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Modern Office Wear (without a jacket)

Markus123456789

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Modern offices are often a sea of T-shirts, slim-fit jeans and sneakers or slightly above that level.

In an office like this, anyone wearing a jacket or even a suit and tie will stand out like a sore thumb and be the topic of conversation among colleagues, which is something very few people want. On the other hand, lovers of classical meanswear don't want to fit in completely and probablywant to be a (small) step better dressed, but only to the extent that you're not seen as weird, arrogant, or the target of gossip at the coffee machine.

In this thread, as an impetus for a lively exchange of ideas, my thoughts divided between winter and spring/summer (from my perspective of cold winters sometimes below zero and hot summers above 30C = Vienna):

WINTER
+ Top:

-- Midweight cashmere crewnecks, like Malo, Colhay's, Luca Faloni, with an oxford shirt peaking out beneath.
-- More casual, and my preferred look, mid-weight cashmere rollnecks.
-- More casual still, and sportive looking, cashmere / wool quarter zips (e.g. Luca Faloni)
+ Bottom:
-- Flannel trousers, flat-front, in mid-grey and, more casual, dark-cold-brown or taupe/beige.
-- More casual, corduroy trousers (flat front) in non rural colours (dark-olive, dark-cold brown, cream)
-- Or, heavy cotton trousers (above 450g flat front), in beige or dark-cold-brown.
-- More casual, five-pocket-corduroy trousers in beige / fawn.
+ Shoes:
-- Chukka-boots, dark-brown suede
-- Heavy derby's, e.g. with a vibram sole
-- More casual, rough-out-suede chukkas or derby-boots

SUMMER
+ Top:

-- OCBD like Drake's
-- Chambray shirts with no pocket (see Permanent style) or one pocket (see The Anthology)
-- Linen or linen/cotton shirts when weather is hot
-- More casual, long-arm pique polos like the Friday-polos of Luca Avitabile
-- More casual, knitted polos short-sleeve, e.g. hightwist-wool, silk-cotton blend, cotton-linen blend, or fine cotton
-- More casual, knitted t-shirts in merino-wool or cotton (see Jon Smedley, Colhay's, The Anthology)
+ Bottom:
-- Irish linen trousers in cream or dark-olive, again flat-fronted
-- Italian linen trousers
-- more casual, cotton-linen-mix chinos
+ Shoes:
-- Penny loafers, but considered unusual / outdated in some countries
-- Derby shoes, round toes and with broguing to make them more casual.
-- More casual, one-colour trainers, whereby I prefer cotton trainers in cream like the Doek Court-shoe
 

jeremygo

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A few thoughts: I work in a casual office but wear tailoring pretty often anyway. I've found that over time people just get used to it. I almost never wear a tie, stick to more casual jacket fabrics (tweed, cotton, linen, etc), and often pair them with chinos/denim on bottom and OCBDs/polos on top. Even with nicer tees on occasion when I'm in a *creative director* mood. For shoes I'm always wearing loafers/boots/derbys.

That said, it's a creative office so there's leeway for folks to be more iconoclastic with what they're wearing. Second, I am in a manager/leadership role so it feels less odd for me to be dressed in tailoring since I often have meetings with executives/external partners.

If you're looking for tailoring-adjacent sort of fits, I think there are some casual jackets that can provide some nice layering and visual interest. I'm thinking of the City Hunter from the Armoury and the Lazyman jacket from The Anthology. A smarter chore coat (No Man Walks Alone, De Bonne Facture, Portugese Flannel all come to mind) can fill a similar role as well in an outfit. These of course won't replicate the silhouette of tailoring but can be nice in their own way.
 

Markus123456789

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A few thoughts: I work in a casual office but wear tailoring pretty often anyway. I've found that over time people just get used to it. I almost never wear a tie, stick to more casual jacket fabrics (tweed, cotton, linen, etc), and often pair them with chinos/denim on bottom and OCBDs/polos on top. Even with nicer tees on occasion when I'm in a *creative director* mood. For shoes I'm always wearing loafers/boots/derbys.

That said, it's a creative office so there's leeway for folks to be more iconoclastic with what they're wearing. Second, I am in a manager/leadership role so it feels less odd for me to be dressed in tailoring since I often have meetings with executives/external partners.

If you're looking for tailoring-adjacent sort of fits, I think there are some casual jackets that can provide some nice layering and visual interest. I'm thinking of the City Hunter from the Armoury and the Lazyman jacket from The Anthology. A smarter chore coat (No Man Walks Alone, De Bonne Facture, Portugese Flannel all come to mind) can fill a similar role as well in an outfit. These of course won't replicate the silhouette of tailoring but can be nice in their own way.
 
Last edited:

Markus123456789

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I can relate to your comment about your senior position and meeting executives or externals. Also for me it is very different when I meet clients, always in a jacket, but no longer in a suit and tie, because that is generally what they expect from me (I am a lawyer) even if their dress is more casual.

I am not such a big fan of jacket substitutes, I do not consider a shawl collar cardigan as a substitute, but rather stay with a crewneck plus shirt or a rollneck, with the exception of overshirts / toned down, overshirt-like safari jackets in a wool-linen mix or linen in summer. But that is my personal preference.
 

K. Nights

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Generally agree with your post, but I do like the jacket substitutes. I find an outfit can look a bit "unfinished" when you're just wearing a shirt. I like wearing overshirts (cotton or linen in S/S and wool or corduroy in A/W). Otherwise I find I can get away with a very casual, unstructured jacket (such as the "casual jacket" from DBF) as long as the material is like the overshirts above and I pair them with a knit and 5 pocket pants rather than a collared shirt or trousers.

Typically, if I'm wearing trousers I won't wear a collared shirt and vice versa if I'm wearing a button up shirt I'll wear something more casual on the bottom to balance things out. Seems to work well.
 

Markus123456789

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Generally agree with your post, but I do like the jacket substitutes. I find an outfit can look a bit "unfinished" when you're just wearing a shirt. I like wearing overshirts (cotton or linen in S/S and wool or corduroy in A/W). Otherwise I find I can get away with a very casual, unstructured jacket (such as the "casual jacket" from DBF) as long as the material is like the overshirts above and I pair them with a knit and 5 pocket pants rather than a collared shirt or trousers.

Typically, if I'm wearing trousers I won't wear a collared shirt and vice versa if I'm wearing a button up shirt I'll wear something more casual on the bottom to balance things out. Seems to work well.
Interesting. Yes, I think high-low dressing can work very well, but it's more complicated (and you probably need a larger wardrobe) to find combinations that work.

I can see how corduroy jackets can work, even if no-one else is wearing a jacket, but then probably not with a shirt but rather a merino-turtleneck or a knitted t-shirt below.
 

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