Essentials of a Work Wardrobe - Suits

Every man needs at least two suits in his closet at all times, while to begin no man needs more than six suits in his arsenal. The exact number you settle on should be based around how often a suit is needed in the office. Most offices two suits will suffice. The first two suits need to be a Navy and a Charcoal Gray. The Charcoal Gray suit should be plain, this way it can also be worn to weddings and funerals, as needed. The Navy suit can be plain or for some variation be a herringbone, chalk stripe, pinstripe or
nailhead. The third, fourth & fifth suits should first come in varied shades of gray, from darker to lighter or an additional navy. The patterns should remain conservative: pinstripe, herringbone, chalk stripe, houndstooth or nailhead. With the sixth suit and perhaps with the fifth suit (in only the most liberal environments) can some experimentation take place. This experimentation is in colors or patterns, but not both. Experimentation in colors: Tan or Brown. Experimentation in patterns: Windowpane check, Glenn Check, or multi-stripe.

The suits that are to be worn most often are the conservative ones and the experimental suits the least often. In conservative places of business like Law Firms and Banks, the experimental suits should only be worn on Fridays. All of these suits should be two button or three-roll to two button. They may or may not have a vest. They all must have flat front pants with no cuffs. The lapels should be between 2 ½ inches and 3 ¼ inches in width, with the ideal width at 3".

The best place to buy these suits are: J Crew, Banana Republic, H&M, Men's Wearhouse & Brooks Brothers.

Reiss - A UK Brand That Gets it Right

I stumbled across Reiss a brand out of UK and found that they certainly get it right.  Most impressively is the brands suits, that range from $650 to $850 depending on the material.  Mohair is the least expensive and the most expensive is luxury wool.

The suits are slim fit and tapered at the waist as a good suit should.  They come in great colors, but do not come in stripes, checks or houndstooths.  Reiss lets the suits tailoring do the talking.  The suits have slimmer lapels and come in either one or two button options on the single breasted.  This makes for the most flatter look. 

Our favorites include the 4x2 Double Breasted suit.  The long lapels elongate the body and make the man look slimmer.  This is accentuated with the trim fit and modern sized lapels.  This is certainly how a DB suit should look.

The sharkskin gray suit, with a shimmer of blue is a show stopping suit.  The flap pockets are every so slightly slanted for an aggressive look that is further emphasized by the single button design.  Yet it is the color that makes this suit shine.  It is neither blue nor gray but instead a middle ground color that makes for a wonderfully versatile suit.  The navy knit tie, royal blue pocket square and blue oxford complete a perfectly conservative business look.  Stylishly conservative, wonderfully boring.  It really lets the suit do the talking.

The royal blue suit from Reiss is another suit that lets the color do the talking.  It is a much brighter blue than is typically seen with a navy suit, while not being ostentatious or provide flash backs of Miami Vice.  This suit is a strong color for business, but promises that you will not get lost in the shuffle.  A simple shirt and tie combo with a white pocket square complete the outfit, leaving the heavy lifting for the suit.  That's nice for a change.

Finally is the three piece suit with peak lapels.  The vest underneath matches also has lapels which is quite British and formal.  Once the again the color is well designed, a light gray that can be worn year around, since it is not too light or dark.  It is a color that will compliment almost any tie and shirt combination in the closet.  With the addition of the vest, it also gives the suit more life with all the versatile options on how it can be worn.

Burn the Black Suit

You are not a mobster, a kingpin or a part of the uncivilized masses. You are not a badly dressed news anchor, an executioner or a rock star and because of this, you should not dress like one. Stay away from black suits, they have no place in any well dressed man's wardrobe. The only exception being the Tuxedo, which most men do not own. Even a man that wears a suit only for funerals & weddings, should own a nark navy or charcoal gray suit for the occasion.

No black suits, this is a hard and fast rule for any well dressed man's wardrobe. It is one I follow strictly, dismissing even the black odd jacket as improper. Black is a harsh and drastic color, it does not compliment the shirt, tie or the man. Instead it stands apart from the shirt and tie as unit that is separate from the entire outfit. Black being the absence of all color does work very well with many of the great color combinations that men can employ with a shirt and tie. Greens lose their luster, pinks become
a harsh color, yellows looks downright awful and blues are ordinary, when matched against a black suit. While black is an important color to any man's wardrobe, it is just not appropriate in a suit.

Stick to the gray & navy suits as the base to the suit wardrobe, expand then into tans, blues, browns and greens. These additional colors will keep the wardrobe interesting and your style fresh and modern. Leave the black for the unkempt masses and stay the sartorial superior of your peers. Burn the
black suits and stick with the classics.

