HOF: What Are You Wearing Right Now - Part IV (starting May 2014)

How cold do your winters get, Sydney folks?

The tie width is not proportional to the lapel width.
The jacket is too tight and does not fit.

This year has been unusually warm during Autumn.

The winters can get down to 8C° (61°F) similar to California. I can't really complain it's that cold compare to some of you folks in the northern hemisphere.

Pardon the shameless bathroom selfie...

SS Navy Napoli




sorry for the ****** photo...just got this suit back from tailors...fit critiques (if any can be given)

Looking good!

Only suggestion would be to TV fold the PS. I think that suit and your look is too formal for what you've done.

Oh and maybe a wider tie. Pattern isn't my favorite but looks fine.

Been busy, busy recently and have not had much time to post and have only occasionally lurked. But I managed to snap some pics today, first day with linen trousers. SC is wool/linen blend but unfortunately fully lined. Thinking about having it altered to be half- or quarter-lined

Linen shirt, cotton bond cuff shirt, selvege denim

EliodA said:

@luv2breformed I always find it interesting to read about the thought process that goes into your fits, though at times I feel you may be overthinking it a bit. That said, I think this is a very nice fit and good use of a yellow tie. FWIW, you should have chosen the loafers, indeed.

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sugarbutch said:

Your logic seems sound, but I don't think the results support it. This looks smashing:
But this falls apart:
I'm struggling to suggest something better, but I also don't remember seeing this jacket with the gray pants, either. Maybe I'd like the default suggestions better. Perhaps you could post pics of the various options from your closet?

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An Acute Style said:

The top is great. Very nice jacket/tie combo. I'm not crazy about the square. I think this falls apart below the waist. I don't think the pants and tie work well together. Or maybe dark brown shoes and belt would have been better with the pants. Something is off to me.

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sugarbutch said:

The pants are the problem for me. I generally don't care for chinos with worsted jackets, but I think this doesn't work even discounting my dislike of them. AAS makes a good point about the interaction of the tie and pants, and I wonder if that shade of tan just doesn't work with that jacket, whether made of cotton or wool.

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sstokol said:

Swap the kicks for dark brown suede, to capture a slightly more casual vibe to match to the causal pants and slightly more casual tie? Or loafers as you suggested in your thought process

Perhaps swap the chinos for biege linen or light brown, being slightly more formal than chinos but still somewhat chillaxed and "spring-y"?
(though that might just reflect my excessive love for linen)

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mothon said:

I think you should taper the pants from the knee down.

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TweedyProf said:

This is a nice discussion. I actually think L2BR put together a nice fit. I'm sure he got lots of admiring looks from the non-SF crowd as he walked around (men and women thinking "I wish my boyfriend dressed like that!").

But we pick nits here. I agree with SB about the fabric coherence. Still, I think L2BR noted that they are actually cream which I think a good choice if you are going to wear light gray on top. I like white as well and I can imagine, possibly, navy working. I also think the shoes are fine on the casual scale and I think with light pants, caramel, light brown is great (though I'm torn about split toes). Get some light weight wool pants, L2BR, and you're good to go with cream or white.

I think it's the yellow tie. I agree it looks nice on top where it appears more saturated in pic (more mustard). In the context of the whole fit, it gets washed out. Note that if he had chosen a navy knit, picking up the other non-gray color in the jacket, we'd be happier I suspect (remember this is a nit). The tie is an anchor point for the eye, but it's just lost in the whole fit pic (AAS's point).

But working with the yellow scale, what if the tie were darker, more rust. I'd change out the shoes to Elio's suggestion of darker suede, though not too dark if brown, maybe even navy suede. A darker yellow would help it not get lost overall.

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Wow, thanks for all of the help, guys. Here are some more of my thoughts given your discussion:

On overthinking things, I suppose that's partially true. That said, I don't have much of an eye for color or texture inherently. I am a very logical and step by step oriented person. I find it difficult to appreciate art at times (when my wife seems to be able to stare at the same painting for 15 minutes), and I certainly can't produce any art of my own. Before I came to SF I was a sartorial wreck. Just go back and look at some of my early iterations in WAYWRN 3. Absolute disaster. "Overthinking" when I get dressed is how i know to get dressed well. I also enjoy the process.

