Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video we discuss the question, can you wear a jacket without a tie or not?
It's a popular question that we could ask all the time and it's probably because you
see a lot of men wearing it yet it goes against traditional style rules.
And so in today's video we'll answer the question once and for all, definitively.
Can you wear a jacket without a tie?
Hell, yes!
In this day and age you can wear whatever you want and no one can hinder you.
Of course you know us, and the answer is, it depends.
Why?
Because historically men would not wear a jacket without a tie and we'll discuss when
it's appropriate to do so when you need a jacket and all the in-between situations that
you might encounter in your everyday life.
Also keep in mind just because you can whatever you want doesn't mean that it's always advantageous
to wear it and so it's always good to have the right purpose for when you dress.
For example just look at previous presidents Barack Obama or George Bush. They would often
be seen wearing a suit with a dress shirt but without a tie.
Now they did that purposefully because they wanted to seem more approachable to the common
man and at the same time be presidential.
For most other people this is a no-go because the business suit is simply too formal to be
worn without a tie.
That being said, if you dress on purpose and you know what you're doing, it's good.
Personally I break the rules from time to time wearing a jacket without a tie is not
one of them at least not very often.
But I'll explain to you when I wear a jacket without a tie and why I usually always have
a tie.
Here's some guidelines when you should or should not wear a tie with a jacket according
to traditional style rules.
An ideal jacket to be worn without a tie is one that is very casual and heavily patterned.
It could be also made out of a different material such as linen or cotton or a blend.
And they're just predestined because they're by definition more casual and relaxed.
Wearing a jacket without a tie is relaxed too and because of that they go well together.
I see a lot of men wearing orphaned suit jackets that are basically part of a dark business
suit but then paired without a tie, it simply looks odd.
A tie or a bow tie or maybe even an ascot adds a visual interest in your triangle below
your face.
If you wear a casual combination such as this sport coat with a pattern as well as a dark
blue denim shirt, it also creates some visual contrast and it still highlights my face.
So these are combinations where you can really forego the tie.
In terms of patterns include houndstooth or Pepita patterns, may be a larger Prince of
Wales check and even a smaller one, if you have bolder colors in your jacket that's all
a good indicator that it can be worn without a tie.
At the same time if you have a jacket that has stripes in it be it rope stripes, pinstripes
or chalk stripes, that always requires some form of neck wear.
That being said never wear a striped jacket without a matching pair
of pants because it will immediately look like an orphaned suit jacket which is not
very flattering.
Also a pinstripe suit for example is quite formal so pairing it with denim or chinos
makes it look quite weird.
Of course, if you have a coarser linen jacket in a solid color,
that can also be worn without a tie because the material makes it casual.
So you always have to take everything into consideration.
As a general rule, if you have peak lapels on your jacket you should always wear it with
a tie because peak lapels are always more formal than notch lapels.
The second instance when you should wear a jacket without a tie
is when it's rather casual.
Let's say you're wearing worn-out boat shoes maybe with some chinos in a color and a jacket
in that case it would look odd to have a tie because a tie is more formal and the other
end is quite informal and you want to avoid those clashes.
At the same time if you for example have loafers, a pair of chinos, a dress shirt and a blazer
you can definitely wear a tie with that because it's a little dressier.
One combination that I see men wear a lot is a blazer with denim.
In that case, denim is quite informal and so I suggest you skip the tie.
That being said don't wear black shoes with your outfit because black shoes are more formal,
denim is informal, blazer somewhat in between.
If you then wear a white shirt without a tie, everything looks off in terms of formality
and it's just not a pleasing look.
The third time that I don't wear a tie with the jacket is when you're at a moment's notice.
Let's say you're at the office and you just quickly learn that a customer came in and
you have a jacket hanging there. Yes, put on a jacket. It's more formal than if you had
no jacket at all and it's okay to skip the tie in that particular situation.
But ideally you just have a tie somewhere that you can put on when you're required to.
The fourth occasion to wear a jacket without a tie is when you go to a party and you don't
know the dress code.
In that case it might make sense to have a little bow tie tucked away or a regular tie,
maybe in the car so you can quickly put it on.
Alternatively though you can maybe even forgo the jacket because if you're the only person
there in a jacket and everyone else is in a Hawaii shirt it makes you look really weird.
Always keep in mind that piece of neck wear such as a tie formalizes your outfit and so
taking off your jacket but keeping it on your tie makes you look like a little flower boy
at a wedding and it's not a look you want to go for.
That being said it takes five seconds to take off a tie and you can learn more about how
to do it properly without damaging a tie in this video here.
The fifth occasion when you can forgo a tie is when you actually stain it.
It happened to me before, I stained my tie during lunch. Now it just looks odd so I just
took it off and it creates an overall better look than having a tie that is stained.
The sixth time you can wear a jacket but not a tie is when your shirt is quite casual.
By that I mean you have a summer shirt and of a linen blend maybe in a pink, orange or
yellow tone.
Alternatively it could be a shirt with checks in multiple colors.
Also the style of collar has an impact on it.
For example a button-down collar is more casual and can be worn open very easily without a
tie.
Also there are shirt collars that are tailored to be worn without a tie and open and obviously
you should not put a tie on those either.
