Summer office casual jacket

[LooknGr8]

Love this forum! Been tearing up the thrift shops in my area and am impressed at what is out there once you know what to look for. Have not yet found anything to brag about on the thrift shop thread here, but what I have in my closet is a far cry from where it was before I found y'all!

My office is theoretically dress casual, but no one dresses except VPs & up (I am a writer for a publishing company...not entry level by any means but on the lower third of the ladder). Half the guys wear shirts with collars, other half hoodies/t-shirts. Two-thirds jeans/one third khakis-chinos-dockers-cords. Ties are out (except this one guy, explained below).

Am trying to fit in with higher dress standards than the rest but don't want to stick out like a sore thumb either. There's been some great discussion on this matter elsewhere on SF.

Just some followups to this; I wanted your opinions on:

1) Is a nice linen jacket of a non-gray, non-black, or generally non-dark color going to stick out too much in the spring/summer (I think I can get away with the occasional tweed jacket in fall-winter without getting ragged on, will try it next fall)? Greens, yellows, blues...?

2) If so, what do you guys recommend that is of good quality, won't look schlumpy...I don't want to be like this other guy who deliberately goes "shabby chic" with untucked dress shirt (long tails) and half-cocked knit ties...he looked like he slept in the outfit to get the look)? Is fit everything, and whatever it is, if it fits well, I'm good?

3) Aside of jackets, give me some suggestions for some of your favorite stuff to wear to work in summer at dress casual offices where the "dress" part has been forgotten -- I'm making a punch list for those thrift stores and right now I have a lot of jeans, button down oxfords and washable linen shirts in my closet...working on upgrades...

Thanks.

 

[pvrhye]

The summer short list is - Linen, Fresco, Cotton and Tropical Wool.

I think something unstructured in one of those would suit the look you're looking for.

 

[Nicola]

Originally Posted by LooknGr8

My office is theoretically dress casual, but no one dresses except VPs & up (I am a writer for a publishing company...not entry level by any means but on the lower third of the ladder). Half the guys wear shirts with collars, other half hoodies/t-shirts. Two-thirds jeans/one third khakis-chinos-dockers-cords. Ties are out (except this one guy, explained below).



Just some followups to this; I wanted your opinions on:

1) Is a nice linen jacket of a non-gray, non-black, or generally non-dark color going to stick out too much in the spring/summer (I think I can get away with the occasional tweed jacket in fall-winter without getting ragged on, will try it next fall)? Greens, yellows, blues...?

2) If so, what do you guys recommend that is of good quality, won't look schlumpy...I don't want to be like this other guy who deliberately goes "shabby chic" with untucked dress shirt (long tails) and half-cocked knit ties...he looked like he slept in the outfit to get the look)? Is fit everything, and whatever it is, if it fits well, I'm good?

3) Aside of jackets, give me some suggestions for some of your favorite stuff to wear to work in summer at dress casual offices where the "dress" part has been forgotten -- I'm making a punch list for those thrift stores and right now I have a lot of jeans, button down oxfords and washable linen shirts in my closet...working on upgrades...

Thanks.

Okay I'm more confused then usual

You're in a creative job in a creative company. Right? You risk getting ragged on for your dress?

On colour. There is blue (for that matter green to) and there is blue. The darker stuff will look much safer then the brighter day glo stuff.

If you're worried about getting ragged on yellow jackets might be a bridge too far. Dark green is more fall then summer.

 

[pvrhye]

Originally Posted by Nicola

Okay I'm more confused then usual

You're in a creative job in a creative company. Right? You risk getting ragged on for your dress?

I suppose he could publish grill instruction manuals.

 

[LooknGr8]

HA! No, it's actual news reporting going on here. The general stereotypes on this forum about "creative" style places I read here I find just that -- loose guides. In the publishing business, they don't meet the stereotypes.

The dress at all the publishing companies I've worked for in my 20 years post-college have been like I described above. Sweaters, jeans, sneakers, Timberland hikers, hoodies.

Maybe if I worked for an ad agency, design firm or marketing group it might conform better to SF's general idea of how people dress. But it's a really nice office, architecturally, 300 people on 3 floors...and the dress in general here is kinda like fans in the stands at a baseball game.

I want to dress well, on the high end of the spectrum for here...without making people think I am gunning for their jobs or interviewing somewhere else during lunch.

 

[SirGrotius]

I work with a lot of creative people, but these are mostly at advertising agencies. That said they are brand whores, and are trending to the Italian brands if they're mid-level and French if they're high-level.

At the lowest of the low, you can do Banana Republic. They have some slimmer cuts. A notch above that would be Hugo Boss, check out their red-label Hugo line in particular. Avoid Brooks Brothers if you're in creative.

I'm really having difficulty recommending anything else!! After those brands you have to make a perilous jump into D&G territory and that can go awry fast.

You know what's cheap and cool, Z Zegna. Granted, this isn't top-notch construction, but they have something called the Manhattan line or something similar, and it's a very sheek cut and not overly obtrusive.

Also, Burberry has great outerwear. Try getting one of their nylon lightweight jackets. They're cool yet can be dressy with a pair of high-end jeans or trousers.

Focus also on your shoes. That's a good way to set yourself apart from the schlubs. Try Salvatore Ferragamo, it's nice and there are some decent price ranges.