WIWT

[shad0w4life]

@Max and Alan: Great info gents! Will either lose the tie or just loosen it a lot undo top button and see how she looks and maybe have a slight conversation starter later tonight Max I think you're onto something, I'm not a big stripe guy but looking at this under some light it does stand out quite well with some sheen, Thankfully the vest makes it not overpowering.

[jputman08]

First thing is first, @Shadow, that shirt is slick! It says "I don't care if I'm getting older, I'm going to do it in style!"

Curious what colour(s) & pattern you would have picked?

IMHO, Black or Navy pin dot. The little white dots would give just enough contrast.

[MattRicketts]

Alright, take it easy on me fellas. Here's my standard "smart-casual" outfit for the office. Believe it or not, with the chinos and Cole Haan Paul chukkas (not visible), this is semi-dressy for my workplace. I'm wearing the shirt untucked because I have beanpole legs and when I tuck this in I think it makes me look too stuffy. I also feel a need to untuck to dress down the chinos and shoes (which are pointy) a bit. I'm open to dissenting opinions, though. The sweatshirt in the first photo is an LL Bean Back Cove knit zip-up. This is my first step up from wearing a hoodie (not ready to go whole hog on cardigans yet). Even though it was 45 degrees when I left the house these are the only two tops I'm wearing today (right now only the shirt) and they illustrate how difficult it is for me to get creative with my tops when the climate is so mild. Any suggestions for improving this look are welcome! BTW, I realize that the sleeves on the sweatshirt are a bit too long but otherwise I like the fit so they're not a dealbreaker for me.

(apologies for the bad lighting)

[shad0w4life]

@matt:
good job on shirt length for untucked many people go too long, your sleeves look a tad too short if you were to wear a sport jacket.
I'm not a fan of the jacket(plain) also a tad longer would be good as your shirt is hanging out the bottom.
If you have bean pole legs the pants are helping give the illusion you don't, any idea why are you chinos so wrinkled?

[alan]

Any idea why are you chinos so wrinkled?

I can't speak for MattRicketts, but my chinos wrinkle very quickly. I think it's because they're so heavy. They just hold creases for some reason. And I'll confess that I try to get a few wears out of a pair of pants before I wash them (as long as they don't get dirty), and those wrinkles appear more freely after the first wear.

[MattRicketts]

Yeah, my chinos (BR Emersons) wrinkle pretty easily from just sitting at my desk all day. I kind of like the rumpled look, actually. I do need to wash them, though, as I have yet to do so for this pair.

My shirt sleeves are definitely too short, which is too bad because otherwise it fits pretty well (Land's End medium). It sucks because I'm basically right between a medium and large with regular LE sizing. The large LEC casual shirts fit even better around my chest and waist, but the sleeves are too long. I have yet to find an OTR shirt that fits my frame (42" chest AND waist) perfectly.

[greg_s]

Matt that's the start of a nice casual outfit. I frequently dress in a similar way. I know your work and office is heavy on the casual. What about a cotton cardigan or V-neck over the top? They are cooler and more casual than wool. Or even a crew neck cotton sweater/sweatshirt can work. This also eliminates any issues with not liking the appearance of a shirt tucked in.

[Jake101]

Meeting tonight


Suit Thompson
Tie and bar. Thetiebar
Watch bulova
Shoes ae strand
Socks happy

[Acousticfoodie]

@Matt: That's a good base to build off! As greg mentioned, you could keep the same color pallet and merely replace the sweater with a thinner and much cooler cotton Vneck for the mild weather. The Vneck should still maintain some of the casualness that you are striving for in the workplace while allowing you to add an additional layer like a field/military jacket which I think you mentioned having like this:

(I don't have quite the same shirt as you do but the color pallet is similar enough overall):





Shirt: JCF
Sweater: Gap
Jacket: Converse
Chinos: JC

[shad0w4life]

Holy crap foodie, that sweater pic REALLY gives you a V, I almost think you're going to fall over from being top heavy.

[MattRicketts]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. A cotton v-neck sweater or cardigan sounds like a good way to go. I'm thinking of trying one of the LE supima cotton ones. I have two of the BR "extra-fine merino" sweaters that fit like a glove, but of course they're pretty warm. I just wish the damn temps here would get below 55 degrees so I can start dressing in layers! The highs have YET to drop below 60 here, and it looks like more of the same for at least the next few weeks.

[Lib]

Curious what colour(s) & pattern you would have picked?

My vote is no tie for a shirt that dark. Ties scare me, but I keep them darker than the shirt, otherwise it gives this photographic negative effect that throws me off. Really like the tie, but it might be a white (or really light off-white) shirt only kind of thing?

[Tim]

@MattRicketts - Another option I'd throw out is a quarter-zip as opposed to a full-zip, especially for casual looks. I like the collar offered by them (my favorite one has a contrast liner in the collar), but to me, the line down the center caused by the full-zip looks strange.
@Jake - Suit looks great. What shirt is that?

[RyanUSMC]

Ok so first time and sorry for cruddy pic but:

http://instagram.com/p/S9SoxrlqXk/

Shirt= Nordstrom Non-iron
V neck = Banana Republic
Blazer = JCP
Jeans = 505 Levis Macy's

[Acousticfoodie]

@ryan: good combination of classic colors. damn that bathroom is nice!
@shadow: Yea problems of having huge difference in ratio of chest to waist lol.

Casually studying today:



henley: target
Pants: bonobos