Casual evening wear, ideas and inspiration

[Rbpp]

I'd like to initiate a discussion about casual evening wear. I know it is kind of an oxymoron but still I think it is interesting. I am in a situation where formal evening wear is not an option (too young, not the right social setting etc), it would immediately look out of place. Some kind of casual suit would not be better.
I have no problem chosing an outfit during the day, but I don't really know what I could change in the evening to make it a bit more special.
Googling "men's going out outfits" doesn't not help at all, I just find bad looking pictures of men wearing ultra slim shirts and trousers.
So, what would be your recommandations in terms of colours, cuts, materials, specific garments (or even interesting IG accounts), how do you dress up in the evening without a suit ?

 

[BlueSteel]

In my view this is pretty much what a sport coat is for. Choose a fabric with personality, but also be aware of versatility (find one that elevates jeans, but also doubles to pair with trousers for an even smarter look...unless you want to buy several). Since it is not business attire, you can be a bit more daring with the cut too - for this purpose, wider Napoli-style lapels would add some flash.

At a fashionable cocktail/wine bar or lounge, or at events like gallery openings and plays, a guy in a killer sport coat is lookin' good!

 

[Rbpp]

A sportcoat definitely makes sense for the events you mention, but it would probably be too much most of the time (being in my mid 20s and living in Paris). That's why I am looking for ideas for something just a step less formal than a sportcoat but still different from the french chore/overshirt and knitwear that I would probably be wearing during the day.

 

[Mirage-]

I very often find myself in this position.
The obvious easy choice is ofc shirt +knit (weather allowing ofc), but let's be honest, that's boring and we won't be satisfied with that forever, even if you include the possible variation of trousers (jeans/chinos/wool/ linen or cord according to season).
If you are like me, you won't be really satisfied without a jacket of some sort (unless it's summer and you're burning alive), but that gets much harder because imho the vast majority of "jacket replacements" look and feel like outerwear and therefore are not really fit for the purpose if you are going anyplace that isn't outdoor.
You could go for overshirts or chores, but you don't seem to like them and actually I don't like them much either so that's out.

A jean jacket would resolve the "looks like outerwear" problem and also a cropped length is actually better than your typical chore's middle-of-the-way length imo, but it's really not my style, unlike jeans I find they are too pushed into streetwear/fashion territory. I assume that's also the case for you, but do consider it otherwise.

Smarter than than, what I sometimes wear is knit wool blazers, though strictly those that don't have lapels e.g. this from Pini Parma:

(usually they are ironed to appear as if they have lapels but they actually don't, so I just iron the front back up into being undoubled).
That's because if worn in the manner of actual blazers imho they just end up looking like a cheap mis-proportioned copy (especially since they are almost always way too short and with lapels too skinny to be proper blazers), while wearing them lapel-less kind of separates them from the traditional comparison and makes them their own thing to my eye, in a manner somewhat similar to a Chanel jacket in womenswear. I'm pretty sure no one I meet actually cares about that, but it just bothers me too much so that's what I do
.
If you don't like them or it's too hot for them, then there's really not much left besides things closer to a real jacket I feel. There's tebas and other stuff like that but again they often tend to look more like outerwear to me.
Personally I really like washed cotton unstructured blazers for this purpose, the material really sets them apart from typical office wear. In winter a tweed can also do the trick somewhat though it isn't as good in the middle of Rome as it would be in the country.
Indeed, to be honest I'm starting to wear blazers more and more to occasions where most people show up in shirts and knits and just accept that I will be a bit overdressed. For reference I'm in my late 20s.
One way that I have "reasoned myself" into doing it is that I have noticed that it's pretty common for women to wear at least fancier (if not strictly smarter) things like pencil skirts (or even miniskirts for the more daring), dresses, and even more blazers than the men wear (which is a bit sad in itself). And yet, no one really questions that, so why should I go mad over wanting to wear a jacket after all.

Still, if I'm meeting just a friend or two and I know they don't wear anything but sportswear I'll probably just go with a shirt and knit or lapel-less knitted jacket at the most.

That being said, I'm still looking into alternatives. Currently considering "Maubourg" and "Tybourg" models from Scavini. Corduroy in particular has some special characteristic that might make what is in truth mostly a chore work better than the others, I think:

The "Corta" Partner jacket from Scott Fraser Collection is also something I think might work in the summer (or for me, in late spring at most) with some attitude, though I am not sure I possess that.

