"matching" wife's outfit advice

I note that some men here are advising the OP to wear a suit with an open-collared shirt.

Some men can pull this off....like George Clooney or Brad Pitt. They can do so because they look they way they do. Most of us do not look like George Clooney or Brad Pitt. On us the open necked shirt with a suit is simply a sartorial anomaly and makes us look like doofuses. An exception might be a rather casual suit like corduroy suit or a linen summer suit.

I think within the spectrum the OP is talking about, at least for the first night, he has three decent options:

Suit and tie
Sport coat/blazer and tie
Sport coat/blazer and open-necked shirt.

I could insert "sport coat/blazer and ascot" between the tie and the open collar, but I have the sense the OP is probably not the ascot type.

Pics of wife.

To the OP: Don't get your drawers in a bunch. This is typical SF camaraderie. We seek to help, and when a poster, new or old, suggests something ridiculous, the masses pounce.

The bottom line is that most here use a dinner jacket for its intended purpose. In my opinion, it has no other place. The masses agree with me, and so should you.

If you would like to compliment your wife's elegance, follow JLib's advice. Don't do a suit sans tie -- because it isn't a good look for us common folk. If her outfit calls for you in a suit and tie, go that route. If not, pair a blazer or odd jacket with a nice pair of trousers and a collared shirt. Tie optional. There is a reason that these combinations are classic. They work. Your wife should be the center of attention, not you in your denim and dinner jacket.

A personal story, if for no other purpose but to brag: On Thursday I wore a pair of tan trousers, a blue blazer, OCBD, simple repp necktie, white linen square and brown bals. As I walked to the metro after work, a random young lady stopped me in the street and told me she "loved my outfit." It was nothing flashy, but it was all well tailored and worked well together. Often it is simple elegance that makes the best statement. Give it a try.

Originally Posted by JLibourel

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I note that some men here are advising the OP to wear a suit with an open-collared shirt.

Some men can pull this off....like George Clooney or Brad Pitt. They can do so because they look they way they do. Most of us do not look like George Clooney or Brad Pitt. On us the open necked shirt with a suit is simply a sartorial anomaly and makes us look like doofuses. An exception might be a rather casual suit like corduroy suit or a linen summer suit.
.

I don't understand this. I can understand you not feeling comfortable not wearing a tie but not everybody has the same hang up. The fact that you're willing to mention a blazer with no tie really points this to being a hangup.

Originally Posted by Nicola

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I don't understand this. I can understand you not feeling comfortable not wearing a tie but not everybody has the same hang up. The fact that you're willing to mention a blazer with no tie really points this to being a hangup.

You can absolutely wear a suit without a tie. You will just look as if you're not done dressing.

To the OP:

You left out some important details.

How's your wife's hair going to be? Blown out & curled or snatched back in a ponytail?
What shoe is she going with? Classic pumps or strappy sandals?
What will she wear on her neck? Thin chain with locket or pearls?
Purse or clutch?

Those details will indicate the level you should go to.

Originally Posted by cmeatx

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Second night out will be a bit more casual, but she's wearing a fashion-forward orange dress. It's not trendy but not dressy either. I have no clue what to do. I was thinking of a t-shirt under a sports coat kind of thing.

As you mentioned, the second night out sounds a bit casual. Personally, I don't like the t-shirt under a sports coat thing too much. If it's going to be casual and relax, why not just lose the sports coat altogether (the summer solstice is here after all). What about a pair of dark, dressy jeans, and a tailored dress shirt? You can go for something with a little bit of orange in it if you feel like going matchy matchy with the wifey.

My two cents' worth.

Originally Posted by Nicola

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I don't understand this. I can understand you not feeling comfortable not wearing a tie but not everybody has the same hang up. The fact that you're willing to mention a blazer with no tie really points this to being a hangup.

A suit is more formal than a sports jacket. A tie is more formal than no tie. Hence sports jacket and no tie works, whereas suit and no tie doesn't.

Originally Posted by bigbris1

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You can absolutely wear a suit without a tie. You will just look as if you're not done dressing.
.

Rules are great when you're 12. You follow the crowd. Dye your hair pink. Get the matching pins in your cheek. Just like a good rule following fashion victim.

At some point you grow up. Learn to do what looks good not what the cool kid down the street does.

Originally Posted by Nicola

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Rules are great when you're 12. You follow the crowd. Dye your hair pink. Get the matching pins in your cheek. Just like a good rule following fashion victim.

At some point you grow up. Learn to do what looks good not what the cool kid down the street does.

OK

It sounds like the OP has given up on us, which is fair enough. I would think if he lurked at all he would have expected the reaction he got to his proposed outfits. However, my advise follows most of what is above. A nice trim cut blazer is better than an orphaned tuxedo jacket. You can still wear the dark wash jeans. Avoid a t-shirt under a jacket unless you can really pull it off. This is hard to judge without pictures, but it really needs to be the right t under the right jacket. See street wear an denim for more suggestions.

Originally Posted by JLibourel

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I note that some men here are advising the OP to wear a suit with an open-collared shirt.

Some men can pull this off....like George Clooney or Brad Pitt. They can do so because they look they way they do. Most of us do not look like George Clooney or Brad Pitt. On us the open necked shirt with a suit is simply a sartorial anomaly and makes us look like doofuses. An exception might be a rather casual suit like corduroy suit or a linen summer suit.

Much agreed. The other problem is that people see this look in movies like Ocean's Eleven and try to imitate it, but they don't know what shoes to wear because they aren't explicitly featured on the screen so they usually end up with some god awful square toed shoes with a 1/2" tick rubber sole.

I recall someone saying once - long, long, ago - that the gentleman wears neutral colors and styles in order to allow his companion to garner the attention; as suggested by:
Vox, Marin and Radicaldog.

Flashback.
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=124139

Troll?

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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Tuxedo jacket and jeans; yes, yes, yes!!! Black or grey jeans of course, unless you're Hedi Slimane or dress like him.

No, no no! Never wear a tux jacket with jeans. A suit jacket maybe but never a tux, jeans are too casual to be worn with that kind of jacket.