As a general rule the more casual your shirt is the better it is to be worn without a tie.
Of course other factors such as accessories in your jacket come into play as well but
just looking at the shirt that's the rule.
So if you decided to wear a jacket without a tie, here are a few things to keep in mind.
One, always wear either a pocket square or a boutonniere and you can even pull off both.
But you need something in your chest pocket that creates a visual element of interest
at the same time it makes your overall appearance look a lot more polished.
If you want to wear a boutonniere as well as a pocket square without a tie they have
to really work well together and balance each other out.
By that I mean, choose a flower that's very small and unassuming such as this small blue
boutonniere which you can find in our shop here.
You want to avoid bright boutonniere and pockets square colors because otherwise it's too flashy.
Also consider the size of your lapel, if you have a very skinny lapel, I'd probably skip
the boutonniere.
If it's medium to wide you can add one but always avoid a large boutonniere in bright
colors with a pocket square because it looks just odd without a tie.
Alright now that you know when you can skip the tie, let's talk about the occasions when
your jacket always requires one.
You need a tie whenever you wear a suit which means you wear a matching pair of pants and
a jacket.
It's made out of the same fabric
And to learn more about suits, how they should fit, suit lingo and all the details that you
need to look dapper, please check out these videos here.
A suit is generally quite formal especially when it's a darker business suit.
There may be exceptions to that for example if you have a tobacco Brown linen suit and
in that case you might forgo the tie but as a general rule if you wear a suit a tie is
always the best choice.
The reason is that the tie is a visual focal point that ties the outfit together.
Frankly I made this mistake once when I applied for law school.
I wore a dark navy single-breasted business suit with a red silk pocket square, a white
shirt and without a tie.
I thought I didn't want to be too formal and skip the tie but looking back I should have
just chosen a different outfit altogether.
At the end of the day if you wear a suit, you show that you respect traditional clothes
rules and because of that you should wear it properly with some neckwear.
The second occasion where you need a tie with your jacket is if you incorporate a lot of
traditional business colors.
Let's say you have a dark navy blazer with a pair of gray flannel pants, overall that
is a combination which is generally less formal
in a suit but it's a very business appropriate combination and because of that should always
have a necktie.
If you're not a friend of neckties or you want to be different you can also try to wear
an ascot or maybe a bow tie.
And to learn more about how to tie a bow tie, what to choose, please check out the video
here.
And also for ascots we have tying instructions so they look neat and stay in place all day.
Of course if you want a great selection of quality men's neckties in different sizes
as well as bowties and ascots, please check out our shop here.
The third event where you should wear a jacket with a tie are very formal and dignified events
such as funerals.
At those events you never want to look half dressed and at the wedding some people might
forego the tie but at a funeral you certainly can never forgo the tie because it's a solemn
event that you attend because you want to show respect to the deceased as well as the
family.
To learn more about funeral etiquette please check out this video here.
Of course, you guessed it!
We also have an entire series about wedding attire, do's and don'ts and you can check
that out here.
The fourth time you should always wear a tie with your shirt and jacket is if your shirt
collar is not conducive to being worn without a tie.
That's the case if your collar is too big and would collapse on itself without the stability
of the tie or if the shirt collar tips would make their way out on top of the lapel because
that's a very 70s look that makes it look pretty dated.
Likewise if you have formal collars with a larger spread I suggest you go with a tie.
At the same time if you have a button-down collar for example they're more conducive
to be worn without a tie.
Definitely always wear a tie with your jacket if otherwise your undershirt would peek out
from underneath your collar.
Some men love undershirts and that's fantastic and we even did an entire guide about undershirts,
the do's and don'ts but if your undershirt is really a t-shirt and it peeks out underneath
your shirt collar when it's unbuttoned it's simply a no-go and a fashion faux pas.
So you have two options, either you wear a tie or necktie or ascot or you get an undershirt
that has a deep cut out so it doesn't show and that way you can forego the tie.
The sixth time to wear a tie is when you have formal dress shirts.
What makes dress shirts formal?
We have an entire guides about that but in a nutshell if your dress shirt features French
cuffs for cufflinks, then it's formal and should be worn with a tie.
If your dress shirt is solid white and has French cuffs, the same is true.
Last but not least if you have a Winchester shirt which means you have either a contrasting
color which is usually white or a contrasting color and shirt cuffs then that makes it more
formal and you should always wear it with a tie.
In today's outfit I am wearing my jacket without a tie because I chose a casual blue and white
checked summer jacket from Gagliardi.
I opted for a dark blue denim shirt which is not ironed and therefore quite casual.
My slacks are baby blue and provide a visual contrast to my jacket as well as my olive
green suede tassel loafers.
The belt obviously matches the shoes and my pocket square really stands out because it
has this sunflower orange yellow yet it has a little paisley pattern that is larger than
my check but it picks up the color of blue from my shirt and from my jacket as well as
the green from my shoes and therefore it ties it all well together.
For socks, I usually wear over the calf styles from Fort Belvedere in this case I
went with a prototype for no-show socks which only works during this summer and I just want
to see how it feels and whether they stay up because it's a big issue with no-show
socks.
If you enjoyed this video definitely check out our guide on cuff styles as well as our
shirt series and our suit series I'm sure you'll love it.