completely new to blazers

[johns87]

Hi all,

Before we begin, I just want to say I don't have much of a fashion sense. I shop at American Eagle and wear mostly simple stuff. I don't have much of an income to shop at more expensive places and still have plenty of school loans and other debt to pay off. I'm content with what I wear. Boot cut jeans (I'm not into skinny or relaxed jeans at all. I don't like the feeling. But that could change...), solid color shirts, I own a few button ups but not fancy ones, etc. I'm an extremely casual dresser, NOT preppy. I rarely wear polo's and no, I do not pop the collar . I've never owned or worn a blazer so this whole blazer thing is really new to me and adds that much more confusion. Now to get to why I'm here...

I've done some bits of Google'ing and asking around in stores and it appears that I am getting mixed responses. I recently purchased my first basic blazer here: http://www.ae.com/web/browse/product.jsp?productId=2101_9424_410&catId=cat380145

Pretty basic from what I've read. I understand basic things like contrast. You don't want to wear similar colors. You want to have contrast to make things pop/stand out. I'd like to wear that blazer casually with jeans. Not dressy casually. I'm not the kind of person to wear dress pants/slacks/trousers/khakis/whatever-you-want-to-call-them often. I'm more comfortable in jeans.

From what I've been told, I could go with a darker wash boot cut jean and look casual. If I tighten up to say a relaxed or straight jean, it would make things more dressy. But from what I'm reading on Google, you want to wear a lighter colored jean to have contrast. Which is it? Personally, I really don't like solid color jeans. I like them with some fade, whether they be light or dark.

And then we have shoes... Oh God... I currently have one pair of shoes lol. These: http://cdn3.skechers-usa.com/img/productimages/xlarge/61181_WBK.jpg . Try not to hate . Like I said, I don't have much of a fashion sense and I'm really not too into fashion so I try to keep things basic. I could wear those shoes with the blazer, no? I'm thinking about picking up a black pair with a similar design so I can at least have 2 opposite colored shoes to be able to do different outfits and at least look somewhat matching.

Sorry for the long read. I know I need a lot of help. It would really help if I had a girl/guy friend that knew all of this but everyone I know really doesn't do much with fashion other than business casual.

 

[constant struggle]



Hi all,

I just want to say I don't have much of a fashion sense. I shop at American Eagle and wear mostly simple stuff.

Then don't wear a blazer, you will probably look like you are trying too hard. Shut up and read this **** for like a month, then ask questions.

 

[Dr Huh?]

Why are you wearing a blazer in the first place? What made you want to start wearing one? From the sounds of it, you don't want to start dressy up, and yet blazers typically are dressy by nature. If you plan on wearing jeans, personally, I think they should be solid. Or at least, not faded. And definitely not boot cut. Whatever color you decide on, it would be a good idea if they were not the same shade of blue as your jacket, so you wouldn't want to wear dark jeans in this circumstance.

Also, the sneakers suck. You either need to find a much more plain and conservative sneaker, or start wearing bucks, which are dressy enough to wear with a blazer, but are still pretty casual (although compared to what you were wearing, you'll probably think they look like dress shoes.

 

[johns87]

Why are you wearing a blazer in the first place? What made you want to start wearing one? From the sounds of it, you don't want to start dressy up, and yet blazers typically are dressy by nature. If you plan on wearing jeans, personally, I think they should be solid. Or at least, not faded. And definitely not boot cut. Whatever color you decide on, it would be a good idea if they were not the same shade of blue as your jacket, so you wouldn't want to wear dark jeans in this circumstance.

Also, the sneakers suck. You either need to find a much more plain and conservative sneaker, or start wearing bucks, which are dressy enough to wear with a blazer, but are still pretty casual (although compared to what you were wearing, you'll probably think they look like dress shoes.

Well here's the thing... There's obviously a difference between how I define casual and how you guys define casual since I lack knowledge in this department.

To me, those shoes are more on the dressy side, which again, comes from not knowing much about fashion. Originally, I wanted to start wearing a blazer to start looking more dressy... To start looking like someone that actually cares about what clothes goes on his body. It looks like I dove into the deep end without first learning how to swim.

I realize I sound like a total noob and I'm way in over my head. Be harsh on me all you want. To be honest, I don't care. It's the internet, where everyone is a tough guy behind a keyboard. What I do care about is if you're going to say things to me like the user constant struggle did, at least point me in the right direction. You don't just tell a dog to sit and expect the dog to learn the first time you say it.

 

[johns87]

So I guess I found some decent stuff in the closet... Tan "original" khaki's and a really old Old Navy white button-up (softer textured-like material, definitely not formal). I guess I just need to pick up some decent brown leather shoes to top it off.

Except I don't want to look TOO dressy with the white shirt.. I pretty much don't want to be that guy that looks like the douche bag who is trying way too hard to look good when all he's doing is going out with friends, grocery shopping, or grabbing some lunch somewhere.

 

[Dr Huh?]

Try browsing the WAYWT thread, you might get some inspiration. You'll see blazers/sportcoats worn in different ways. But you may find a blazer just doesn't suit you, so it's probably better not to force it.