 

[Rbpp]

Thanks for this very thorough comment. I agree that most tebas and chore jacket often feel too much like outerwear. But I think it mainly comes from the material that is used. I think they would look great in fine wool, in mix of silk or even in seersucker but I don't know any brand that has something like that in stock.
The Scavini and Scott Fraser Collection jackets look great, thanks for the recommandation. The Capri overshirt by Prologue appear to be very nice (and cheaper) but they only have one model in their range right now. Do you have any brand in mind regarding unstructured cotton jacket ? I think they often look a bit trendy, with rather small lapels and a shorter length but I'm sure some brands are better than the others for that.
And regarding colors and materials, do you think that darker colors and cloths with a bit of shine like corduroy or silk (or mix of) are welcomed in low light environments ?

 

[ter1413]

And regarding colors and materials, do you think that darker colors and cloths with a bit of shine like corduroy or silk (or mix of) are welcomed in low light environments ?

Don't overthink this.

Pick a color/material that you like...also based on what your current wardrobe needs.

 

[Mirage-]

Do you have any brand in mind regarding unstructured cotton jacket ? I think they often look a bit trendy, with rather small lapels and a shorter length but I'm sure some brands are better than the others for that.

I have a K-jacket from Boglioli. Lapels are a bit smaller than my preference for neapolitan lapels, but not too much. However it seems to vary with seasonal trends, I've seen many other Boglioli coats that I would define as too skinny in the lapel indeed.
But there are countless other brands that have good offerings for sure, even many small local brands. I generally am very wary of buying tailoring from unknown shops, but you don't even have to worry about the quality and construction of the canvassing since there's no canvas to begin with. And it should hopefully be unlined except in the sleeves so you can also see most of the finishing, and if satisfied just worry about the style aspects (and ofc fit).
Italian jackets like those from Boglioli do tend to run short, but I am slightly short so the length work well for me, YMMV ofc. On the other hand the sleeves are often sold finished which annoys me as I always have to shorten them, though with Boglioli only slightly.
Still, unstructured jackets in my experience are generally about the same length as the respective brand's structured offerings, unlike knit jackets which are indeed way too short to be proper odd jackets for basically anyone, as I said in the previous post.

And regarding colors and materials, do you think that darker colors and cloths with a bit of shine like corduroy or silk (or mix of) are welcomed in low light environments ?

I do think corduroy has a pleasant uneven shine that works especially well for smart-yet-not-formal wear in general, and dark colors should work great in low light. In fact cord is possibly the only material that I like in black, besides high-quality non-grained leather, but deep navy or midnight blue are also great and probably more versatile still. I do plan to buy a jacket like that at some point, but currently I don't own one.

I would be more careful with silk, as it tends to have a much smoother/uniform shine, which in general tends to be reserved for more formal things. Still, in dark colours it can probably be made to work. Lightly coloured silk, on the other hand, I would definitely avoid. It imho has the tendency to often somehow look oddly close to a cheap polyester imitation of itself (indeed I hate those super-common super-shiny light blue ties many politicians wear, but I digress).

 

[Mirage-]

Don't overthink this.
Pick a color/material that you like

But also this. The above are my own guidelines based on what I've observed this far, but in the end, I judge with my eyes, and you probably should too.

 

[clee1982]

I would not do chore or tab jacket, what’s wrong with sport coat, I mean in 2010 London I think I see a lot velvet blazer + Jean typical kind of thing (and I was almost 30 then).

what type of going out is this, low key bar hopping, more upscale blah blah, probably need some context in general I guess

 

[Mr Tickle]

I would not do chore or tab jacket, what’s wrong with sport coat, I mean in 2010 London I think I see a lot velvet blazer + Jean typical kind of thing (and I was almost 30 then).

what type of going out is this, low key bar hopping, more upscale blah blah, probably need some context in general I guess

Trouble with jeans/sport coat, as I think the OP alluded to, is that a sport coat isn't a suitable top layer in a lot of climates (UK winter/late autumn/early spring for example). You don't want to be out wearing a sport coat as a top layer when there's a possibility of rain, for example, unless you're going to carry an umbrella, which not everyone wants to have to do. This means you might also need to wear an overcoat, which typically is a heavy piece of clothing, adding more weight to your ensemble that you might not want. You also have to deal with removing and storing the overcoat somewhere when you get to where you want to go.