I really like challenging myself in my clothing. I like experimenting and trying new things. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure new things out, but I like I am learning while I am doing it. Certain outfits are more and more second nature to me now. While pushing into "uncharted territory" (for me) often takes a while. However it's also more rewarding. Take the outfit in discussion. I have no doubt that if I swapped the tie for a navy knit, swapped the trousers for the same mid-gray trousers I wore in my monochrome fit a few days ago, and swapped the shoes/belt for my tobacco suede bals that it would have went over very well. However, that's the easy way out (in my mind). Sometimes I just want to look really good. When I do, I take the "easy way out". Sometimes however, I want to expand my horizons. When that is the case I try for the yellow tie (or black shoes with odd jacket or spectator shoes or pink chinos) instead. Expect to see more of both in the future.

On the topic of this outfit in particular, I REALLY like the top block. I don't think the tie is the problem. I think darker shoes would have been worse. There is nothing dark in the whole outfit. Throwing dark shoes and belt in would draw the eye too much to the shoes/belt and everything else would wash out. I should have gone loafers, but I think that is a small difference. I think tobacco suede may have worked, but would have verged on being too dark. I actually have light suede loafers that I didn't think of at all that would have been great. I don't think that tan split toes were wrong here however, just sub-optimal. They occupy roughly a simlar level of formality, and their color is close to correct.

I really think the problem is the pants. I also am beginning to dislike chinos with a jacket (or at least with a tie). That said, these have a higher rise and I ironed a crease into them, so if any chinos can go with a jacket and tie these are the sort I would like to try with. I don't think they need to be tapered. I noted the wind was killing the drape, look how slim they look in the first full length picture. I think their color is just wrong. I think white may have been the best choice here. That or something like a light taupe, but again that is verging on being too dark.

I think this problem can be summed up like this: Light tie wants light jacket, light jacket wants dark pants, light tie hates dark pants. Ergo, light ties are bad. This is simplistic and obviously has plenty of exceptions, but this attempt has helped me to arrive at this rough guideline. I thought the solution was to go even lighter than the jacket with the pants. That will get me the contrast I need and still won't wash out the tie. However as has been noted, it didn't work here. It's not quite that simple.

Finally, to address Tweedy's statement about SF in general. I don't care what non-SF thinks. They in large part don't have a clue. If SF says I look bad, then I look bad and I am determined to fix it. I will not settle for less than my best. The nits are where we go from acceptable/good to great. All that said, TweedyProf I really appreciate your kind words.

I hope I'm not coming across to anyone as combative. Really just thinking aloud here.

L2BR

Appreciate your thoughtful response. The best yellow tie fits I've seen are with navy blazer or suit. Yellow ties are hard to pull off, but a dark background like navy makes it that much easier.

Your matching it to the yellow overcheck was a good instinct. But it doesn't have to match. Orange and Brown, having yellow in them, would pick up the yellow of the jacket; that's more subtle and would work as well. I really think a brown or rust or burnt orange knit would do wonders. That's the only change I would really make here in terms of colors.

Nothing wrong with dress chinos, but then wear a cotton or linen jacket or some blend of these (even wool.linen)

Oh, and if you have a significant other, unless they are here in the SF-o-sphere, their opinion will matter lots (just ask Rudals).

That makes my head hurt.



luv2breformed said:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Wow, thanks for all of the help, guys. Here are some more of my thoughts given your discussion:

On overthinking things, I suppose that's partially true. That said, I don't have much of an eye for color or texture inherently. I am a very logical and step by step oriented person. I find it difficult to appreciate art at times (when my wife seems to be able to stare at the same painting for 15 minutes), and I certainly can't produce any art of my own. Before I came to SF I was a sartorial wreck. Just go back and look at some of my early iterations in WAYWRN 3. Absolute disaster. "Overthinking" when I get dressed is how i know to get dressed well. I also enjoy the process.

