Men’s Style: Wearing Vests During Casual Occasions

Vests can easily dress up outfits but are often overlooked in casual clothing. Vests are most often worn in formal wear but are changing in terms of style and use. Before throwing a vest on understand a few rules for coordination that help you put your outfit together in a way that doesn’t appear messy. With professional work clothes vests follow different rules than casual wear because of the inherent traditional nature of suits.  

Casual vest are more about clashing than matching and should seek to appear quickly put together but not sloppy. Solid earth colors are easier to work with as they match most other types of shirts and trousers. More pointedly, they complement jeans better than bright slacks. 

The vest is commonly worn with dress shirts and certainly will still work with a tie. That is way too stuffy for casual occasions. A solid dress t-shirt or a polo shirt with a earth tone or neutral color like white will work well in balancing the casual with something a step up from jeans and a t-shirt.  Your outfit will be appropriate for many different occasions. 

The type of events you would wear vests are in dining situations, casual social occasions our out running errands. It is not designed for formal events or lounging around the home. It does work well in most other situations except those that require professional clothing such as work.  

Rule 1: Vests should be a little snug around the abdomen with large arm holes for comfort. The snugness ensures that you are sliming the body. 

Rule 2: The vest and the shirt should be different but complementary colors. 

Rule 3: A patterned vest should be worn with a solid shirt or a solid vest can be worn with a patterned shirt. 

Rule 4: A plain T-shirt is highly casual while a polo rests in middle ground. A dress shirt can be worn if tucked into jeans or slacks. 

Rule 5: Close your vest with dress shirts and open your vest with casual clothes. 

Rule 6: A complementary derby hat can make a 1930’s theme out of it. 

Rule 7: Make sure the shirt you wear doesn’t stick out under the vest and below the waistline or you will appear sloppy. 

A few other tips in the video:

Tips on Buying Suits for Your Professional Wardrobe

Ludwig von Mises

Buying suits can be a daunting task for people who are not sure where to start. Working in a professional setting often requires the use of suits for meetings, interviews, or other important social events. Any person who is a casual wearer of suits should have between 4 and 5 in their closet for a variety of occasions.  

Whether you are searching online or walking through the mall you should consider a few solid tips on purchasing the right suit for your needs. No matter what range of suit you are seeking to purchase quality is always a better indicator than price. The price posted on the tag is not the final price and there is always a little wiggle room. With that in mind consider the following tips:

1.       Avoid Pleats: Pleated pants will make you look bigger than you are. To have the masculine top with a thinner waste avoid the extra material that is comfortable but of poor taste.

2.       A Little Snug: A proper suit should be a little snug and constricting. Extra space in a suit will look sloppy and make you look larger than you are.

3.       Two Buttons: Two buttons is more modern than three button suits. When wearing a two button suit ensure that you leave the bottom button open.

4.       Avoid Excessive Tailoring: Avoid suits that require too much tailoring. If it isn’t close to the proper fit excessive cutting and sewing will impact its overall look.

5.       Color and pattern: It is generally advisable to stick with traditional colors for suits until you build a reasonable wardrobe of navy blue, charcoal grey, and brown.

6.       Measurements: Measurements should be taken of neck, shoulders, sleeves, chest, waist, and inseam in order to tailor the suit properly.

7.       Accessories: Belts should match your shoes and buckles should match your watch.

8.       Tie Choice: In today’s world a thinner tie is better than a thicker one.  Make sure that some of the color matches the rest of the material unless you are looking for a clash.