How would you go dressing this suit down?
Joseph A Bank Signature Gold Suit
Shop ricardopolo1030's closet or find the perfect look from millions of stylists. Fast shipping and buyer protection. Signature gold two piece suit. Fits similar to a 40R but was tailored a bit. Sleeve length 24”, shoulder to shoulder 19”, pants 18.5”, pants length 37” and inseam 27”
44 Replies
how dressed down are you talking? This one looks pretty businessy. Jos a bank doesn't make great suits but if it's within your budget it's probably fine
Did you already buy it?
If you want to dress down a suit, something about it has to help, a casual fabric, a non traditional cut or details, color, texture, something
This suit doesn’t lean itself towards dressing down in any traditional way, perhaps if it fits you in an avant garde way you could style hard and make it work, but you probably wouldn’t be asking here in that case
Nope its still there
Its very well within my budget yeah
Thats what i thought too, but i figure it wouldnt hurt to ask. My idea of dressing down is shirt/turtleneck/polo with sneakers
LOL $1200 marked down to $75. Somehow I don't believe that.
I would not spend $75 on a jos a bank suit
The signature gold line is somewhat decent I think (decent materials, half canvassed)
Still there are probably better options out there
And as others said it isn't a dress down suit. Would be a good suit for interviews, funerals, weddings
I bought a jos a bank seersucker jacket for $5 but then spent $80 on tailoring it. Whoops
To answer the question directly, it's a bit hard. I assume that suit is darker gray in real life than the photo shows, maybe a darker gray or bright charcoal, based on ... experience of ebay listings I guess
This is the MFA way
So with that assumption, I'd struggle to dress it down. Brown/burgundy brogues (full or half), along with a matching belt. Linen shirt in ... champagne. Linen/cotton tie, something fairly bright and cheery. Poofed silk pocket square, not the basic white linen one. Or no square and/or no tie. Worn open and with a carefree attitude?
An expert might wear a spectator/correspondent shoe. Unsure how I would.
This is great advice, but probably too much effort for a Jos a bank suit.
Let's have that be general for a suit that looks like that? :)
Fair enough. 🙂
Right. I'd consider spending $5 on one and then getting it tailored. But almost $100 just to get the suit, and this one at that? meh personally.
Depends on your timeline and budget tho OP
You can probably do the turtleneck with this suit as well. Probably. Maybe. But not sneakers please
Aight ty for everyone's input. Its a pass then
What about something like a plaid pattern tho?
Ted Baker Two Piece Hikick Navy Plaid Suit
Shop js_moreclothes's closet or find the perfect look from millions of stylists. Fast shipping and buyer protection. Like new!!!
Handsome.
100% wool.
Multiple inside pockets in the jacket.
Three front pockets.
Notched lapel with button slot.
Absolutely gorgeous suit.
Modern fit.
Plaid us faint purple and lite blue.
Jacket length 29"
sleeve lengt...
Ted Baker Endurance Jay 100% Wool Solid Gray 2 Pc Suit Jacket 42R ...
Shop clodiescloset's closet or find the perfect look from millions of stylists. Fast shipping and buyer protection. Beautiful suit in excellent condition. Pants are unhemmed, but pressed. Ready to be tailored for you.
Measurements taken laying flat:
Jacket:
Across Shoulders: 18"
Underarm to underarm: 22"
Length (taken on the back of the jack...
Like these Ted Baker ones for example
What is your goal here? Is it to take a fairly formal suit that can be worn fairly formally, and dress it down, so you get more versatility out of it?
Yup
Is there a reason for a suit? Separate pants and blazer are probably easier to dress down
Yeah, the follow-up question is, how often do you need a fairly formal suit? Are you trying to cover the entire range of needs just-in-case or do you in fact need one regularly? And on the flip side, how often would you want a less-formal suit or to dress one down?
Do you have examples of how you’d like to wear the suit?
I do prefer a lot of cohesion for my wardrobe. I have a lot of pieces that either same colors or with colors that i can mix and match. This is my first foray into suit and i'd like to keep it that way.
First suit is usually a learning experience.
Probably never if im honest. But im tryna cover the entire range + being sharply dress in general for any occasion
This requires follow-up questions, but I will warn you that what you want is what everyone wants but it's difficult
Start with a blazer and dress pants
My next questions are: 1) Where do you live (roughly if you don't want to name cities)? In other words, what's the general culture like and the general weather like? 2) Do you tend to be invited to and/or attend: weddings (as a guest, wedding party, you getting married); galas and holiday and new year's eve parties; charity dinners and auctions; cultural events; funerals? If so, roughly how many per year / per five years?
