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List of Bare Necessities - Page 6

post #76 of 153
10/5/12 at 8:00pm
Some completely unstructure jacket like the engineered garments andover (and it could be navy, grey black, I don't actually think it matters too much) is what I think would cover more of those "in between" scenarios than a navy blazer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcbrown View Post

Because this is about a minimalist dressy wardrobe, and t-shirts are not dressy. Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Forget jackets - what about socks? For the average man in the average situation, white athletic socks are fine, because they work with sneakers, and sneakers are usually fine. But if they need to dress up, sneakers are not fine, so athletic socks are not fine. Therefore we wouldn't tell someone to stock their dressy wardrobe with athletic socks, because the assumption is that the thing they go with (sneakers) are not part of the consideration.
By the way, everyone saying a worsted navy jacket is not useful is crazy. I keep one in the closet at work precisely because it literally coordinates with every combination of shirt and trousers that I wear to the office. So on the odd occasion where I have an unexpected meeting with someone for whom I feel the need to dress up slightly, I can throw on the jacket without even thinking about what I'm wearing that day. Maybe I won't win points for creativity, but I will look well put together. For the average man, that is all they need.
Grey jackets are much harder to coordinate properly, and are therefore less useful in a minimalist MC wardrobe. Sure they look good with jeans, but not necessarily with grey trousers. Since this is about "dressy" clothing, the jeans matter a lot less than the trousers.

Right, but we're covering the formality levels that the average person has to deal with.

Let's take the OP's list of what he wants covered by this jacket:
1) "business casual" networking event:
Above outfit would be fine, IMO

2) weekend theater or opera performance
I would wear a suit for this.

3) going out to dinner at a nice restaurant with someone you want to impress, or at least look nice for
Again, above outfit is fine in 99% of restaurants, for the hyper formal, the navy or charcoal suit will be better than a blazer anyway.

4) a classy holiday or dinner party
again, above outfit.

5) graduations
This depends on location, but I would prefer to wear a suit for a graduation.
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post #77 of 153
10/5/12 at 9:55pm
As someone who owns a grey SC, I can attest to what a pain it is to coordinate it with anything but denim. And though that's passable sometimes, is it ever your best option? Not for me.

Just my humble opinion, but I wouldn't agree that the above look is particularly good or more specifically, I wouldn't personally wear it out for dinner. When a jacket is that short, it's not much more than a frumpy cardigan.
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post #78 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hendrix View Post

Some completely unstructure jacket like the engineered garments andover (and it could be navy, grey black, I don't actually think it matters too much) is what I think would cover more of those "in between" scenarios than a navy blazer.

Right, but we're covering the formality levels that the average person has to deal with.
Let's take the OP's list of what he wants covered by this jacket:
1) "business casual" networking event:
Above outfit would be fine, IMO
2) weekend theater or opera performance
I would wear a suit for this.
3) going out to dinner at a nice restaurant with someone you want to impress, or at least look nice for
Again, above outfit is fine in 99% of restaurants, for the hyper formal, the navy or charcoal suit will be better than a blazer anyway.
4) a classy holiday or dinner party
again, above outfit.
5) graduations
This depends on location, but I would prefer to wear a suit for a graduation.

That EG jacket is nice for streetwear.

However, you are barking up the wrong tree. A slouchy charcoal cotton jacket with a very high button stance and unusual pockets is hardly staple MC attire.

I respect your opinion, but you are not going to win over any MC posters. No one in the MC really worries about being "overdressed."
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post #79 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:14pm
i just meant it as an example of an unstructured jacket.

I take your point though, perhaps it should instead be recommended as part of his casual wardrobe.

I still think a tweed or linen jacket would be a better first choice than a plain weave blazer.
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post #80 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by unbelragazzo View Post

Any navy jacket that's not a suit jacket will do, doesn't need the shiny buttons.

To me, a navy blazer just means patch pockets. Non worsted fabric. The gold buttons are not essential. Buttons can be changed; fabric and pockets cannot.



Vox had his Swiss Army suit

503969247_ttqvT-L.jpg

http://www.styleforum.net/t/111076/the-swissarmysuit-a-sartorial-strip-tease/150_30



Manton had a Blazersuit with horn buttons, right? Jacket was supposed to be a separate if needed

http://www.styleforum.net/t/104793/the-blazersuit-part-deux/0_30






art-sport_coat_blazer.gif
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post #81 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:48pm
D, I think the problem with this thread is that it assumes some kind of commonality in lifestyle between every man in America. Between the 22 year old graduate and the 65 year old retiree. Between the urban city dweller and the country boy. Between the rich and the poor. Between the East Asian immigrant and the WASP. So on and so forth.