It's also too dressy for a lot of social situations (bar hopping, as you mention) and you're likely to look out of place or like you are "trying too hard" - I know this isn't a problem for a lot of people who post here who are comfortable with the idea of looking "a cut above", but that isn't by any means for everyone.

I think a combination of these reasons is why the informal/casual jacket (bomber/ Harrington/ blouson/ field jacket) has become the go-to. The problem is that these don't always look great with more tailored/classic top (button-downs, polos etc) and trouser (chinos, flannels) combos. The sort of stuff that a lot of us want to wear. They CAN do - if the outfit is well put together, and a lot of SF regulars that post in the What You Wearing? threads are masters at this. But it takes a bit of thought and certainly isn't always intuitive.

 

[msimon]

Trouble with jeans/sport coat, as I think the OP alluded to, is that a sport coat isn't a suitable top layer in a lot of climates (UK winter/late autumn/early spring for example). You don't want to be out wearing a sport coat as a top layer when there's a possibility of rain, for example, unless you're going to carry an umbrella, which not everyone wants to have to do. This means you might also need to wear an overcoat, which typically is a heavy piece of clothing, adding more weight to your ensemble that you might not want. You also have to deal with removing and storing the overcoat somewhere when you get to where you want to go.

It's also too dressy for a lot of social situations (bar hopping, as you mention) and you're likely to look out of place or like you are "trying too hard" - I know this isn't a problem for a lot of people who post here who are comfortable with the idea of looking "a cut above", but that isn't by any means for everyone.

I think a combination of these reasons is why the informal/casual jacket (bomber/ Harrington/ blouson/ field jacket) has become the go-to. The problem is that these don't always look great with more tailored/classic top (button-downs, polos etc) and trouser (chinos, flannels) combos. The sort of stuff that a lot of us want to wear. They CAN do - if the outfit is well put together, and a lot of SF regulars that post in the What You Wearing? threads are masters at this. But it takes a bit of thought and certainly isn't always intuitive.

This is why barbour jackets for me solves the problems mentioned, but I can understand that not everyone wants that look in the city setting.

 

[aristoi bcn]

A picture is sometimes better than a description:

 

[ter1413]

This is why barbour jackets for me solves the problems mentioned, but I can understand that not everyone wants that look in the city setting.

No...no they don't!

 

[clee1982]

Trouble with jeans/sport coat, as I think the OP alluded to, is that a sport coat isn't a suitable top layer in a lot of climates (UK winter/late autumn/early spring for example). You don't want to be out wearing a sport coat as a top layer when there's a possibility of rain, for example, unless you're going to carry an umbrella, which not everyone wants to have to do. This means you might also need to wear an overcoat, which typically is a heavy piece of clothing, adding more weight to your ensemble that you might not want. You also have to deal with removing and storing the overcoat somewhere when you get to where you want to go.

It's also too dressy for a lot of social situations (bar hopping, as you mention) and you're likely to look out of place or like you are "trying too hard" - I know this isn't a problem for a lot of people who post here who are comfortable with the idea of looking "a cut above", but that isn't by any means for everyone.

I think a combination of these reasons is why the informal/casual jacket (bomber/ Harrington/ blouson/ field jacket) has become the go-to. The problem is that these don't always look great with more tailored/classic top (button-downs, polos etc) and trouser (chinos, flannels) combos. The sort of stuff that a lot of us want to wear. They CAN do - if the outfit is well put together, and a lot of SF regulars that post in the What You Wearing? threads are masters at this. But it takes a bit of thought and certainly isn't always intuitive.

I don't know what's Paris December is like but London never got really cold enough when I was there that I can't just tough it out in sport coat and I'm talking about walking 10 miles in it too, if it's purely rain you can always throw one of those ultra light weight synthetic shell with hood that can roll into a ball of nothing...

I think if it's going to be low key, OP should just skip CM all together, button down or polo would always look more "old men"... (yea me being one of these old men), what's wrong with super basic like tee + jean or chino + minimalist white CP or GAT + trucker or harrington (just not suede if you're worried about rain). I would not do bomber or field jacket or barbour or belstaff, they would all feel too outwear

 

[clee1982]

If you want to stay with CM casual would something like this be “too much”?