A Vested Interest

As I have been unfortunately a bit out of the blogging of late, I thought I would start up again on my schedule with a simple post regarding vests. The vest is often seen as outdated or as something that isn't worn in the modern era. However, fashion forward folks have made it popular again, and it has applications in all sorts of different levels of formality for the modern gentleman. The most classic usage of the vest is as part of a three-piece suit. This convention is of course passed down from modern formal wear and the traditions of 19th Century dress. The modern man however, may wear a vest in many different stylish capacities - each viable, and each allowing this piece to reenter the wardrobe.


The classic three-piece suit is still certainly a outfit. It is true that the three-piece suit went out of fashion for quite some time (particularly in the casual nineties (if you aren't likely to wear a jacket, why wear a second, jacket-like thing too?)). Indeed, in a three piece suit from long ago, and without the right fashion to back up the look, you will appear old-fashioned. The trick with the three piece suit is to realize that what you're wearing is at once conservative and bold. The trick here is to play up the boldness to make the piece not seem too staid. Make sure you have thin lapels, perhaps peaked lapels (like the Indochino suit pictured above), a large, narrow cut revealing plenty of vest, and a fitted suit. Pick suits that are in noticeable patterns or colors. Solid on solid three-pieces will look very old-fashioned, particularly in heavy fabrics like tweed or even heavy wool. Pick a lighter wool (especially since you'll be wearing a vest), or even a summery fabric like cotton or linen. Another thing to remember here is that the vest is just as important as the jacket. It should show, and it should be worth showing.

Those of you wondering about the other classic - a vest with formal wear, will enjoy this segment, though short. Cummerbunds are quite out of fashion these days for all formal occasions. Are you going to a white tie dinner with Prince Andrew? Wear a cummerbund, no way around it. Going to your 28 year-old sister's wedding? Check out a vest. This gives you the option to wear a stain long tie instead of just a regular dress tie, and puts more color in an outfit (even if you're investigating colored tuxes or non-white shirts. Be careful what you end up selecting, however. If you go with a classic pastel or bright solid, you'll look straight out of the tux rental shop. Take some time selecting colors and experimenting with patterns that express your individuality, just as you would with a three-piece suit.

Now, time for the avant-garde! Vests are extremely viable with any number of casual combinations in a range of cultural styles and levels of dressiness. As you can see in the photo below, a denim or cotton vest is quite a viable option with jeans, and can be worn with a t-shirt or with a collared shirt. Depending on the vest you buy and the t-shirt and jeans with which you wear it, you can portray either a classy image, a grungy one, a preppy one, etc. However, the main slant of this blog is, of course, classy, so I recommend trying to keep it pretty clean with a nice vest (probably not in denim, unless it's a really unique denim) without too many pockets, etc. paired with darker jeans or even slacks and a solid t-shirt. In this capacity the vest can be worn open or closed. If you're looking to dress it up, throw on a short or long-sleeved collared shirt and button the vest up, paired with either jeans or slacks.

That's it for this post, but I'm back on a schedule now, so there should be more soon!