The only real commonality we have is that people die and people get married, and we have to attend those respective ceremonies. Unfortunately, even at funerals, people often don't come in suits, but you would clearly be better off if you did. Most weddings also require a suit. So, a suit is perhaps the only thing every man in America should have. Plus whatever else he needs to wear with it (a white shirt, solid tie, maybe a pair of black oxfords).

Hardly anyone goes to the opera, not everyone has a girlfriend whose parents are used to seeing men in sport coats, and not every office party is the same. Furthermore, people work different kinds of jobs, which require different kinds of dress codes. The whole point of business casual is that it's up for interpretation. It certainly does not mean navy SC and grey trousers. If it did, America wouldn't be in the sartorial mess it's in.

And on academia, as a graduate student like yourself, I disagree that you'd be better off in a sport coat. It really depends on your position in the department, the field you're in, the university you're at, the place you're presenting, etc. One could conceivably be over-dressed with a sport coat during a presentation, and might be better served with just a button up shirt and khakis. You don't want your clothes to be distracting, and one might think they will be if you show up in a navy sport coat to present in the math department at some of the more liberal universities in California. Esp if you're a grad student.
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post #82 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:53pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I've graduated from being a grad student to being a professor now, so it's a bit different. At my department, we have visiting speakers give seminars weekly. I'd say about half wear a jacket, and it always looks much better. There's a well-known prof at Berkeley that wears nothing but tie-dye t-shirts to class. When he came to present at my department in grad school, even he wore at least a dress shirt. But it may vary field to field.

Anyway, people are getting way to hung up on the opera thing. Forget the opera. Most men in the Western world will have SOME occasion for an odd navy jacket (if you're getting too hung up on the term "blazer"), where a suit is too much, and wearing the jacket is a massive improvement over not wearing it. For city dwellers these may be more common. For older gentlemen this may be more common. But everyone should be prepared for these types of situations.
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post #83 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:55pm
Thread Starter 
A note on the intent of this thread - again, I realize that everyone faces different circumstances and occasions for their dress. The point of this thread is to boil it down to the lowest common denominator, so that virtually everyone will need these things at some point, and also that these items will cover the needs of almost everyone. The bare necessities are both necessary and sufficient for never being poorly dressed for most men.
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post #84 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:55pm
side note: are you a professor already? That's quite impressive. What field?
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post #85 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:57pm
I'm not getting hung up on the blazer thing, but can you name one event that every man in America is likely to attend at some point that requires a sport coat?
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post #86 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hendrix View Post

i just meant it as an example of an unstructured jacket.
I take your point though, perhaps it should instead be recommended as part of his casual wardrobe.
I still think a tweed or linen jacket would be a better first choice than a plain weave blazer.

Again, this thread has nothing to do with a "casual wardrobe". This is not about how to be stylish. Once you've entered a casual setting, you can basically wear whatever the hell you want and nobody will think you're being inappropriate. This thread is so that in non-casual situations, everyone from your peers to your parents will acknowledge that you are paying proper respect to the situation and are dressed appropriately.
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post #87 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hendrix View Post

side note: are you a professor already? That's quite impressive. What field?

thanks - economics. btw, what happened to multi quotes??? oh noozzzz!!!!

edit: my multis are back. that was a brief but harrowing interlude.
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post #88 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dieworkwear View Post

I'm not getting hung up on the blazer thing, but can you name one event that every man in America is likely to attend at some point that requires a sport coat?

Dinner at a nice restaurant? "Requires" is a strong word - there are few restaurants that still require a jacket, and to those you could wear a suit. But many men at some point in their lives go to a restaurant where a jacket would be very much welcome, and a suit would be too much.
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post #89 of 153
10/5/12 at 10:59pm
Not everyone eats at nice restaurants. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it's absolutely true. Very few people go to the type of restaurants where one might need a sport coat. Seriously.
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post #90 of 153
10/5/12 at 11:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hendrix View Post

1) "business casual" networking event:
Above outfit would be fine, IMO

No, IMHO. Not appropriate for business casual networking.

Quote:
2) weekend theater or opera performance
I would wear a suit for this.
For an opera probably ok. For theater on the weekends (i.e., when you couldn't be coming from work), it's a bit overkill in most theaters. Blazer is way better.
Quote:
3) going out to dinner at a nice restaurant with someone you want to impress, or at least look nice for
Again, above outfit is fine in 99% of restaurants, for the hyper formal, the navy or charcoal suit will be better than a blazer anyway.

Definitely still restaurants in the middle, at least in major cities. Maybe even more in mid-sized towns, as many of the "nice" restaurants still wouldn't be good places for suit and tie (remember, the suit and tie ALWAYS go together. No suit without a tie.)

4) a classy holiday or dinner party
again, above outfit.

No, too informal (at least for some parties).
Quote:
5) graduations
This depends on location, but I would prefer to wear a suit for a graduation.

Not totally out of line, but at most graduations, you would be definitively in the minority for observers.
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