The sport coat - Page 6

Not black and white? I dunno. Dickhead that I am, if I saw you in person, I'd sneer inside and think either (a) you are insecure about your body, and wear dark colors like a worried girl who thinks they are fooling people with "slimming" colors, or (b) you think you are "with it," and wear dark colors because fashion spreads and GQ have given you the idea that they are hip. And from a practical standpoint, navy/blue pants are not versatile because blue shirts and navy sport coats are so common. And then there is the shoe question. I like shoes to be darker than the trousers -- seems like the natural order of things -- so dark trousers require black shoes, which are more boring. There are notable exceptions of course. Seriously, you look good in all your pics gnatty, and I thank you for posting them as much as you do. Don't give a damn what I think; I only wanted to answer your question since I have an opinion and you asked for it.

So, if navy is out, what am I supposed to wear with a grey sportcoat? Is it, to you, unacceptable to wear light blue shirts with navy pants, but acceptable to pair grey jackets with different grey trousers?

And on the shoe issue: So navy trousers "require" black shoes? So all those people wearing brown with their navy suits are doing it wrong?

What are the acceptable colours for pants again? Grey, khaki, and, uh, grey?

Sounds like the infamous Silicon Valley smart casual dress code.

^ Navy is not out. Navy cannot go out. It is a classic color. Just be sure the trousers you buy are good quality so as not to channel the Wackenhut Couture look and you will be fine.

Navy trousers do not require black shoes.

In fact, to keep the guys who think security guard with navy trousers, it is probably best to stay away from black shoes with navy. Period. Just be sure you don't tend towards a band-aid color, or that would be just wrong.

I think some of Neofinitia's posts present interesting alternatives to the traditional sport coat that don't seem overly counry or stuffy but at the same time avoid the urban slickness that many of us dislike.

Aren't the notches on the lapel ridiculously high? Anymore and it would be on the back of the jacket. All these jackets look awesome. I want more pics of this gray herringbone blazer from straight ahead. I want to get one MTM like that. I thought slant pockets would look weird, and I should opt for ticket pockets, but that's making me think otherwise.

I meant "out" as in "ruled out", not "out of style". Dewey was advising against navy trousers; I disagree, but wanted to explore the limits of his rule and his reasons.

Love the coat on the left.

Those, my friend, are called (blue) jeans.

What would your response be if someone told you that navy trousers were wrong for your outfit?

I can answer for me -- others can answer for themselves. With a gray sportcoat, I wear tan or brown. This is a wide range of colors really, since tan can be yellow to orange and maybe even sometimes greenish. I don't think it's unacceptable to wear light blue shirts with navy pants, but I would feel like Little Boy Blue if I wore a blue shirt, blue pants, and a navy blazer or a blue/gray plaid or a navy plaid sport coat. Half or more of my sport coats are navy or blue or blue/gray. And a lot of my ties are mainly blue. So dark navy trousers don't appeal to me. And I don't like dark navy trousers with most brown shoes. Like gnatty, I don't like them much with black shoes either. This is a personal preference. You may think that dark navy trousers looks great with all brown shoes, and you may want to sport this look every day of the week. Again, personal preference. Really the question is not about what is acceptable but what is practical: how large do you want your wardrobe to be? I could find use for navy trousers, but not every week. I can think of about 20 other colors and shades (of brown, of gray, of olive) that I'd want before navy. If someone wants to build their wardrobe around dark navy pants, more power to them. I'll still wonder if they fantasize that such pants are "slimming," because I'm a jerk I guess.

Gadzooks, I really am "Little Boy Blue" today. I am wearing a jacket from the self-same blue Porter & Harding gun-club check fabric that DandySF posted earlier. Mine was (surprise!) also tailored by Chan. I am wearing it in conjunction with a blue shirt, a sort of dark marroon Canali tie with oblong blue dots, and--horror of horrors!--navy slacks. A marroon pocket square and A-E Fairfaxes in merlot complete the ensemble.

This antipathy to navy worsted odd trousers is one thing I have never been able to comprehend. I gather this rule antedates the rise of iGentry, but somehow I missed out on it. Perhaps I am channeling my inner Cruiser here!

I also am mystified by the displeasure with navy trousers. Today, I am wearing:

Navy Zanella wool and cashmere trousers
An older Sulka paler blue FC shirt
BB PoW Camel Hair sports coats (the PoW has a faint blue over window pane
Multi-colored silk paisley pocket square
Blue OTC gold toe socks
Brown suede moras

I had firstput on charcoal trousers and substituted the navy at the last moment because I discovered a small pull in the charcoal and did not have time to reach for any but the navy. The outfit is nicely pulled together