Clothes for a Minimalist Lifestyle

[bangkokchris]

I teach in Bangkok, Thailand at an International School.

Dress code for men: dress pants(slacks), shirt, shoes, tie.

I would like to reduce the amount of clothing I have as it causes confusion every night preparing what to wear for the next day. i.e What goes with what.

I know the basics- shoes matches belt, tie darker than shirt, etc.

I have black, grey, navy blue, brown, tan, creme colored pants
I have brown and black shoes and belts.


I have about 30-40 shirts, solids and mixed, with about 12 ties of different colors and styles.


I have learned that black pants are not fashionable, through this website. Much to my surprise. I was planning to wear only black pants with white shirts and a different tie everyday. However, (again after reading through some threads, that I would look like a waiter), would I upset the world of fashion if I switched to blue pants, black shoes/socks, black belt, white shirts, with a different color tie everyday?

I need only to look professional to the very wealthy parents. Most are non-American, and therefor unaware of American fashion sense.


Let the advise, jokes, and comments commence...........

Thanks

 

[chogall]

Don't worry about SF's Anglo-American bias; different cultures have different standards of dress.

However, I think you should stay away from black pants + white shirts. Or plain white shirts without a jacket for that matter. You don't want to be mistaken for a high school or college students in Uniform.

Exchange plain white shirts with patterned white shirts, black pants with navy pants, and black shoes with dark dark brown shoes. You will look better.

p.s., not sure if it would be okay to wear brown shoes and not stand out too much at your work environment.

 

[Claghorn]

Given your location, I'd say brown and light gray linen or tropical weight wool for pants. If you want to simplify your shirts, toss all but maybe two that aren't predominantly white or blue. Stripes should be blue and maybe brown. Any checks should probably have some blue in them.

Edit: given that you aren't wearing a jacket with them, navy pants are probably fine.

 

[bangkokchris]

brown is o.k

 

[MyOtherLife]

bangkokchris welcome to Styleforum.
My thoughts are this..you have wealthy clientele, then maintain your professionalism as much as is comfortable for you. Your clients are definitely learning many things from you and taking notes. They may not come up to you and say it, but be assured that they respect you, and are impressed by you and your attention to your wardrobe. It is by your good example that they will encourage their children to do the same.
The fastest way to trim down a wardrobe is less shirts and more ties. One shirt + 10 ties = 10 combos...and so on.

 

[Svenn]

I spend a lot of time in Bangkok so can understand that jackets are out the window. If you want to take your appearance up a notch, your first priority should be fit and getting this stuff custom tailored, rather than worrying about color. Bangkok tailors are pretty awful when it comes to jackets, but I've come across a couple who can do amazing trousers (zero ripples, razor-sharp hang).

I second the recommendation of linen trousers, they look really sharp in the tropics. I sometimes make ties out of the same fabric as the trousers I'm wearing, which can give a nice uniform look. Solid, non-silk ties are also in at the moment. There are numerous ways to class-up the jacket-less look, you can go for very cutaway colors, more complex cuffs (I like 3 buttons), and contrast stitching on buttonholes, etc.

 

[barky]

bangkokchris welcome to Styleforum.
My thoughts are this..you have wealthy clientele, then maintain your professionalism as much as is comfortable for you. Your clients are definitely learning many things from you and taking notes. They may not come up to you and say it, but be assured that they respect you, and are impressed by you and your attention to your wardrobe. It is by your good example that they will encourage their children to do the same.
The fastest way to trim down a wardrobe is less shirts and more ties. One shirt + 10 ties = 10 combos...and so on.

Are you implying that, even though they might be wealthy, but because they are Asians, they cannot be as well or even better dressed or behave than Caucasians and must look up to them to teach their children? Really? You don't get out much, do you?

 

[MyOtherLife]



Are you implying that, even though they might be wealthy, but because they are Asians, they cannot be as well or even better dressed or behave than Caucasians and must look up to them to teach their children?  Really? You don't get out much, do you?

I implied no such thing and your inference and assertions are too ridiculous to respond to further.

 

[Svenn]

+1, no indication the OP is caucasian; even if he was, no indication that his students are asian- int'l schools in bangkok often have mostly non-asian, european/middle-eastern students of expat parents.

 

[bangkokchris]

About half my clothes are custom tailored

 

[bangkokchris]

+1, no indication the OP is caucasian; even if he was, no indication that his students are asian- int'l schools in bangkok often have mostly non-asian, european/middle-eastern students of expat parents.

My school has students from 45 countries.
Three different groups.

1. Wealthy Thais, many distant relatives of royalty (ever watched Anna and the King) he had 68 children !!!
2. Embassy families $$$
3. Corporate families $$$

I'm a middle-age white guy from Boston.

 

[barky]

I implied no such thing and your inference and assertions are too ridiculous to respond to further.

My thousand apologies.

 

[MyOtherLife]



[COLOR=FF00AA]My thousand apologies.[/COLOR]

Thank you Barky, you can have 999 of those apologies back. One was enough I do appreciate it though.

In fairness to you, I re-read my earlier post and it occured to me that it actually could have been inferred as you did. I see now, the ambiguity, which had not occured to me while originally typing it. Interesting though, if one thinks 'Thailand', my post is fine. If one thinks 'Siam', my same post could easily be be inferred as you did originally. Just one of those quirks about the English language I guess. I shall recognize this as an opportunity to improve my diction for my future posts. Again, thank you and sorry for the late response.

 

[Oli2012]

Shirts:
Several blue and white OCBDs

Pants:
x1 Mid grey tropical weight trousers
x1 Stone chinos
x1 indigo jeans (optional)

Shoes:
x1 black cap oxford
x1 dark brown brogue
x1 chukka boots or penny loafers (optional)

Ties:
x1 black knit
x1 navy knit

Jacket (if needed)
x1 navy blazer

Suits (if needed)
x1 grey worsted
x1 navy worsted

Alternate the shoes and pants so that they have an opportunity to breathe and so you're not wearing the same thing everyday.

During winter, you could throw in small accessories like a v-neck knit, scarf or wool tie for interest.