Put This On

Q & Answer: Can I Wear A Button-Down Collar Shirt With A Suit?

Timothy asks: In the pictures accompanying your post “That Enviable Roll,” several of the gentlemen appeared to be wearing suits. I thought OCBDs should not generally be worn with suits. Can you provide some insight?

Button-down collared shirts are the most casual long-sleeve dress shirts you can wear. So casual that I thought twice about describing them as dress shirts in that last sentence. They were developed for wear during sport - that’s why Brooks Brothers still calls them the “polo collar.”

Of course, the story of American style has been, over the last hundred years or so, a march towards the casual. Starting sometime around the middle of the 20th century, that included wearing button-down collared oxfords with suits. It looks great on Paul Newman (above), or on Fred Astaire (who was always about to break into dance), but what about you?

Generally, I’d discourage it. If you’re a J. Press man, wearing nothing but traditional soft-shouldered, undarted, single-vented “Ivy League” suits, I think you’re fine. I think the aesthetic coherence of that style trumps the conflict between the casual collar and more formal suit.

In practice, though, that’s rarely what I see on the street. Generally, I see men who have combined these elements thoughtlessly, perhaps because their wives bought them a dozen shirts one day at Costco and they went from there. That’s a look that does nobody any favors.

So, when to wear a button down? With an odd jacket, blazer or sportcoat, especially a casual one, like something linen or tweed. With a bowtie. When you’re committing to an American “trad” aesthetic. When you’re not wearing a coat and tie at all.

Hope that helps.

Q & Answer: The Short-Sleeved Dress Shirt

Jon asks: Can a gentleman wear a short sleeve dress shirt to work and still be considered a gentleman? It’s getting hot, so I thought I’d ask. Thanks for any help, Jesse!

The short-sleeved dress shirt is a bit of a fashion anomaly. It became popular in the 1960s among men who had to wear a dress shirt, but didn’t want to and folks who worked at drafting tables - think engineers, draftsmen and other guys in horn-rimmed glasses. Or Michael Douglas in Falling Down. As dress restrictions eased, and the fashion faded, they passed out of vogue for all but their most ardent adherents: Mormon missionaries.

In the past few years, they’ve had a bit of a resurgence as a semi-ironic element of “geek chic.” The new versions are typically worn very slim, without a coat, and often combined with the top-button-buttoned-but-no-tie look.

Can you wear that kind of thing to work? Well, you know better than I. If you’re looking to dress classically well, the answer’s pretty much no. If a trendy casual look’s what you’re after, you’re probably fine, though the style is on the downward slope there.

If you’re looking for an alternative, try a shirt in linen or a linen-cotton blend, an open weave, or simply roll up your sleeves.

Q & Answer: How Do I Eliminate the Blousing on a Shirt?

Gary writes: I just got a new job and am having to wear dress shirts for the first time. I went out this weekend and tried a bunch on, but all of them seem to blouse and billow over the top of my pants. Is there any way to fix this, or do I just have to keep searching for the perfect shirt?

Ready-to-wear clothing rarely fits perfectly off the rack. Remember, garments are made with an imaginary person in mind, usually someone that’s an “average” of the demographic the company is trying to target. You’re unlikely to be that exact average, so some alterations will likely be necessary.

The less you alter a garment, however, the better. So the first step is to find a shirt that fits as well as possible. After you find one and purchase it, take it to the tailors to have the sides slimmed down. This will take out most of the billowing, but be sure to not go too slim. You want to be able to sit down and have a full meal, after all.

If you’d like, you can also have darts put in. These will help reduce the fullness in the lower back. They’re good for most men, but if you stand with a bit of a hunch, note that they’ll accentuate your less than ideal posture (as they’ll create a bit of an S curve from your side profile). You can get them put into one shirt and see how you like the effect. They can be taken out afterwards if you don’t like them, but on many cotton shirts, this will leave some faint lines where the darts used to be. The job of taking in the sides and putting in darts should probably run you something like $15.

If you find that you still have some blousing even after alterations, you can try the military tuck. That’s when you tuck your shirt in straight, but then pinch the sides and pull them back to reduce fullness. You can see a simple guide on how to do it here.

A good alterations tailor and military tuck will solve most of the billowing, but if you’re striving for perfection, you’ll likely need to go custom. I’ve written a seven-part series on custom shirts, which you can read here.

This is one area where I find bespoke makers to be a bit better than most made-to-measure services. With a good bespoke tailor, you’re getting a custom pattern drafted from scratch. With made-to-measure, the company is usually altering an existing pattern through some computer program. The first, from my experience, allows you to more easily account things that might not be easily captured by simple measurements. For example, my tailor (Ascot Chang) lowered the waist point on my first pattern, so that narrowest part of the shirt aligned with the narrowest point of my torso. This allowed the shirt to better transition as it moved down to my hips, thus distributing the fullness perfectly when my shirt is tucked (like this). That kind of adjustment is often not possible through made-to-measure, and isn’t something an alterations tailor can do for you. 

