Thanks John – mildly disagree as we discussed at length here, but good to have the contribution

‘Agree, for most situations. The only time I think it can be pulled off is in very casual situations (like when it’s a polo underneath a relatively casual jacket, and the contrast is low).

Thanks.

Nice points Bob, thanks

Wearing linen or cotton jackets, it looks fine. Under a dark navy banker’s suit, it looks out of place.

Case in point. At lunch, a decent fellow shows up wa navy blazer and pocket square, torn jeans, and dirty sneakers. Can you say “conflicted”?

If you’re going to convey an image, be consistent. Cut, fabric and texture should work together… not at odds.

Well said Leif. I frequently get comments from friends about how “uncomfortable” (both physically and socially) they are in collared shirts, and it’s a viewpoint that is so utterly alien to me that sometimes I question whether they can really even believe it themselves.

Really enjoyed the exchange (above). Brilliant contributions.

Love your username!

I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree about the tee and suit – to me, it always feels like the equivalent of an academia-speaking college professor adding a “fo shizzle” to his jargong-laden presentation – a too obvious, too incongruent addition.

I think the sport coat and tee that you describe can work better, especially if the rest of the outfit bridges the two extremes. Last month I was invented to a upscale department stores “trend talk” (as a guest, not a speaker!) with some fashion journalists presenting the seasons “must haves”. The talks, the must haves and the personal style of the fashion journalists were all terrible (and there were still slim lapels on some jackets, clearly THEY don’t read Vogue!), but towards the end they had a young man who actually worked at the store talking about shoes for spring, and he rocked the tailoring and tee look: it was very tonal (putty trousers, white tee, oatmeal jacket, mid brown shoes and belt) in fairly casual materials. Everything looked natural, like he just wore things that fit and worked well together.

Compared to the fashion journalists (one who wore the most ill-fitting suit I have seen in the wild, and the other who spoke about how cool he was because he wore his club blazer with a hoodie and stretchy, pre-distressed jeans (and dirty white sneakers)), the guy was an epitome of quiet style. It worked because it didn’t seem like he was trying too hard.

I don’t think it would have worked as well with a suit. Like I said, in my mind these things only work if they look like they occur naturally. Dressing down tailoring is like being cool; if it becomes too obvious you’re trying, it has the opposite effect.

Hey – I’m actually going to be covering it in our Spring Highlights piece on Wednesday. Do you mind asking then?