Brown herringbone sport coat at office?

[thebadsleepwell]

Hello all,


Color and pattern coordination question. I have just started my first job post grad-school. The office environment is casual, but on the 'smart casual' side. I want to look nice, and so splurged and bought the "harvest" herringbone sportscoat from jcrew when it was on sale recently. Coat here: http://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/sportcoatsandvests/Ludlowsportcoats/PRDOVR~30948/30948.jsp


I think the coat is great and fits perfectly. My fiancee thinks it is too casual to where with anything but jeans. I want to wear it with dark slacks and dress shirts. Is this a look that works?


If the grey coat is more versatile, it may not be too late to return and change.


Thanks,

[gabe_gador]

I think it would go great with khakis/chinos but I think it's too casual to wear with slacks (grey one included).

[alan]

I REALLY like that jacket. I have one very similar that I found at Goodwill except mine has patch pockets. It's one of my favorites. I wear it with jeans or khakis. I've never considered wearing it with dark pants, but the only dark pants I own are charcoal, and that might be a funky combo. It's a touch casual, but far from "too casual". If you can wear it with blue jeans, you can surely wear it with blue chinos. Not that I think you own any, but I bet it looks good with OD green pants, too (if you're the adventurous sort).


I don't think the grey jacket will be any more or less casual, though. In fact, I'm not as much of a fan of the grey as I am of the brown. The grey one is kind of "muddy" to me, as if it couldn't decide what color to be so it didn't pick any color. The name they chose (oatmeal) suits it, and I don't consider that a compliment. At least the brown is committed. :-)

[Lib]

Dark slacks (like navy) would be great, but ash slacks would be perfect imo. Khakis fine as well.


Jeans only my ass. It's a structured jacket!

[jessy_diamond]

@Alan I actually prefer the oatmeal.

[alan]

@Jessy: I forgive you. ;-) j/k

[alan]

It seems they make a non-herringbone charcoal version. That one is pretty nice, too.

[alan]

I'm actually wearing another brown herringbone jacket of mine today (forgot I had a second one) with navy chinos. It's not exactly like the one you've got, but I'll try to snap a pic and post it in WIWT.

[bj]

Wowza. Love that jacket. Loathe that price.

[jicarv]

I plan to get this one from BR, which is similar, the next time they have a coupon:

http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=84076&vid=1&pid=428196002


I will mainly wear it with Jeans and Chinos but I don't see why you couldn't wear it with slacks and a dress shirt also.

[alan]

FWIW, ya'll may want to consider checking out thrift stores. These jackets are the kind of stuff I've had pretty good success with. I found both of my brown herringbones from thrift stores, and one is a fully canvassed Brooks Brothers.

[jicarv]

@Alan - I wish I could convince myself to shop at thrift stores, but I'm grossed out by the whole thing. I know it's all in my head but whatever...

[alan]

@Juan: FWIW, I've only ever bought second hand jackets and shoes so I can wear something between them and me. I kinda feel the same way, but some stuff is just too nice not to.

[LesserBlackDog]

You generally want to approximately match the texture and substance of the fabrics you're wearing. So that herringbone wouldn't necessarily work with a finely-woven wool trouser, but could go well with a rougher flannel trouser. The reason the jacket works so well with jeans and chinos is because those heavy cottons have a weight that stands up better to the roughness of the wool herringbone.


A finer trouser with a bit of visual texture might be workable - something like a heathered, worsted wool with some depth and variegation to it.

[thebadsleepwell]

Thanks for the great responses. I think the texture response is nicely on point. A look I want to avoid is having smooth dark pants, a smooth dress shirt, and a roughly textured coat. My instinct tells me that pattered pants (ie, pin stripe) would be too clashy with the jacket.


I'll post pictures of what I'm wearing today later if people have thoughts. Probably I'll keep the jacket because I like it so much. Still need to figure out what to do with it though...