Wardrobe upgrade suggestions - Pants and Jackets
Hi all, trying to understand how I can upgrade my plain vanilla wardrobe that works in office and casual situations. I am in my mid 30s, work where polos and jeans with sneakers is an acceptable attire, and that's what I've been wearing as well.
I've already gone through this guide and some general search as well. https://malefashionadvice.substack.com/p/building-a-basic-wardrobe-v70
I could be approaching it in a totally wrong way, and might end up asking too many things in one post, so will post separate questions if a single post doesn't do justice to the range of queries.
1. Pants other than jeans and chinos - I bought a couple of corduroy pants earlier in winter. Never got into wearing chinos, and would like to avoid the chinos business casual look if possible. Recommendations for pants that I could wear in formal situations are welcome. Also, I see variations of carpenter/ painter/ cargo/ fatigue pants everywhere (Levi's etc.), but not sure if these are something I should be wearing in casual context on off days, primarily considering age appropriateness of these styles.
2. Jacket that replaces a blazer - while I can upgrade polos to shirts, I would also like to incorporate a jacket of sorts to function as a blazer when working in office. Something that is appropriate year round, similar to a blazer, instead of cardigans and sweaters. I read that Chore Coats are an acceptable replacement, but don't have a clue of their formality. Also, Overshirts would definitely look too casual at work. Would greatly appreciate any other options and specific item suggestions. One mainstream example that I see is nVidia CEO wearing leather jackets everywhere, but again, would prefer something that is not too ostentatious.
Thank you!
Building A Basic Wardrobe v7.0
Version 7 of the classic MFA post
9 Replies
there's a few of us elder millenials floating around here, with a wide variety of style represented
while there are definite answers to your questions (cords are good, chinos are good, fatigues are good, chore coats are food but not as formal as a blazer or sport coat) i think it's better to approach it from the question of "what do you want to look like?"
i would take a look at #waywt and #inspiration and see what things really appeal to you, because there's multiple answers to your questions
Thank you! Let me go through the links. To be honest, not sure of the overall look, but would be open to try stuff out before deciding on something that lasts. Blazers and sport coats would definitely look out of place at work, but I do like the idea of wearing a layer for some reason.
and while age is only a number (look at nigel cabourn) and formality is loosely defined nowadays, it may help to search up fits from
in:#waywt from:SLDeviant, pacific_north_dressed, shrimp_my_ride, s0up2715, awburkey, zeometer, bensev, LeisurelyLoafing or artvandelayimporting (art is only early 30s but otherwise fits in your wheelhouse imo)Thanks again, appreciate specific user suggestions!
I think you've got the right approach, where if the goal is to keep fitting in at work, you're gonna want to base those ideas on what people are already wearing at your workplace, because "work appropriate attire" varies so extremely on industry and individual office (I get called "spiffy" for wearing a button down at mine haha). And then from there, launching into thinking of ways you can stay grounded in that but play around with some alternatives
broadening yiur knowledge base of what exists will help in terms of finding alternatives. beyond the usual threads there's these-
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1117803378521673768/1240355583538761901 - biz caz inspo album
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1212488328004374548 - bensev's drake's at home series; it's a nice way to see someone's active progression through copying other fits
Haha, I can absolutely relate, and agree on how wide the spectrum of "work appropriate attire" is.
Thank you, this is more than I could've asked for. Specially the Drake's at Home album.
Same here, a simple answer to my Pants question could be to wear Dress Pants and a Shirt. However, barring some special events, wearing those would make me look like a visitor in my own office.
honestly, to some extent, it might just be worth breaching out of your comfort zone a bit and risk getting called spiffy every once in a while. as long as you like how you dress, that's the most important metric IMO.
not to say you have to go full dress pants right away or anything, but just a thought
definitely follow zeo's advice and take a look at what inspo and fits speak to you, and see what strikes you, even if it's a little more formal than you're used to
Of course. More than comfort zone, my reason for not wearing these is simply the convenience of not having to regularly iron and care for delicate fabrics. Let me go through the inspo shared by Zeo and get back with some further queries.