day wear. This type of jacket has special
relevance for many of you since you wear jeans.


(Styleforum user Berlin Report (2009).Image
retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/himb
ee/DSC_0331-1.jpg)


For those of you who find yourselves
way at the casual end of the
city/formal to country/informal
spectrum, it is worth considering such
jackets. If you wear jeans most of the
time, it makes sense to be open to
jackets that are designed by makers
who are looking at clothes from the
viewpoint of that aesthetic.

One of the evolutionary changes in
Style Forum years ago was the division
of the forum and various recurring
threads between Mens Clothing and
Streetwear and Denim. Do not let that divide prevent you from considering this
category of jacket if your daily preference involves wearing denim, since that will
maximize the chance that your look will be coherent: our goal in this thread. With
a few notable exceptions, some of the worst looks shared on SF have been those
involving tailored jackets and jeans.











(Styleforum user NOBD
(2011).Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://i.imgur.com/MCc
7G.jpg)



















(Styleforum user
Berlin Report
(2010).Image
retrieved September
10, 2014 at:
http://i161.photobuck
et.com/albums/t224/
himbee/DSC_0343-
1.jpg)








Beyond this point lies casual
wear, which is beyond the scope
of this thread.


(Uncertain, likely deleted.
Source as provided in original document.
Image retrieved September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/b/be/becd8f01__DS
C5025_2.jpeg)





















(Uncertain, likely deleted. Source as
provided in original
document. Image retrieved
September 10, 2014 at:
http://cdn.styleforum.net/2/2f/
2fd4034f_CPTourist1.jpeg)










Our next set of practical thoughts on coherent combinations for beginners will be:

Principle 2: Keep elements of each fit within (a) the same aesthetic and (b)
within the same level of quality.

(Note: F. Corbera elected to no longer participate in the Styleforum Website in 2012,
and as such this series was regrettably orphaned at this stage. He currently curates
the menswear tumblr voxsartoria at http://www.voxsartoria.com/ and is
@voxsartoria on twitter.)








Additional Reading

This document in its original presentation:

http://web.archive.org/web/20120711003637/http://www.styleforum.net/t/287922/pra
ctical-thoughts-on-coherent-combinations-for-beginners

Books:

Apparel Arts 5
th
Anniversary Issue (1936). Now known as GQ out of print, copies
occasionally appear on eBay.

G. Bruce Boyer (1985). Elegance: A Guide to Quality in Menswear. Available from
Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Elegance-A-Guide-Quality-
Menswear/dp/0393304388

H.R.H. The Duke of Windsor (1960). Windsor Revisited. Available from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/Windsor-Revisited-H-R-H-The-Duke/dp/B0007DLCHU

Nik Cohn (1971). Today There Are No Gentlemen. Out of print, limited availability used
on Amazon otherwise, eBay or second hand.




Hardy Amies (1994). The Englishmans Suit. Available from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Englishmans-Suit-Hardy-Amies/dp/0704371693

Farid Chenoune (1996). History of Men's Fashion. Available from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/History-Mens-Fashion-Farid-Chenoune/dp/2080135368
(Enormous and expensive eBay might be a little better, but not much)

Styleforum must reads:

Whnays Good Taste Thread:
http://www.styleforum.net/t/309586/whnay-s-good-taste-thread
800 or so pages and counting of menswear from some of Styleforums best.

Get Foofed:
http://www.styleforum.net/t/115692/get-foofed
Mafoofan, a Styleforum regular with a fantastic eye for detail, alters and corrects
fits from the most jarring to the most subtle. A great example of how the little details
really do add up.






WAYWRN Hall of Fame, Pre 2010:
http://www.styleforum.net/t/253439/waywrn-hall-of-fame-pre-2010
Did you ever see a picture of someone doing it all right, then go looking for its owner
and find them long since gone? If they were a Styleforum user from before 2010,
chances are they are survived in this thread.
(Archived copy, for the early images that have vanished: http://web.archive.org/web/
20120212212805/http://www.styleforum.net/t/253439/waywrn-hall-of-fame-pre-2010)

Official Best of WAAYWT / Favorite Fits:
http://www.styleforum.net/t/243095/official-best-of-waywt-favorite-fits
Started in 2011, a continuation of the curated hall of fame largely maintained by
Styleforum regulars. Notable in that its still alive three years later in 2014, with new
fits popping up when people think they belong here.

The Contentedness Thread:
http://www.styleforum.net/t/303455/the-contentedness-thread
A fascinating change of pace, a little island in the sea of spending and acquiring that
is the main side of the world of fashion we move in. What do we have already? How
does it make our lives that much better?