Bespoke shirts are expensive, however. If you don’t mind the cost, I think they’re worth it. For most men though, a $15 alterations job and military tuck will deliver most of what they need. 

(Photo via GQ)

Q & Answer: What Shoes Should I Bring On Vacation?

Ben writes: This May, my wife and I are honeymooning in Europe for two weeks. I know that I will be doing a heavy amount of walking. Do you have any suggestions for footwear that will allow me to keep pace with my wife without looking like the ugly American?

Packing shoes for a trip - especially one that requires more than one level of formality - is always tough. When I travel, I fight not to bring more than two pairs of shoes, with one of those pairs on my feet. I don’t always win the fight.

I’ve got plenty of dress shoes that are perfectly comfortable, but none that I’d want to walk miles in. So if I’m bringing a pair of dress shoes to make a big presentation or what-have-you, I’m usually looking to compliment them with a “walking shoe.”

Depending on the season and context, that usually boils down to one of two things: a simple sneaker, or a comfortable boot.

I actually own the Grenson chukka boots pictured above, in a slightly darker brown. I find they work great with jeans or khakis, though I obviously wouldn’t wear them with shorts were I headed somewhere hot. In fact, they’re sort of a three-season shoe - fine anytime but summer. Sometimes I’ll substitute the chunkier, hardier Alden Indy Boot for these. Most importantly, I can put in a few miles on these, and be happy to see them the next day.

I also frequently bring sneakers on trips that will involve walking. As usual, I’d say the simpler the better. Above are a classic, the Adidas Samba. I usually wear Common Projects, which are great but expensive. I’m hoping Kent Wang gets in a full size run of his plain white sneaks soon. And of course if it’s summer, there’s stuff like Jack Purcells and Supergas, among others.

Traveling’s really an exercise in building a capsule wardrobe. You want to carry as few pieces as possible, and have as much interchangability as possible. So: keep it simple, and you’ll be fine.

Q & Answer: If You Can Only Pick Three…

I received this question from Tumblr user “enjoynicethings” about where to start with pocket squares:

Slowly coming around to the idea of pocket squares, but want to keep it simple. If you were only going to have three pockets squares in your selection, what three would you choose?

I suspect my answers will vary quite differently from both Jesse and Derek, but I can only look at what squares I’ve worn most often in my rather modest collection. 

A safe first bet for the start of any collection is a solid white linen square. It’s conservative and goes well with any occasion in which you would wear a suit and all the way up to black tie. I also wear it quite often with a navy blazer. It’s my default in a rush, but also a bit boring perhaps too conservative when you’re wearing a sport jacket. 

I would suggest finding two squares — likely silk, but potentially blended with another material like wool or cotton — with two types of prints. One print ought to have some sort of medium to small scale repeating pattern on it. Look for dots, geometric shapes or something like the paisleys I have above. Ideally, the colors in the square should compliment a good number of your sport coats or more casual suits you plan to wear it with. Because it’s a pattern, the eye will be drawn toward its recognizable repetition. If you want to play it safe, consider navy dots on a white ground. 

Finally, the other print should be a large-scale design with a lot of colors. When folded up, you won’t see what’s on it, but it’ll blend the colors nicely as it peeks out from the breast pocket. Huge paisleys, giant florals or intriguing prints that one might find otherwise on a Hermes-style silk scarf work quite well. Try to find something unique that you feel a connection to and think you could stuff into your pocket in various way to express the multitude of colors. These tend to go well with solid sport coats, especially when you’re not wearing a tie, to bring some color variety.

This is where I’d start, but I think as you build a wardrobe of various textures and colors in your ties and jackets, you’ll likely want to start exploring more options. Derek wrote a great primer on how to wear a pocket square that’s worth reviewing if you’ve never worn one before. 

(Of course, at the Put This On Etsy store, Jesse has a solid white linen square and prints large and small worth checking out.) 

-Kiyoshi

Q & Answer: My Arms Are Long. Where Can I Buy Clothes?

Abe asks: My question to you is how to shop if you have long arms?

Q & Answer: My Pocket Square Makes My Lapel Bulge!

Gus asks: I have a recurring problem with my jackets: the left lapel bulges open when I put a pocket square in the breast pocket.  Do you know of the cause of this and the cure?

The answer’s about as simple as you’d think it would be. Either your pocket square’s too big or your coat’s too small. With our squares, we usually cut at 16” square, though we go down a bit smaller for heavier fabric to prevent this problem. You can try a less scrunchy, more foldy pocket square arrangement - that might cut down on volume.

More likely though is that your coat is fitting tightly, either in the chest or at the buttoning point. So either have it let out a bit or hit the gym. The fad for tight-fitting jackets has led to a lot of gaping and bowing in our nation’s lapels, and jamming a pocket square in there can exacerbate the problem.