Meta point: if you WANT to wear a suit, get a suit. If you NEED to wear a suit, get a suit. Otherwise, don't.
That's a fair meta point; paying $$$ or $$$$ just-in-case is a difficult proposition, unless you're certain that just-in-case turns into will-need-quite-soon-but-dunno-when
My first suit is a Bonobos Jetsetter in brown/white micro houndstooth. Its the perfect casual suit but its just a wee bit tight on me right now.
I will answer this once i get to my computer
Where's it tight? If you can tailor it a bit, you're covered on casual and you don't need to worry as much about dressing a suit down? :)
Hence why im watching poshmark like a hawk haha
The thighs. I have really athletic thigh so its always an issue. But im losing weight so another 10 pounds and the suit would fit me like a glove.
Congrats on the weight loss
Anyways, looking forward to your answers. But I will say that what you're asking for is what most people who want to be fairly frugal ask for: can I wear one suit to do everything? The answer is as usual "maybe, it depends" with a side helping of "difficult if you want to be comfortable and match intent to occasion ...... but many men own one suit and do it anyways."
If I was to try to pick just one suit that would work for as much as possible of what you might need in America, I'd go for a "bright navy" suit: lightweight, plain weave, healthy notch lapel, flap pockets, 2-button or 3-roll-2 in probably brown horn or black horn, plain / subtle lining, uncuffed pants, belt loops, no pleats, cut classic-to-full, proper length, made out of probably a VBC 100s/110s perennial fabric.
Most formal (black tie optional, 'correct' cocktail attire): white poplin shirt (optionally french cuff with cufflinks but not studs), black shoes, black belt, dark conservative tie or wedding tie, white linen pocket square.
Happy formal (think most weddings, cultural events, etc): white poplin shirt, black, brown, or burgundy shoes (oxford, derby, loafer), matched belt, wider range of ties, optional square of various kinds.
Business formal: white, ice blue, or checked/striped poplin/broadcloth/oxford-cloth shirt, black/brown/burgundy shoes (maybe more oxford, less loafer), matched belt, wider range of conservative ties or 'boring' ties, probably no square.
Sad formal: white poplin shirt, black shoes, black belt, your darkest formal tie, probably no square, or white linen.
Less formal: above strategy: shoes with more brogueing, solid but light color / desaturated shirts in various materials (linen, poplin, broadcloth, oxford cloth, flannel), no tie or bold or happy tie, no square or bold square, possibly with a sweater as weather dictates, worn more openly, more lounge-ily, more slouchily. Sprezzatura comes to mind.
Broken apart: wear trousers separately with a sport coat. The jacket I described doesn't make for a great jacket to wear separately but... nobody's gonna arrest you if you do so feel free to try it out.
When it's hot out: Wear it more openly. We picked a fairly cool wearing suit. Cooler depending on shell fabrics.
When it's cold out: Wear it buttoned. Warmer shirt fabrics as listed above. Maybe with a thin sweater.
Ok to answer your question.
1. I'm living in WA in the good ol' USA while also spending decent amount of time in Vietnam. Vietnam's general culture is fairly conservative, but not THAT conservative. The weather on my hometown is split between dry season and rainy season, but generally its a warm/hot country with a ton of humidity.
2. The answer is generally no.
the reasons i'm trying to get a few suit (ideally a navy blue and a grey one, that's it) is because of versatility, just in case and also because the ladies love it.
most of my outfits have been generally in the casual side of things, perhaps a lil bit preppy, but i'd love to be able to get a few suit and dress up/down as needed
Gimps advice is all you need. Just wanted to chime in and say you can dress down a suit with casual shoes that aren't sneakers, e.g. loafers, huaraches. Suit + sneakers is a very hard look to pull off without looking douchey
Yeah, loafers, espadrilles, etc are a great call-out. I should have been clearer about that being great to casualize, only mentioned it once
Like this looks absolutely horrible
these are much better
even if the sneakers are those white/black leather minimalist ones?
Even then I would caution against it
There are examples of suits and MM gats looking good but the suits are very very different from what you’re looking for
might be a perfect excuse to buy a loafer actually
Yeah loafers are great