Sweater Vest Shirt Combos - Advice on Do's and Dont's

[Klobber]

I never have owned a sweater vest nor even contemplated slipping one over a shirt. But I recently saw an "off yellow" vest / white shirt light blue pinstripe combo set up on a Nordstrom Mannequin. Now Im thinking

Q1: Is it customary to wear a tie under a sweater vest? What if sweater vest was Crewneck rather than Vneck?

Q2: Is it necessary (for darker colours) to match vest colour to the shirt stripe colour, i.e. green sweater vest with white shirt/green stripes?

Q3: Is a check or plaid shirt a no no for sweater vest combo?

Q4: What colour matching and etiquette rules should be adhered to regarding vest, shirt, and possibly a tie (The suit is another variable to factor as well)?

Lets assume we have a case where all sweater vests are solid colour and not argyle or other pattern.

If we had solid colours for the vest (Im sure there are far more than listed):

Yellow, Green, Black, Light Blue, Light Gray, Darker Gray, Blue.

What type of solid or stripe white shirt could pull off an effective outfit? i.e. Yellow Vest -> White Shirt, Light Blue PS.

What combos would work, and that you have found effective in accomplishing a stylish yet formal look?

Q5: How does one select which material to wear, i.e. cotton, wool, cashmere etc?

Q6: There do not appear many labels carrying sweater vests. I see many RL Polo sweater vests, but I do not care for logo's. Where else can I get them apart from Banana Republic or Ralph Lauren? It seems Brooks Brothers do not make them either - looked on site and .... nothing apart from cashmere ones and very informal cotton ones.

 

[Klobber]

Oh yes, any advice is well appreciated. With most of us very busy professionals, answering all questions I pose in one go is impossible. I am hoping several of you will post a comment or two, and over course of time all questions/major issues would be implicitly answered.

 

[JohnnyLaw]

Sweater vests look best under a jacket, IMO.

 

[DocHolliday]

No tie with crewnecks, IMO.

Are there really such things as crewneck sweater vests?

 

[Newcomer]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

No tie with crewnecks, IMO.

Are there really such things as crewneck sweater vests?

If there is such a thing, it would be quite humorous to see.

 

[Klobber]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Are there really such things as crewneck sweater vests?

No idea at all, I guess I was thinking of sweaters when I wrote that.

I suppose if you chopped the arms off a crewneck sweater...

 

[JohnnyLaw]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

No tie with crewnecks, IMO.

Are there really such things as crewneck sweater vests?

I once had a Stephan Schneider one but I never figured out how to make it look good.

 

[zarathustra]

The Vest.

http://images.footballfanatics.com/F...4_xl.jpg&w=400

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by Newcomer

If there is such a thing, it would be quite humorous to see.

Like a dickie gone out of control.

 

[deadly7]

Originally Posted by Klobber

Q1: Is it customary to wear a tie under a sweater vest? What if sweater vest was Crewneck rather than Vneck?
Depends on the look you're going for. If this is for work attire then most likely yes. If it's casual wear then I'd encourage you don't.

Q2: Is it necessary (for darker colours) to match vest colour to the shirt stripe colour, i.e. green sweater vest with white shirt/green stripes?

No. If you know how to match colors you can pull off a lot of looks. If you have a bad eye then restrict yourself to the above; it won't ever fail.

Q3: Is a check or plaid shirt a no no for sweater vest combo?

Wear them and enjoy them with a solid vest. If your vest is otherwise decorated, I would personally stick to keeping a minimal appearance and not do it. Your call on that.

Q4: What colour matching and etiquette rules should be adhered to regarding vest, shirt, and possibly a tie (The suit is another variable to factor as well)?

Don't be overly loud in both color choice and style. And try to keep some sort of consistency in what you pick. For example if you reallllly want to wear that bright red tie, then wear more subdued colors of shirt and SV.

Q5: How does one select which material to wear, i.e. cotton, wool, cashmere etc?

Personal pref and the needs of your climate. Walking around in wool in 100 degree Saudi Arabian weather is as equally stupid as walking around in cotton in Antarctica.

Q6: There do not appear many labels carrying sweater vests. I see many RL Polo sweater vests, but I do not care for logo's. Where else can I get them apart from Banana Republic or Ralph Lauren? It seems Brooks Brothers do not make them either - looked on site and .... nothing apart from cashmere ones and very informal cotton ones.

I've seen them at NM and Saks sparingly. There are obviously cheaper ones in many mall stores, but that's not SF approved and you'll be banished for even thinking about those places.

 

[watchcollector2454]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

No tie with crewnecks, IMO.

Are there really such things as crewneck sweater vests?


http://www.drakes-london.com/knitwea...s-crewneck-931

http://www.drakes-london.com/knitwea...-pullover-1049

http://www.drakes-london.com/knitwea...k-sweater-1295

 

[thrice]

If i remember correctly there are some nice examples in the movie Lucky Number Slevin.

 

[Klobber]

Originally Posted by deadly7

I've seen them at NM and Saks sparingly. There are obviously cheaper ones in many mall stores, but that's not SF approved and you'll be banished for even thinking about those places.

Thanks for the advice.

Ive seen these at places like Macy's ...

Im learning about SF, it has taken me a while to figure some things out. On SF it appears designer/fashion house stuff is generally disliked, as is cheap knock offs in places like lower end department stores such as Kohls, Macy's etc...