Ralph Lauren: 2010 Spring Collection

Ralph Lauren's collection is about colors, which is the essence of Spring clothing.  Bright blues, pastels, white and tan seem to be the key colors that Ralph Lauren want us to be wearing this Spring.  I especially appreciate the blue suits that are so common in this collection.

I also enjoy the yellow shoes in this collection, very sprezzatura.  The entire collection uses colors as a form of sprezzatura.  Hope this is inspiring and provides some ideas for your Spring wardrobe.

J. Crew 2010 Spring Collection

J. Crew in my opinion is the one of the best brands for presenting Sprezzatura style.  Thanks to Frank Muytjens, J. Crew has created a very uniform style over the last few years.  Especially in the last year or so.  I feel that the brand represents the modern male fashion, preppy, tailored, sprezzatura, elegant, classic, cool while not being try hard.  They seem to be blazing the trail, while the other brands are trying to keep up with their brand representation.  I personally love the look and find quite a bit of inspiration in it.

Here is how J. Crew sees the 2010 Spring/Summer.

Navy Suit - The most classic suit in the classic American wardrobe, a navy suit.  This is a lighter navy, which makes it stand-out from the crowd.  It also prevents it from being misdiagnosed as a black suit.  It has a modern slim fit without looking ridiculous.  It also has the appropriate level of Sprezzatura: no socks, chambray shirt, slightly rolled cuff.  It also has the appropriate level of classic elements: rounded toe wingtips, pocket square and navy suit.  A great outfit.

This outfit looks like something worn by a Kennedy on Holiday in Cape Cod.  Classic sunglasses, Sperry Topsiders, chinos and a button-down.  A very casual cool weekend uniform.

The best part of this outfit is the tan shoes.  I prefer the shoes to be oxfords and not bluchers, but I do like the bulk of the blucher, especially for a casual outfit.  I also like the tie for this outfit is light colored and almost gets lost in the outfit.  It is very Sprezzatura to wear the tie lose with a tie bar, very cool.

Tan suede desert boots, slim straight destructed jeans and a red chambray shirt.  It doesn't get much more casual than this outfit, yet due to the color and textures it is still stylish.  This outfit is appropriate for errands on a Sunday, but can still be worn on a casual date.

This is my favorite outfit of the J. Crew collection.  This outfit would be cool in 50s or 60s or today.  The outfit is a great representation of the American style while not looking cliche or overplayed.  The green jacket with red plaid lining is a standout piece, without being over whelming.  The blue shirt, gray sweater and chinos is classic and stylish and cool.  The washed chinos make it sprezzatura and the slim lines make it modern.  Also, the outfit is much more casual with the shoes, a more formal.

Chino suits are great for the summer, so are topsiders.  The combination is classic and contradictory, a good thing for any outfit.  I would lose the bow tie though.

Nice weekender bag, it looks like his father owned it, exactly the right look.  A denim shirt and denim jeans can look horrible and the epitome of style, but due to the shoes, the Sprezzatura way the shirt is haphazardly worn and tucked in and the slim fit jeans, the outfit looks modern.

Who doesn't like a sweater with shorts?  I always love a gray undershirt, that look never gets old.  Throw on topsiders and the outfit is complete.  I would lose the ugly ass big bag though.  For the love of all that is manly, leave the purse carrying to the women.

Shawl collar cardigan fantastically classic and modern.  It is a look that never leaves the closet of the stylish but is now being added to the closet of the fashionable.  I still think you should wear it, I know Steve McQueen did.  The chambray shirt adds depth to the outfit.  Also, shorts with desert boots is the sartorial contradiction that is both modern and Sprezzatura, it is completely unexpected and appropriate.

In this photo I really dig the white blazer.  It is a look that is perfect for the Spring/Summer.  Make the blazer a shawl collar, slim fit and washed, and no one will think you just walked out of Saturday Night Fever.  I also appreciate the chino suit jacket paired with the navy suit pants, it is a nice color combination.

The blue chino slim fit pants in this picture (on the left) are great.  The color and the fit make them enormously useful.  They go with almost any color in a closet and make an outfit standout.  All that while still being classic and not standing out and making you look like a jackass.

Here is a close-up of the chambray shirt.  It is an interesting shirt a good color and has depth since it has multiple levels of blue in the fabric.  The tab color also makes it more interesting than the standard shirt.  The military green belt is also a great touch.  It is rugged and aggressive but also very stylish, especially when worn with a nice pair of chinos.

Could you add any more colors or patterns?  Probably not, but the outfit still works.  This is the ultimate Sprezzatura, it looks like he dressed himself in the dark, yet still "luckily" got it right.  This is modern fashion at its best, unexpected, daring, classic and incredibly interesting.

J. Crew inpires me.  Good job Frank Muytjens.  By the way, Frank Muytjens personal style is also quite interesting.  The shoes and purple socks are fantastic.  I love that the socks match nothing on the outfit.