I really like challenging myself in my clothing. I like experimenting and trying new things. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure new things out, but I like I am learning while I am doing it. Certain outfits are more and more second nature to me now. While pushing into "uncharted territory" (for me) often takes a while. However it's also more rewarding. Take the outfit in discussion. I have no doubt that if I swapped the tie for a navy knit, swapped the trousers for the same mid-gray trousers I wore in my monochrome fit a few days ago, and swapped the shoes/belt for my tobacco suede bals that it would have went over very well. However, that's the easy way out (in my mind). Sometimes I just want to look really good. When I do, I take the "easy way out". Sometimes however, I want to expand my horizons. When that is the case I try for the yellow tie (or black shoes with odd jacket or spectator shoes or pink chinos) instead. Expect to see more of both in the future.

On the topic of this outfit in particular, I REALLY like the top block. I don't think the tie is the problem. I think darker shoes would have been worse. There is nothing dark in the whole outfit. Throwing dark shoes and belt in would draw the eye too much to the shoes/belt and everything else would wash out. I should have gone loafers, but I think that is a small difference. I think tobacco suede may have worked, but would have verged on being too dark. I actually have light suede loafers that I didn't think of at all that would have been great. I don't think that tan split toes were wrong here however, just sub-optimal. They occupy roughly a simlar level of formality, and their color is close to correct.

I really think the problem is the pants. I also am beginning to dislike chinos with a jacket (or at least with a tie). That said, these have a higher rise and I ironed a crease into them, so if any chinos can go with a jacket and tie these are the sort I would like to try with. I don't think they need to be tapered. I noted the wind was killing the drape, look how slim they look in the first full length picture. I think their color is just wrong. I think white may have been the best choice here. That or something like a light taupe, but again that is verging on being too dark.

I think this problem can be summed up like this: Light tie wants light jacket, light jacket wants dark pants, light tie hates dark pants. Ergo, light ties are bad. This is simplistic and obviously has plenty of exceptions, but this attempt has helped me to arrive at this rough guideline. I thought the solution was to go even lighter than the jacket with the pants. That will get me the contrast I need and still won't wash out the tie. However as has been noted, it didn't work here. It's not quite that simple.

Finally, to address Tweedy's statement about SF in general. I don't care what non-SF thinks. They in large part don't have a clue. If SF says I look bad, then I look bad and I am determined to fix it. I will not settle for less than my best. The nits are where we go from acceptable/good to great. All that said, TweedyProf I really appreciate your kind words.

I hope I'm not coming across to anyone as combative. Really just thinking aloud here.

To be honest I see no problem with the pants at all. I am with EliodA and I think that fit required suede Chukkas or Loafers to balance out the colors and formality of the bottom. I applaud your risk taking and going outside the box.

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TweedyProf said:

The best yellow tie fits I've seen are with navy blazer or suit.

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I love yellow ties with navy suits, light blue shirts, black or brown shoes - its a good look.

TweedyProf said:

[...] The best yellow tie fits I've seen are with navy blazer or suit. ...]

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That's been my experience, too. I'm not saying other options couldn't work, but blue SC/suit with a yellow tie is usually pretty safe (depending on the shade of yellow, of course).

Their versatility and the ease with which they combine with such a wide variety of ties is one reason why blue and charcoal suits have long been regarded as the foundation of a wardrobe.

Cheers,

Ac

kulata said:

To be honest I see no problem with the pants at all. I am with EliodA and I think that fit required suede Chukkas or Loafers to balance out the colors and formality of the bottom. I applaud your risk taking and going outside the box.

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This is a lot harder when you guys aren't unanimous.

Seriously though I appreciate all of the advice and feedback, it's really helping me. I'm thinking about playing dress up when I get home as SB sort of suggested. If I do I'll throw all the options on here in a spoiler and people can vote on their favorite.

For those who dislike the pants color. Just a thought that cream is perhaps too "rich" a color for the rest?

Happy Thursday everyone. Thanks for all the thumbs from yesterday. Much more casual today. Everything is cotton, minus the chukkas of course. On Thursday I work in a department that is much more laid back so I try to mold myself to the environment. Have a great day folks!




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