Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In today's video, we'll discuss how to
mix casual and professional attire. Have you ever passed anybody on the street or
maybe have a friend or a co-worker who likes to "mix it up" stylistically by
wearing any sport coat they might have in their closet with a pair of jeans or
chinos and just call it a day? Now, this is not an uncommon option for many men
but there are actually multiple ways for you to be able to add a unique spin to
your outfit so that you can take on a variety of issues that might arise
throughout your day. From item to item, it's important to keep fit consistent
throughout your outfit. I remember a few years ago I was preparing for a trip to
New York City, I spent what felt like hours scouring my closet trying to find the
best things to put in my suitcase that would give me the best versatility. I
soon realized that I had selected items that both looked preppy and some that
were quite professional, if it didn't quite mesh well together in terms of fit.
Now, to fix this problem, I had to get out of my head and stop envisioning myself
as some sort of menswear cover model and think realistically. I took a moment to
figure out what would make the most sense, tell I'm going to look both
stylish but also be prepared for all of my meetings and still allow me the
flexibility to be able to explore the great city of New York without having to
continue to run back to my hotel for an outfit change. Having the correct
proportions in terms of fit will help show you in your best light. It's also
important to make sure you're choosing the best quality garments as much as
possible but what do we mean by quality? A quality isn't always defined by what
the price tag says, it's also about the durability and the longevity of the
garment. It's going to be something that you invest in but how much wear can you get
out of this. Now, I always like to look for seasonless pieces and these are
options that work well until your capsule wardrobe. Now for more
information about how to find and build a capsule wardrobe check out our video
here. It's always helpful to know which items are key in your wardrobe for
maximum versatility. Medium wash or dark wash denim, cotton chino pants, and
neutral colors, solid or gently patterned suits in navy or dark gray, a year-round
navy blazer in wool and great leather dress shoes in black or a dark brown,
accessories like a watch, a ring, sunglasses, or even a pocket square. Now, it's
important to pay attention to the season in which you're preparing your outfit.
This will help you determine which colors and also the materials you should
be utilizing within your outfit. Now, using the list of key garment I
mentioned before and also the color and pattern suggestions that are going to
follow, you'll be able to add more uniqueness and a little bit of pizzazz
to your outfit going forward. Now when it comes to the season of spring, you want
to look for colors that are light and have a light pastel tone to them. In
summer, something brighter and much more vibrant. In autumn, earth tones
always look fantastic and in the winter season, think of something dark and more
subdued. Other than seasonality, consider that some colors are more
advantageous for some men than others, depending on skin tone, hair color, eye
color, and so on. Now you can find our video on color and
skin tone, here. The popular pattern options would include stripes, windowpane,
buffalo check, paisley, and Glen plaid. Keep in mind, there are also numerous
other patterns to consider but patterns also have a different effect on
different people depending on their build.
Now, you can find our style guide videos for big and tall men and for slim men
here. Now that you've got some new inspiration on how to build this new
outfit, let's go over some great new ways and how to mix these different materials.
Now what many people will try to do is take any kind of a casual pant and mix
it instantly with a more professional top like a dress shirt or sport jacket.
Now, there's a correct and incorrect way to go about pairing. This example would
be incorrect as there's a pretty strong clash in terms of the formality and
informality of the two garments. Essentially, the two most important
factors to pay attention to here are seasonality and formality.
Now here's another bad example, wearing thin summer weight linen pants in the
fall and then wearing a flannel suit jacket and a pair of tennis shoes. Now,
this is incorrect for two reasons; one, in terms of seasonality, these pants
are too thin, it will not keep you warm in the fall, they're meant for summer. In
terms of formality, the tennis shoes absolutely clash with the flannel jacket.
The fact that the trousers are actually in between doesn't help, it just makes
things more confusing. Now, our dress code primer video should
clear any questions you might have about formality and you can find that here.
