Should I buy suits or sport coats and pants

[Ejx]

Hey guys I have been offered a new job position in an office setting. I have worked from home 3 years now so my wardrobe is basically jeans, t shirts and some casual shirts.

Now I need to go back to the office and will be in charged of 3 people. So I need to redo my wardrobe

I am in the process of losing weight (10lbs so far, 20lbs more to go). So I don't want to go all out, to buy pants and coats that can not be redone but I do need to dress now, so...

The situation:
I have a budget that will allow me to buy medium quality (all wool just not super expensive) pants and jackets.
And the new office has a business casual thing going on, no tie but obviously you can't wear jeans, you might get away with chinos though.

So my question is this:
According to my budget I can afford 3 suits or 3 sport coats and 3 pants. What do you guys think?

1. Suits = more professional BUT no rotation so every week I will be wearing the same colors, different shirt but no tie.

2. Sport coats + pants = Less professional BUT more combinations, can look very different.

I was thinking mixing and matching suits but then I read here it is a big no-no (except in rare case I can't tell the difference between suit jkt and Sport Coats) , and and also that when wearing the jacket and the pants differently they wear differently and after a few months, if I wear the complete suit they might have different tonality. (which to be honest makes a LOT of sense)

So... thoughts?

Thanks!!!!

 

[paxonus]

What does your boss wear? Do likewise.

 

[breakaway01]

You don't want to be significantly over or underdressed, especially in a new job. If nobody wears jacket and tie at work and if you don't need to meet clients where jacket & tie would be expected, then hold off until your weight stabilizes. At that point you should get one suit (plain navy or mid/charcoal grey) and one navy sport coat.

 

[Caustic Man]

It's difficult to make predictions about your specific office environment. You will know that better than us. You will also know whether it is more appropriate to wear suits or sport coats and trousers. One thing I can say is that if you are careful to buy items that are versatile you will be able to mix and match several different sport coat and trouser combinations more easily than mixing and matching suit jackets and trousers. Besides, if you are only buying three suits you won't have enough to wear a different suit every day of the week so it will probably be fairly obvious that you are wearing the same three suits over and over. Separate items like sport coats and trousers might be easier to work with in that sense because it won't be so obvious that you are wearing the same thing.

 

[jts287]

If you wear suits, you need to wear ties, so now you're out of the business casual realm. Go with the 3+3, then add pants as needed to vary the outfits. I would do navy, chocolate brown, and possibly gray.

 

[Ejx]

thanks guys, boss mix and matches suits without tie. I can tell because I have seen him with the suit and then with the jacket and some other pants. (new job old boss). They recently started no tie necessary policy but before it was with tie and mostly suit, so a lot of people recycle the suits by mixing them, since I do not have that problem because I do not have the suits, I can go either way.

Most men wear jackets / coats. (saw them when I went to interview)

If you wear suits, you need to wear ties...

I didn't know this, I see a lot of people wearing suits and no tie and think they look cool, specially if not a dark suit or with a more casual pattern, but I guess this would make them more distinct and make me see like I am wearing the same thing over and over.

Sounds like you all agree the 3 + 3 would be better idea and would also expand my wardrobe exponentially every time I add either trousers or jackets, so I am going with your expert opinion! Thanks!!!

I really don't like brown (except in shoes), so from what I read in the forums I was thinking:

Torusers: Navy, charcoal, light grey (solids right?)
Jackets: Navy, light grey, "lighter than navy but not too light" blue (or maybe charcoal? but then what pants I am not getting black ones.)

What do you guys think? Do you think jackets solid or with patterns?

thanks guys!

 

[Caustic Man]

Solid until you build a larger wardrobe. Patterned jackets tend to be more identifiable so if you wear it two or three times a week people might say "He's wearing that glen plaid jacket again." Think about it.

 

[Ejx]

Solid until you build a larger wardrobe. Patterned jackets tend to be more identifiable...

Great point, do you agree with the color selection?

Torusers: Navy, charcoal, light grey (solids right?)
Jackets: Navy, light grey, "lighter than navy but not too light" blue (or maybe charcoal? but then what pants I am not getting black ones.)

 

[Caustic Man]

Depends n your personal preferences. A navy blazer is a must have in every wardrobe so that's good, and it goes with nearly any common color of trouser. After that you might consider a khaki cotton sport coat if you want to go really casual like the one below. You could pair this with white or off white, or some brightly colored trousers.:



Light gray is okay for a third but it can be difficult to work with since you will almost certainly have to go darker rather than lighter with the trousers. Light gray can go well with navy or mid brown trousers. I would personally prefer a brown sport coat like this one below because you can wear it with khaki, light gray, white or off white, or even certain shades of green and blue trousers.:



Of course you might go with a more uncommon color of jacket like green but that will stand out more and be more obvious if you wear it several times a week.