How to wear an odd vest?

[teddieriley]

I like the look of slacks, dress shirt, with or without a tie, and a vest. Since I don't have a three piece suit where I can just ditch the jacket, I was wondering if I can achieve this look nicely using an odd vest. I was interested in a charcoal wool vest with subtle narrow striping (alternating black and dark brown stripes) which has, a black rayon back, with adjustable back belt. The pattern somewhat resembles herringbone as there is texture between the lines, but it's not. I believe the vest has matching trousers but I don't care for the fit of those. Can I use this type of vest with different slacks? If so, what color slacks do you think would look good (different shades of gray or brown, navy, black??), and can the slacks have patterns, like herringbone? Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Teacher]

I'm an ardent fan of the odd vest, but it sounds like the stripes of this vest (pinstripes?) make it too dressy to pair with other trousers. If, however, these are banner stripes (very wide), it might work. It's hard to say without pics.

 

[teddieriley]

It's actually a Theory vest, and I'll try posting a pic of it. I just thought I could get away with pairing it with say, a light gray, navy, khaki, or black pair of slacks of a different weight or feel of wool.

 

[ComboOrgan]

I've tried to pull this look off, but I've had no success so far.

I'm quite fond of the trousers/vest/dress shirt/tie combo, but unless the vest and pants match, it looks too "disco" for my taste.

There has to be a way to do it, but it's been too difficult a maneuver for me.

 

[teddieriley]

Pics of the vest added for reference. I'm curious if different color, material, weight, patterned trousers would work.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Because an odd vest for casual wear is itself unconventional, there aren't many rules about what to wear with it. Different colors and patterns could work, as long as they aren't so bold as to make people focus on the pants. Smooth, slim black pants might lead to that "disco" look. Considering the brown in the vest, pants in brown might be the best choice. Weight is going to be influenced by the temperature of wherever you're wearing the vest, which itself adds warmth. Obviously, you don't want to wear something heavy enough to make you sweat.

 

[Patrick06790]

I do something like this fairly often - especially on a chilly day when I'm outside (like today). Note - the jacket is really a windowpane, but in photos it comes out looking like a strange stripe.

 

[Holdfast]

I didn't go for it in the end, but I was thinking about adding an (at least partially unbuttoned) brown tweedy vest to the outfit I was wearing today (see stickied pic thread) and I think it would have worked OK.

 

[MrRogers]

Odd vest and dress slacks (sans sportcoat) just doesnt work for me. Regardless of the combination you always end up looking like a waiter/blackjack dealer.

I have a harris tweed vest that I wear with an OCBD blue/white candy stripe shirt, neat dark jeans and caramel wingtips. Sometimes I'll wear a navy and red bias stripe tie with it.

MrR

 

[Gentleman8]

Originally Posted by Patrick06790

I do something like this fairly often - especially on a chilly day when I'm outside (like today).

Patrick, your outfit is simply splendid!

 

[Gentleman8]

Could I have your opinion on this vest, please?

 

[Patrick06790]

Originally Posted by Gentleman8

Could I have your opinion on this vest, please?
I think it's much harder to work a vest with lapels into the picture. I have one Orvis number which is kind of loud to begin with and the lapels just call more attention to it. Why this bothers me I'm not sure. Maybe just to busy. The suede model pictured here has the advantage of being a sober color. Here's another example of the sort of thing I do when the mood srtikes. A little on the fogeyish side, maybe, but hell, I have grey hair and I turn 45 in February. If not fogey now, when?

 

[Gentleman8]

.. I'm turning 45 in December myself..
May I know where you got the vest on the 1st picture and what brand it is?

 

[Patrick06790]

Originally Posted by Gentleman8

.. I'm turning 45 in December myself..
May I know where you got the vest on the 1st picture and what brand it is?


First one is a Harris tweed/Orvis I picked up from Sierra Trading Post. Second is also Orvis from their tent sale a couple years ago and is what they call a "Donegal" vest - really more of a sweater with a square bottom that's a little longer than the standard vest.

I have this one from Orvis:

http://www.orvis.com/store/product_c...subcat_id=7247

Also available in grey.

And I got this from STP recently.

So there are some vests out there at a price that won't break the bank if you want to experiment.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Sorry to say, but in both user pictures, the location of red is distracting. In the second case, there are a few different ways to change that. They would be quite impressive combinations otherwise.