Here's a correct example, wearing a year round blazer, a sweater, some dark wash jeans,
and perhaps a pair of boots. Now, here we see the formality and seasonality of
everything are harmonizing together wonderfully. Now, let's take one more look
at those examples again. The incorrect example shows somebody who is not paying
attention to seasonality, formality, or how the mixing of their different
materials might blend together. At the correct example, it shows somebody who is
aware of the season in which they are dressing. They're keeping the majority of
their outfit fairly neutral perhaps it's one to two pops of color and here's the
best part, it's versatile. Now, they could wear this out to a casual lunch, a
meeting with colleagues, and perhaps even dinner with friends, and never once look
underdressed or overdressed. Now remember, sticking with the neutral
tones for a majority of your outfit and then having one to two accent colors
will help everything else stand out. Now that you better understand color, let's talk
about pattern; there's stripes, there's dots, there's
paisley, what do we do? Now perhaps you may have heard to never mix certain
patterns together but now that you better understand color, let's go over
some ways on how you can best mix these patterns. Here's an incorrect example,
wearing a pinstripe dress shirt and a tie with a small plaid pattern. Now this
is a poor choice because both patterns are small, linear, and actually are going
to be fighting for attention. When there are too many things going on with
your outfit, it is visually confusing to your viewer. A better idea will be to try
to wear a solid tie with that pinstripe shirt. The reason this is a safer choice
is because the patterned shirt is rounded by the solid tie. Now, on the conservative
side, it's always best to keep it simple and opt for maybe one to two patterns to
draw someone's attention. Now, you can always wear multiple patterns but the
important thing to remember is to make sure that the scale is different from
pattern to pattern so that they are not fighting for attention. Now for some
examples on how to best pair patterns together in the spring and summer months,
view our article here. It's great to see confidence in your outfit perhaps not
being afraid to try a paisley tie with a check shirt or pairing your wing tip
shoes with your dark wash getup. Perhaps a casual button-down shirt
with a unique pattern under a suit jacket. These are all different ways, now
how do we personalize this new outfit we're building? Although it's good to
know what rules to adhere to, when creating your new professional
and casual outfit, we want to make sure that you don't feel like it's a uniform.
Clothing is a form of expression and it's important to know when and where
it's appropriate to be expressive. You would not want to show up to a dinner
date wearing a t-shirt and long tube socks, you might think it's a great idea but
it's not really a great look and at this dinner date, it's not the best time to
express yourself. Save these unique creative expressive items for maybe a
different time. One thing I am never tired of with all the years I've worked
in retail is being able to meet all these wonderful people from all over the
world. I remember seeing many different kinds
of people who had frequented my place of work who really enjoy pushing the
boundaries of fashion and whether this is through hair color, the amount of
fragrance they wore, or their overall outfit choices. One person would always
arrive to the store with a cloud of fragrance. Another will only allow
themselves to wear one single color literally from head to toe. Now, it's
important to be prepared for anything when you step outside in your outfit,
however, it's always great to see that unique ring, your favorite leather watch,
our great Fort Belvedere pocket square to add some personality. The goal here is
to add a few key pieces to help show you in your outfit without going overboard.
Dressing for multiple occasions is something that initially might require a
bit more planning. Now once you've found your rhythm in your wardrobe, it'll feel
like second nature. So, today, I'm wearing a light purple and white checked shirt
with a button-down collar - happens to be wrinkle free. I'm also wearing a dark
brown belt with a gold buckle and some bright blue wool trousers and some dark
brown shoes and some tan socks. And the reason I chose to wear the purple shirt,
the button-down collar, the placket style and some of the stitching color
differences lend itself to being a little more on the casual side. The
reason I opted for the bright blue pants is because the color is a little bit off
the normal vein of Navy. However, they do have classic styling details which could
lend themselves to looking a little bit more upscale. You can dress them up or
dress them down. And I chose to wear the dark brown shoes because I wanted to
have one finishing piece at the bottom of my outfit to help elevate the rest of
the look, and also I love the way the brown matches the brown belt.