Greetings and thanks for taking the time to read through this post. Your advice, thoughts, and opinions would be most welcome.
I’ve recently traded in my scrubs for professional attire as I now work seeing patients in clinics. Square toed dress shoes, loose fitting dress pants, and overly patterned dress shirts from my student days over a decade ago were replaced with slim fit chinos, oxford button down shirts, and loafers.
As fall and winter approaches, the goal would be to add some texture to the wardrobe. After seeing tweed / herringbone sports coats, I’m beginning to see what direction I would like to go to.
I’m looking for your feedback to work out the details. Questions are in italics and any advice that is not specifically asked are appreciated. TLDR at the bottom.
I’m thinking grey and possibly another one in brown as I think they would end up being quite versatile and classic. Maybe green should be considered as well.
Thoughts on the choice of colour or other brands to check out?
The Fit
I have linen sports coats from S&M in 38S as I was looking for the length to be a bit shorter to reflect a modern fit. For the fall, I’m thinking of the 38 in regular length instead.
Here’s a picture of me in a S&M jacket in 38S contemporary fit.
If I go for the 38R, I know non-functional button sleeves are simple to tailor but what about tailoring the length if it ends up being too long? Also, I think the slim fit would not be a good idea but would like some insight into this.
Here is a Grant Stone PTB. I really like the shape and leather on these. Have a loafer from GS, so I would be pretty safe for sizing.
One small detail I’m unsure about are the brass eyelets. I’m wondering if this would clash with flannel or smarter pants in general. Am I fretting over an unimportant detail?
Here are pictures of pebbled longwings. One from Meermin and one from TLB Mallorca.
The longwing pattern with pebble leather may seem too “chunky” to wear with chinos or even too busy. Is this too much?
I really like the look of flannel trousers, and I am looking to add two pairs this year. As someone who is starting out, the goal would be able to interchange each pair with each jacket and this where I’m stuck. I’ve read a few guides and different shades of grey seems to be the suggestion. Mixing different shades of grey seem a bit too advanced for me as I would like to add a grey tweed jacket.
It seems simple to have one item in light grey and the other item in charcoal for contrast but what would you do if one item was a mid-grey?
Am I missing out on any colour for pants that is as versatile as grey trousers?
Now to the style/fit. As much as I think those high rise side tab flannel trousers look great, I’m worried they would be a bit too much out of my comfort zone to go for just yet.
Would these S&M examples with regular belt loops be the safer choice? Should I just take the chance on high rise?
This does seem like a personal choice but would you advise cuffing these flannel trousers?
Denim
I currently own two pairs of denim - a dark wash and a black pair. It is a bit confusing thinking of wearing jeans with sport coats.
There is something different about the jeans that are worn with blazers but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Is there a specific style of denim to paired with blazers?
I am open to the idea of purchasing a pair of denim specifically to pair with these shoes and jackets. Any suggestions?
Chinos
There are a few new slim fit chinos I acquired this year ranging from navy, burgundy, black, stone, etc. I would like to be able to use these as well.
Any issues with mixing and matching the above with slim fit chinos?
I think this is it for now. Eventually I’ll have questions about shirts, sweaters/cardigans/vests/overcoats, and possibly ties later.
TL;DR version
I am a menswear novice and would like to start building out a fall wardrobe. The inspiration comes from how much I like the look of textured sports coats in a relaxed style. I really like the look of a grey herringbone tweed sports coat paired with pants in the form of flannel and denim on top of causal dress shoes.
I’ve recently traded in my scrubs for professional attire as I now work seeing patients in clinics. Square toed dress shoes, loose fitting dress pants, and overly patterned dress shirts from my student days over a decade ago were replaced with slim fit chinos, oxford button down shirts, and loafers.
As fall and winter approaches, the goal would be to add some texture to the wardrobe. After seeing tweed / herringbone sports coats, I’m beginning to see what direction I would like to go to.
I’m looking for your feedback to work out the details. Questions are in italics and any advice that is not specifically asked are appreciated. TLDR at the bottom.
The Jackets
Here are two pictures of the type of jackets I would be looking for. I’m thinking between 1-2 for the fall. These are last year’s tweeds from Spier and Mackay (I’m partial to them as I own a jacket from them already and I live in Canada).I’m thinking grey and possibly another one in brown as I think they would end up being quite versatile and classic. Maybe green should be considered as well.
