Steel Grey 3-Button Suit, thinking about getting a Vest/Waistcoat

[Sharp Pointy Stick]

Bought a Steel Grey 3-button, 2-piece suit this morning, and was thinking of adding a vest/waistcoat to it. I tried on the vest (dark charcoal grey) with the suit and with the jacket buttons (middle and top

) done up you can not see the vest so I opted not to purchase it. I am now having second thoughts and thinking of going back tomorrow to get the vest. A few noobie questions;

1. Should you see the vest with the jacket closed?
2. Is it ok for the vest to not be the same fabric, but matching, as the suit?
3. Are vests/ 3-piece suits in style? Thinking of wearing the suit c/w the vest for formal functions.
4. Would you ever wear just the vest without the jacket? Say at the office (my office has a pretty relaxed dress code, shirt and tie are not the norm, but a few still wear them...suits are seen but very very irregularly)

 

[Sharp Pointy Stick]

I think I was able to answer question 2;

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=58334

 

[Sharp Pointy Stick]

Bump

Anyone able to help? Really curious about question 1..

Thanks,

 

[bowtielover]

If it didn't come with the suit then you want it to be an acenting color since you will not be able to perfectly match the exact shade of the suit. Also you do want to be able to at least see some of the vest with the jacket buttoned. 3 peice suits are not as popular as they once were since men are dressing up as much as they used to but are still somewhat instyle. You could lose the jacket and wear the vest for a more casual look, I have even wron some with jeans and a nice shirt to add a little edge.

 

[Sharp Pointy Stick]

Originally Posted by bowtielover

If it didn't come with the suit then you want it to be an acenting color since you will not be able to perfectly match the exact shade of the suit. Also you do want to be able to at least see some of the vest with the jacket buttoned. 3 peice suits are not as popular as they once were since men are dressing up as much as they used to but are still somewhat instyle. You could lose the jacket and wear the vest for a more casual look, I have even wron some with jeans and a nice shirt to add a little edge.

Appreciate the reply, thank you.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

If you're a lower-level employee, you probably should not wear the vest or at least not have it visible. Without a jacket, a sweater vest makes more sense and ought to be fine.

 

[amplifiedheat]

Originally Posted by Sharp Pointy Stick

Bought a Steel Grey 3-button, 2-piece suit this morning, and was thinking of adding a vest/waistcoat to it.

I tried on the vest (dark charcoal grey) with the suit and with the jacket buttons (middle and top

) done up you can not see the vest so I opted not to purchase it. I am now having second thoughts and thinking of going back tomorrow to get the vest.

A few noobie questions;

1. Should you see the vest with the jacket closed?
   
2. Is it ok for the vest to not be the same fabric, but matching, as the suit?
   
3. Are vests/ 3-piece suits in style? Thinking of wearing the suit c/w the vest for formal functions.
   
4. Would you ever wear just the vest without the jacket? Say at the office (my office has a pretty relaxed dress code, shirt and tie are not the norm, but a few still wear them...suits are seen but very very irregularly)

A bit of vest should show above the jacket. The vest should either be cut from the same fabric or should clearly be an odd vest. (Cream linen or dove gray wool are popular odd vests.)

The three-piece is classic, and thus always in style. It has also been fairly popular recently. The accompanying fashion of wearing vests in lieu of jackets is a little less commendable, but if it's hot, you can doff the jacket.

 

[Sharp Pointy Stick]

Please give me your opinion on my suit, vest and the outfit overall...

The pants were tailored, the tailor said the jacket fit well, the vest was MTM.

The pocket square needs some work and I havent ironed the shirt yet

Thanks,

 

[mensimageconsultant]

You need a new tailor. That suit does not fit well. It looks too tight in the mid-section and too loose in other places. The pants are too long. The jacket pockets are too far to the sides. The vest looks black, which is not a good color choice. The shirt sleeves are too long; probably so are the jacket sleeves. You would do better with a white pocket square, because the current color is quite similar to the tie's.

 

[Sator]

I think that the problem is that the wearer has probably had to go up in size so that the coat fits at the waist. The result is that the chest is too large, hence the folds of excess cloth there ie the coat has drape. The coat was not intended to be worn that way and so is not cut or made up to throw the drape in neat vertical folds at the front of the armscye. The ideal situation would be a proper corpulent cut of a coat, which in its purest form can only be done as a bespoke garment. It is more than a coat with extra width in the waist.

Waistcoats should be of contrasting colour to the coat. If the coat is dark then waistcoat is lighter. If the coat is light the waistcoat may be darker. On a coat that is steel grey, the waistcoat is best made lighter than the coat for city wear.

 

[countdemoney]

+1 to sator's advice on vest color.

 

[Sharp Pointy Stick]

Thanks for the comments. I did need to go a larger size in the jacket to fit my waist.

Originally Posted by mensimageconsultant

You would do better with a white pocket square, because the current color is quite similar to the tie's.

I was under the impression that the tie and pocket square should be the same color?

 

[Luddite]

They should not. You don't want to be too matched.

 

[koolhistorian]

Originally Posted by Sharp Pointy Stick

Thanks for the comments. I did need to go a larger size in the jacket to fit my waist.

No, it will be too large in the shoulder area! Your tailor (if it is a MTM) should had compensated the fact that you have a "fallen" right shoulder, so your chest area is bulging with cloth, and the cut is not "clean".
On the other hand, the pants are too small in the hips area, (you can see the stress lines around the fly) he or she should had that in mind if it is a real MTM, which in my mind is something made on your measurements, not a "special order" - a stock suit made from a specific fabric.
Having plus minus your body conformation, I've took the road of tailor made (I don't get into what bespoke means), so talk to your tailor, or go to another.
Regarding the vest - can work, if you are having a more contrasting tie - red for example; or, as Sator said a more contrasting vest, as a tattersal or what ever.

 

[Sharp Pointy Stick]

Originally Posted by koolhistorian

No, it will be too large in the shoulder area! Your tailor (if it is a MTM) should had compensated the fact that you have a "fallen" right shoulder, so your chest area is bulging with cloth, and the cut is not "clean". On the other hand, the pants are too small in the hips area, (you can see the stress lines around the fly) he or she should had that in mind if it is a real MTM, which in my mind is something made on your measurements, not a "special order" - a stock suit made from a specific fabric. Having plus minus your body conformation, I've took the road of tailor made (I don't get into what bespoke means), so talk to your tailor, or go to another. Regarding the vest - can work, if you are having a more contrasting tie - red for example; or, as Sator said a more contrasting vest, as a tattersal or what ever.
The suit jacket and pants are off the rack (which is why I needed to go up a size for the waist). The pants were modified by a tailor, same tailor said the jacket did not need modifications (or possibly being polite as nothing could be done?). Would a tailor be able to do anything for the jacket? I assume from the comments that the pants should be redone. I went with a black vest as a I wanted a versatile color, which could be worn without a jacket. Guess a bad decision on my part

Any recommendations for a tailor in the Greater Vancouver area? Slightly off topic, I notice the stress lines around the fly are a result of the frabric pulling when I sit. Is there anything that can be done for this? besides me losing pounds...