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Double-duty suits

cosmic

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We often hear about the folly of wearing an orphaned suit jacket with odd trousers, or wearing a suit without a tie. But what kind of suits can pull this off? Since not wearing a tie gives a more casual look, and since SCs are also more casual, the kind of suit that would be able to do double duty would tend to be at the casual end also. Finally, it must be something that doesn't look ridiculous as a suit. For example, a bold windowpane can be a great pattern for sport coats, but can look too loud on suits.

So how about this list of qualities for a double-duty suit:

More casual texture/material. Not worsted wool. Linen is a good candidate, maybe flannel, or even tweed?
Patch pockets.
Maybe peak lapels?
More casual colours e.g. mid-blue, tan, light grey, green.

Examples: tan or mid-blue linen suit with patch pockets; light grey flannel suit; green tweed suit; dark navy with a light grey subtle windowpane pattern

The advantage is that you can still use the jacket regularly as an odd jacket for run of the mill situations, but on some occasions you might want the sharpness of a full suit e.g. at an outdoor summer event, or in the evening at a bar or club. Being able to handle both roles gives them an added versatility.

Any thoughts on this, are double-duty suits achievable?
 

Parker

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I liked the idea of the double-duty suit (aka BlazerSuit) when I first heard about it, but I soon realized I prefer focused, single-purpose suits much, much more.

I suppose if you had limited space (perhaps traveling) or wanted a very minimal wardrobe, the double duty suit would make sense. Otherwise, I'd just get the proper suit or jacket for the intended purpose.
 
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cosmic

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I liked the idea of the double-duty suit (aka BlazerSuit) when I first heard about it, but I soon realized I prefer focused, single-purpose suits much, much more.
I suppose if you had limited space (perhaps traveling) or wanted a very minimal wardrobe, the double duty suit would make sense. Otherwise, I'd just get the proper suit or jacket for the intended purpose.
Ok, but are some 'single purpose' suits just by their nature able to be used as SCs also? A tan linen suit would seem to be the classic example - even as a pure suit you'd probably have patch pockets, and a tan linen SC with patch pockets is a summer staple.
 

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