Thoughts on the choice of colour or other brands to check out?
The Fit
I have linen sports coats from S&M in 38S as I was looking for the length to be a bit shorter to reflect a modern fit. For the fall, I’m thinking of the 38 in regular length instead.
Here’s a picture of me in a S&M jacket in 38S contemporary fit.
If I go for the 38R, I know non-functional button sleeves are simple to tailor but what about tailoring the length if it ends up being too long? Also, I think the slim fit would not be a good idea but would like some insight into this.
The Shoes
After the jackets, I am also excited about adding two pairs of shoes for this project. The criteria: medium to dark brown, rubber soles (rains a lot here), goodyear welted. As these will be paired with flannel trousers, chinos, denim, a casual last that is not too round or not too pointed. I’m thinking plain toed derbies/bluchers or longwings/shortwings brogues in pebbled leather or chromexcel. Although I am drawn to shell cordovan, the cost doesn't make sense currently.Here is a Grant Stone PTB. I really like the shape and leather on these. Have a loafer from GS, so I would be pretty safe for sizing.
One small detail I’m unsure about are the brass eyelets. I’m wondering if this would clash with flannel or smarter pants in general. Am I fretting over an unimportant detail?
Here are pictures of pebbled longwings. One from Meermin and one from TLB Mallorca.
The longwing pattern with pebble leather may seem too “chunky” to wear with chinos or even too busy. Is this too much?
The Pants
FlannelI really like the look of flannel trousers, and I am looking to add two pairs this year. As someone who is starting out, the goal would be able to interchange each pair with each jacket and this where I’m stuck. I’ve read a few guides and different shades of grey seems to be the suggestion. Mixing different shades of grey seem a bit too advanced for me as I would like to add a grey tweed jacket.
It seems simple to have one item in light grey and the other item in charcoal for contrast but what would you do if one item was a mid-grey?
Am I missing out on any colour for pants that is as versatile as grey trousers?
Now to the style/fit. As much as I think those high rise side tab flannel trousers look great, I’m worried they would be a bit too much out of my comfort zone to go for just yet.
Would these S&M examples with regular belt loops be the safer choice? Should I just take the chance on high rise?
This does seem like a personal choice but would you advise cuffing these flannel trousers?
Denim
I currently own two pairs of denim - a dark wash and a black pair. It is a bit confusing thinking of wearing jeans with sport coats.
There is something different about the jeans that are worn with blazers but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Is there a specific style of denim to paired with blazers?
I am open to the idea of purchasing a pair of denim specifically to pair with these shoes and jackets. Any suggestions?
Chinos
There are a few new slim fit chinos I acquired this year ranging from navy, burgundy, black, stone, etc. I would like to be able to use these as well.
Any issues with mixing and matching the above with slim fit chinos?
I think this is it for now. Eventually I’ll have questions about shirts, sweaters/cardigans/vests/overcoats, and possibly ties later.
TL;DR version
I am a menswear novice and would like to start building out a fall wardrobe. The inspiration comes from how much I like the look of textured sports coats in a relaxed style. I really like the look of a grey herringbone tweed sports coat paired with pants in the form of flannel and denim on top of causal dress shoes.
- For possibly a second jacket, brown or another colour?
- For jacket length: how much can a tailor shorten the length?
- For shoes: would a PTB in chromexcel (Grant Stone Country Derby in Dark Walnut) and pebbled grained longwings (Meermin or TLB Mallorca) in medium to dark brown suffice? I’m specifically wondering about the brass eyelets or the pebble grain in a longwings.
- For trousers: what colours in flannel will mix and match for the above two jackets? How do you pair grey flannel trousers with a grey sports coat?
- For trousers: high rise trousers with side tabs have a certain appeal to me. Is this style easy to get into or should I stick to the medium rise with belt loop style? Also, slim or contemporary fit?
- For denim: honestly, I’m so confused how to add denim to this capsule wardrobe. Help.
- For chinos: would slim fit chinos work with these shoes and jackets that I have in mind?
- Any other thoughts, opinions, or suggestions?
- Lastly, I will say that writing this in the height summer made me feel a bit warmer.