Dress Up/Down

...or, Turtlenecks, part 2

It can be hard enough to wear a jacket and tie these days, without appearing to be needlessly over dressed. Even the most laid back version of such an outfit, rendered in the softest tweeds, corduroy, and flannel, can be to formal for 98% of normal life. Wearing a suit in these circumstances can be damn near impossible. Enter once again the recently acquired turtle neck sweaters ($4.99), this time in tan.

The suit in the photo is a vintage 1960s flannel striped one from Brooks Brothers. Indeed, the very quintessence of business clothing, meant for the kind of business I will likely never conduct. But its heavy and warm and actually quite comfortable. If you closely enough, the stripes are not quite white, and I've found that of I play to that, it is possible to wear this suit in a Sunday semi-formal kind of way. 

On the feet, a pair of recently acquired monk strap shoes in brown suede ($9.99 less 50%= $4.99) continue the laid back feel. Cozy on a cold day, topped with a polo coat, big scarf and tweed cap, I'd almost call the look rakish, if almost anyone other than me were wearing it.

The combination of suit and turtleneck isn't for every situation, but then again a suit itself is lately appropriate for less and less situations everyday. I wore mine to work on a casual Sunday, but it works for a dinner in a good but comfortable restaurant, and can be quite dashing at a Christmas party if you're not a tartan pants kind of guy.