conservative business dress WAYWRN: An Experiment

Originally Posted by Manton

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I don't want this thread to become a discussion of "Is X conservative business dress or not?" I think that would get dull. And, it misses the point.

Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley

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...'in my neck of the woods this is/isn't conservative business dress."... I don't think that was Manton's intention with the '7 continents' remark.

I just think of it as "how to dress soberly but still stylishly".

Regardless of local professional customs, I think the principles of conservative business dress as defined here can help in dressing better at all levels of formality and location.

Thanks for starting this one Manton. Even though the original conservative business dress threads were jokes (and funny ones at that), the underlying discussions were really valuable.

Originally Posted by Parker

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I just think of it as "how to dress soberly but still stylishly".

+1 - well put

Originally Posted by Threadbearer

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That's a BB tie? Looks too lux and textural for the Brethren. Do they still sell that one, or is it Old School?

Looks like one - stripes are from R-to-L, unlike British repps.

Originally Posted by MBreinin

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(simply because I would not want to be that "bow tie guy")

This is as good a test as any. If wearing a bow tie makes you known as "that bow tie guy," don't do it. If it's, "Oh, that's Brenin, he's a lawyer. Yeah, he likes bow ties." That's OK.

Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley

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^ This thread will only get more and more interesting as everyone chirps in with a 'in my neck of the woods this is/isn't conservative business dress."
I think a little of this is useful. It's interesting to learn what flies and what does not in various regions and industries (and combinations thereof.

What I hope this does not become is purely a thread about dress codes. It should rather be a thread about dressing well. Ascending from the dress code.

Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley

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I don't think that was Manton's intention with the '7 continents' remark.

Originally Posted by Parker

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Regardless of local professional customs, I think the principles of conservative business dress as defined here can help in dressing better at all levels of formality and location.

Fair enough. This discussion is certainly more interesting and useful to me than most of what I've read on the forum lately.

Call this "Conservative Church Dress" (CCD):







Brown shetland herringbone jacket, blue OCBD, navy knit tie, maroon ground paisley square, light gray flannel pants, blue & gray wool socks, unlined #8 shell loafers.

Originally Posted by Manton

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Call this "Conservative Church Dress" (CCD):

Brown shetland herringbone jacket, blue OCBD, navy knit tie, maroon ground paisley square, light gray flannel pants, blue & gray wool socks, unlined #8 shell loafers.

I may be mistaken but I thought you had elsewhere mentioned you hate wearing buttondown collars with suits.

Looks good, but I feel that the parts are a bit disparate with this one - almost as if the coat and PS belong to one family, while the ocbd and knit tie were borrowed from another look.

I personally would have been tempted to pair the herringbone coat with a checked shirt (BD or moderate spread) sans tie.

Is that ocbd from one of the SG fabrics?

Finally MC has a true analogue to the SW&D waywt thread.

In the SW&D one, people post outfits that they wear when hanging out casually. In this thread, people post outfits that they wear to work. In both threads, people are posting stuff that they wear in real life, and the outfits are judged by real life standards.

The main MC "waywt" has no such real life connection. It's become mostly a bunch of guys peacocking for their friends on the internet, trying to win friday costume theme challenges etc.

The stuff posted in this thread is very good. I will only note that in every business environment I've ever been a part of, the standard attire is a worsted wool suit and silk tie and dark brown or black oxfords, no pocket square. Not saying that there's anything wrong with wearing wool ties, knit ties, pocket squares, bluchers, suede shoes, etc., but I wouldn't call them "conservative business dress" because they are, like it or not, a fashion statement. I would wear that stuff only on days when I don't face clients.

Originally Posted by deadly7

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I may be mistaken but I thought you had elsewhere mentioned you hate wearing buttondown collars with suits.

1) You are mistaken.

2) That's not a suit.

I love everything about that, Manton ^.

Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley

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Looks good, but I feel that the parts are a bit disparate with this one - almost as if the coat and PS belong to one family, while the ocbd and knit tie were borrowed from another look.

I personally would have been tempted to pair the herringbone coat with a checked shirt (BD or moderate spread) sans tie.

Is that ocbd from one of the SG fabrics?

The cloth is whatever CEGO sells, I think Carl said it is Japanese.

Checked shirt would, IMO, be too busy, though I do wear OCBD candy stripes with it. I really don't like spread collars with tweed, except for tatersalls in brushed cotton. Don't have any of those any more. Used to. Not sure if I would wear one now in any case. Very "English" in a way that would make me feel dress-uppy. I like the American-ness of the OCBD.

Originally Posted by Manton

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The cloth is whatever CEGO sells, I think Carl said it is Japanese.

Checked shirt would, IMO, be too busy, though I do wear OCBD candy stripes with it. I really don't like spread collars with tweed, except for tatersalls in brushed cotton. Don't have any of those any more. Used to. Not sure if I would wear one now in any case. Very "English" in a way that would make me feel dress-uppy. I like the American-ness of the OCBD.

Maybe its just my budget monitor, but isn't that a solid brown coat (albeit with a h-bone pattern)? If so, why would a checked shirt be 'busy'?

I'm loving my OCBD's as well, and can't believe I didn't buy any earlier. I think my inner-snob always equated them with a RTW, middle-America, look. I always wear mine w/o a tie though.

I have never encountered a business environment where pocket squares were not appropriate. In France, nop one would even notice a square unless it's particularly flashy. In London, I saw many people without squares but also many with - I don't think anyone really cares. In NYC, squares seem to be somewhat frequent in financial and legal circles although they're clearly not prevalent, and tend to be worn by more senior people - which may create a little bit of an awkward feeling for younger workers. That said, no one ever made a comment to me (in an ultra conservative business dress environment) about wearing a fairly sober square, even when I was quite junior. Brown shoes on the other hand attracted a lot of comments - and even an express prohibition to wear brown shoes to client meetings with one specific senior guy.

I'm not sure how I feel about knit ties in regards to conservative business dress.

Whenever I've worn one, I've found it draws comments.


I think I'll like this thread, I usually dress far more conservatively than WAYWN, I don't realy like drawing attention to myself with my clothes.