Are suits the better choice, or is the odd jacket, trousers and tie superior (I think the latter...

Suits are beautiful and here to stay. Every outfit has its place.

Definitely odd jackets and trousers, in linens, tweeds, or patterned worsteds are the way to go. Even with a tie you won't necessarily look stuffy. Unfortunately it's hard to pull off a suit outside the Continent, and only the southern portion thereof at that. If you lose the tie on a suit, it can be acceptable as casual wear in the US, sometimes.

I joined Styleforum precisely to help me with the shift from suits to odd jackets/trousers. It became a far greater undertaking than expected as a lot of my ties which worked well in the context of a suit don't do it with odd jackets.

You just have to work out if wearing a suit everyday works for you. Odd jackets aren't better or worse, just different. More casual. So just tone it down according to the situation...

I love suits. I love the more casual mix of trousers and sports coat.

 

That said, I would definitely not wear the more casual mix to a fancy dinner or a festive evening party. And I would probably not wear a suit to a casual brunch. I have some suits that can be more casual due to their fabrication, so I might wear a suit, but probably wouldn't.

Suits, even a solid navy or dark gray, needn't look stuff if paired with fairly aggressive patterned shirt - a check or gingham or strong tattersall.

 

I don't wear suits everyday (office is business casual and I'm one of the few with a jacket and tie most days) but in addition to a wool navy and gray suits, I've got summer cotton suits in tan and blue that are fun, a seersucker and pincord that look like seersucker, and a linen suit. These need not be stuffy either with the right shirt, and sometimes I wear them without a tie (frowned on here, I know)..

A mixture of both does not hurt but I think suits are better.

Suits are obviously more formal and sometines you just don't have an option and suits are the way to go but what I like about the odd jacket is that you can be much more daring in terms of color or pattern

I have somewhat conflicting views on this personally, though I love odd jacket / trouser combinations.

1. Suits are more formal and they have a certain elegance and simplicity to them.

2. Odd jacket / trouser combinations can be more interesting and give you a lot more potential combinations to work with.

If you're at an event where a number of people will be wearing high quality suits or where a suit would be expected, I'd stick with the suit. To me examples of this include weddings that are not black tie where there's no indication of the wedding being casual, fancy dinners, and the like. If you're going to an event where there will be a variety of different outfits (e.g. some "cocktail attire" party where you'll see a couple suits, some odd jackets, some people with no jacket, and shudder, even some people with no tie), then enjoy the flexibility that the odd jacket / trouser combination provides.

The suit is of course more formal than odd jacket / trousers combinations. As long as you're not underdressed and trying to pass off the odd jacket / trousers look in an environment that calls for a suit, you'll probably be better dressed than most of the people there regardless of which way you go.

EDIT: I completely failed to mention linen and seersucker as more casual suiting options during summer. I find these give off a very different vibe than your worsted wool suit in some form of navy or grey.
Edited by archibaldleach - 12/20/12 at 1:10pm

 

In my city, a guy who's walking around in a jacket and tie looks like he's going/coming from work, regardless of whether he's wearing matching pants or not. I'm guessing that that's the case in most cities.

 

I don't think that suits are "stuffy" unless you have stuffy style. I think that you can dress them down pretty extensively without looking like an idiot (just like you can dress odd jacket outfits UP to a very high level), but if you're going for a really casual look, then odd jackets will win IMO. I'm not a big fan of all of the thick fabrics and boxy patterns that a lot of the guys here "salivate over."

Try and experiment more with casual suits. Outside of the basic black/navy/charcoal suits, there are a lot of suits that you can wear that won't make ppl think you are coming from work.

I rarely ever wear an odd jacket and trousers, I prefer suits.

I started with odd jackets and blazers and moved to suits. I find it simpler in the AM.