Keep Suit Pants for Odd Trousers?

[pdxpm]

I've been reading SF for a couple months now so after learning a thing or two about how my suits and sports coats should fit I went through my closet last night and found that one of my suit jackets fits horribly. Too large in the shoulders, no waist suppression, etc. I don;t think it woudl be worth having a my tailor work on it since it is not a high end suit.

However the pants do fit well. The fabric is a darker taupe with a very subtle pin stripe so I think they might look nice by themselves. Is it worth it to keep the pants to use as dress trousers and just donate the jacket? Or should I donate the whole thing and hope someone can use it since it is very lightly used? The suit is a darker taupe with a very subtle pin stripe so I think they might look nice by themselves.

 

[Matt S]

I wouldn't keep the trousers since they have a pinstripe. That clearly marks them as suit trousers and they should belong with a suit.

 

[southbound35]

Even if they were solid navy or charcoal (something that could easily be worn sans matching jacket), I think it would be preferable to donate the entire suit. The world already has too many orphaned suit jackets.

 

[Rolex Luthor]

Allow me to offer my respectful dissent to the prevailing SF opinion about orphaned suit pants. I held onto the pants from two suits, one gray with a subtle pinstripe and one gray/brown glen plaid, after getting rid of the jackets. I wear the trousers with a navy blazer. They look great. I don't have a problem with patterned odd trousers, even those originally meant for a suit. Then again, I don't really have a problem with patterned odd jackets either. I like to think that because I'm devilishly handsome, I can get away with wearing pretty much anything.

 

[cptjeff]

Pinstriped odd trousers are fine IMO. The jacket may look odd on its own, but striped trousers work.

 

[Master Squirrel]

I wear odd trousers casually to great effect. Even cut them off for utility shorts.

 

[alliswell]

Originally Posted by Rolex Luthor

Allow me to offer my respectful dissent to the prevailing SF opinion about orphaned suit pants. I held onto the pants from two suits, one gray with a subtle pinstripe and one gray/brown glen plaid, after getting rid of the jackets. I wear the trousers with a navy blazer. They look great. I don't have a problem with patterned odd trousers, even those originally meant for a suit. Then again, I don't really have a problem with patterned odd jackets either. I like to think that because I'm devilishly handsome, I can get away with wearing pretty much anything.

Good call on the glen plaid; not sure about the pinstripes.

As for the handsome - this guy thought he was cute too:

 

[epa]

I must say that it really depends on how the trousers look. So without photos, there will be no do or don't from my side.

 

[acecow]

Keep them and figure out a way to make them wearable. They probably wouldn't work for a very conservative environment, but would be cool for a younger gathering. Anyway, it's a different style and I wouldn't discard it because Flusser said it was wrong.

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]

I would keep them, but I wouldn't pair them with a jacket. Just for business casual with shirt only.

 

[pdxpm]

Originally Posted by acecow

Keep them and figure out a way to make them wearable. They probably wouldn't work for a very conservative environment, but would be cool for a younger gathering. Anyway, it's a different style and I wouldn't discard it because Flusser said it was wrong.

I don't work in a very conservative office but its not a creative type of environment either. I am regularly the best dressed simply due the fact that I wear wool dress slacks and button up shirts with frequent uses of sport coats and ties. My co-workers are more the khakis and button up or polo type.

Given the time of year I might try these suit pants with a sweater and see how they look. Most here won't know the differance.

 

[GBR]

Nope - they wll look what they are -half a suit.

 

[acecow]

Originally Posted by GBR

Nope - they wll look what they are -half a suit.

That is true. But:

1). How many people will know that? They may look that to you, but not to the 99% of the population.
2). Who says you cannot wear suit pants on their own? Flusser? Manton? Foo? Tradition? Screw that. Pinstripes elongate, that is all. What if I want to make my legs appear longer without elongating my torso? Well, then I'll wear pinstriped pants. Some rules make sense, some don't, and some make sense but can be broken. I think this is the latter.

 

[svd]

Why not add a photo?

 

[Geezer]

Originally Posted by acecow

That is true. But:

1). How many people will know that? They may look that to you, but not to the 99% of the population.
2). Who says you cannot wear suit pants on their own? Flusser? Manton? Foo? Tradition? Screw that. Pinstripes elongate, that is all. What if I want to make my legs appear longer without elongating my torso? Well, then I'll wear pinstriped pants. Some rules make sense, some don't, and some make sense but can be broken. I think this is the latter.

There are no such things as "rules", apart from those set out in a dress code if a particular institution has one, and that code reaches exactly as far as the institution's front door.

There are conventions and traditions. It is conventional and traditional that pinstripe trousers are part of a suit.

There is no requirement for conventions and traditions to "make sense".

I can imagine a parallel universe where calf leather shoes with laces are seen, traditionally, as practical robust outdoor wear, so the conventional standard for business dress is suede loafers, which are lighter, more elegant and so on, and a mark of someone who drives or is driven around for his work rather than walking about in the open air. But our convention and tradition is different. Saying something should not be a convention does not alter the fact that it is.

As for the first question, 99% of the population wouldnt notice either if you wore an oversized black suit, a Mickey Mouse tie and scuffed square-toed plastic shoes. You'd fit in nicely with them.