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So as an antithesis to the pattern threak, in this threak I'll talk about my feelings on pulling off the solid and solid-like shirt/tie/jacket/suit without looking boring. Keep in mind these are my opinions, not some dogma or rule that I want the world to follow. I dress like this the majority of the time, with the occasional FU jacket thrown in. How is this different than the conservative business dress thread? In a way its not except that sportcoat fits are pretty non-existent there and also things like pinstripe suits and multi patterns are posted over there. If that stuff gets posted here, I'm deleting it. Pinstripes scare me 
Also, no loud sportcoats with solid tie/solid shirt. We get that, its not really difficult.
I find that there are two issues with people trying to dress in this manner. The first is that they seem to think they look to boring and need to spruce it up with either a super loud tie, some #menswear accessories or crazy shoes. "Well I was wearing a solid sportcoat/shirt and pants so I figured I'd wear the green croc double monks". The second issue is that they in fact do look boring due to the outfit just not being cohesive, wrong textures/colors etc . So hopefully this thread will evolve into people posting their pics, maybe looking for suggestions etc. The stuff below is just stuff I threw on quickly for the pics, again its how I dress but I there are obviously many different combo's that can work.
Here is a basic outfit (pants would be grey, any shade, ideally flannel and dark brown suede shoes), you can add a solid blue shirt here, I just has this handy. Solid jacket, solid tie, basically solid shirt. No pocketsquare. Boring at fist glance but look at the texture in the jacket and the tie. They add visual interest. A solid brown tie, at least in these parts, is a pretty rare occurence, it adds enough contrast to the blue of the jacket and shirt, no need to add more color in terms of a square or multi color shirt. Simple and sweet but well dressed at the same time, keep in mind the dark brown suede shoes.
Basically the same outfit, but this is a suit (same suede shoes), two colors but a textured jacket and a textured tie. Enough visual interest that you don't need more flash/bang. Let the simplicity stand on its own.
Lastly, a silk neat tie in a sportcoat fit. I don't like silk prints with textured coats, I think they look out of place. The same holds for textured ties with worsted, just looks wrong to me. Here is basically a worsted sportcoat (slight herringbone pattern and the fabric is actually cashmere) and a texture shirt (jersey cotton like a polo shirt) with a silk print. Again, not a lot of colors, very basic look but there is enough visual interest that all I would add are solid pants (grey or brown) and brown shoes.
Also, no loud sportcoats with solid tie/solid shirt. We get that, its not really difficult.I find that there are two issues with people trying to dress in this manner. The first is that they seem to think they look to boring and need to spruce it up with either a super loud tie, some #menswear accessories or crazy shoes. "Well I was wearing a solid sportcoat/shirt and pants so I figured I'd wear the green croc double monks". The second issue is that they in fact do look boring due to the outfit just not being cohesive, wrong textures/colors etc . So hopefully this thread will evolve into people posting their pics, maybe looking for suggestions etc. The stuff below is just stuff I threw on quickly for the pics, again its how I dress but I there are obviously many different combo's that can work.
Here is a basic outfit (pants would be grey, any shade, ideally flannel and dark brown suede shoes), you can add a solid blue shirt here, I just has this handy. Solid jacket, solid tie, basically solid shirt. No pocketsquare. Boring at fist glance but look at the texture in the jacket and the tie. They add visual interest. A solid brown tie, at least in these parts, is a pretty rare occurence, it adds enough contrast to the blue of the jacket and shirt, no need to add more color in terms of a square or multi color shirt. Simple and sweet but well dressed at the same time, keep in mind the dark brown suede shoes.
Basically the same outfit, but this is a suit (same suede shoes), two colors but a textured jacket and a textured tie. Enough visual interest that you don't need more flash/bang. Let the simplicity stand on its own.
Lastly, a silk neat tie in a sportcoat fit. I don't like silk prints with textured coats, I think they look out of place. The same holds for textured ties with worsted, just looks wrong to me. Here is basically a worsted sportcoat (slight herringbone pattern and the fabric is actually cashmere) and a texture shirt (jersey cotton like a polo shirt) with a silk print. Again, not a lot of colors, very basic look but there is enough visual interest that all I would add are solid pants (grey or brown) and brown shoes.