Q & Answer: Dog Accessories That Don’t Suck

Tom writes: I am about to become the owner of a puppy and have begun the search for all the junk that comes with it.  It’s dawned on me that this is about to unleash (pun intended) a tsunami of ugly synthetic fibres, vulgar paw print patterns, tacky coloured nylon webbing and plastic crap-o-la all over the house. I’ll be the one tasked with the lion’s share of dog walking duties and don’t see why I should have to besmirch a well chosen outfit by accessorising it with a dog wearing a stupid looking collar, tag & lead with all the longevity and panache of a teenagers Velcro tabbed wallet.

Any leads (more punning I’m afraid) on where to buy well made and tastefully designed dog baskets, bedding and tackle would be really appreciated.

When my wife and I got our first dog, Cocoa (the brown one, above) some years ago, we started with basic dog equipment. Nylon collar and leash, a bed from Target. I was shocked at how quickly they became tattered and gross.

I replaced Cocoa’s collar and leash with Filson. They were a bit expensive, but not extraordinarily so, and they look and work even better now, five years later, than they did then. I clean them with a bit of saddle soap and put a little Lexol on them every few months, but besides that, I’ve done nothing. My only disappointment is that the hardware seems to be brass plated, rather than solid brass, so the finish has worn a bit.

My other dog, Sissy (the napper pictured above), is a bit smaller than Cocoa. Since Cocoa wears the small size Filson collar on the last hole, we thought we’d have to settle for nylon. Then we heard about Filson’s custom department from a post on Archival Clothing. We ordered a collar from them - there was maybe a $10 upcharge for the custom length - and she’s worn it ever since.

Somewhere along the way, my wife got annoyed with the clinking sounds the dogs’ tags made, so we replaced them with brass plaques. We got them from the internet for five or ten dollars each, and my friend (and cobbler) Raul attached them directly to the collars for us.

There are plenty of alternatives to Filson, of course. One of my favorite recommendations for folks who like Filson quality but want a lower price point is Duluth Pack, and they have a whole passel of dog items. LL Bean has a similarly large selection which are even cheaper.

I got my dogs’ bed from Sierra Trading Post, which usually has some good dog stuff as well. It’s made of Barbour oilcloth.

I’ve found that the key is to focus on products made for dogs with jobs to do - especially outdoor dogs. Those will be simpler, more masculine, and better-quality.

And if you might permit me a moment of preaching: get your dog chipped, so it can be returned if lost. Get your dog fixed, so it doesn’t make more dogs in a world with dogs that need homes. And don’t buy a companion dog from a breeder, adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue organization. My pups are rescues, and I’m happy they are every time I think of what a great life they have, and how they could have lived on the streets or been put down.

Anyway, Tom: you’ll get so much enjoyment from your new pal. Dogs really are your best friends.

Q and Answer: How to Wear A Pocket Square

Aaron writes us to ask: I just started using pocket squares, and am not sure how to wear them best. Do you have any tips? Should they match my tie? How about my shirt? What’s the best way to put them in the pocket?

The guiding principle for pocket squares isn’t too different from the guiding principle on how to dress well in general. You don’t want to look like you didn’t put in any effort (e.g. sweatpants, flip flops, and a dirty t-shirt), but you also don’t want to look like you put in too much effort (e.g. looking like you stepped out of a fashion spread). Neither looks particularly natural or good.

For pocket squares, that means not picking things at random, otherwise your square can become a distracting element, but also not matching things too closely, otherwise you’ll look too studied. Instead, you want to your pocket square to be complementary to whatever else you’re wearing. It should seem like you grabbed something at random (even though you didn’t) and things just happened to work out well. Which means:

Color (With Respect to Your Jacket): Make sure your pocket square is a somewhat distinctive piece. If you’re wearing a navy sport coat, don’t wear a navy pocket square. Instead, choose a color that stands out a bit more, such as burgundy, brown, or even white, but don’t venture into something too loud. Again, you want this to look harmonious, not distracting.

Color (With Respect to Your Tie): You never want your pocket square and tie to match. Tie + pocket square sets made from the same fabric should never be worn (let alone bought), but you should also not recreate this kind of look with whatever items you have on hand.

Color wise, you want your pocket square to complement, but not directly mirror, your tie. There are two ways of thinking about this. The first is to choose something that subtly picks up a secondary color in your tie. So if you have a burgundy tie with navy and cream pencil stripes, you can choose a pocket square with a bit of cream to pick up the color in your tie. You would not want, however, to pick a pocket square in the exact same shade of burgundy, as this would look contrived.

The other way of thinking about this is to pick a square in color that complements the main color of your tie. That can mean choosing things in a slightly different shade, or in a color that’s either adjacent or directly across on the color wheel (navy put with a medium blue, or a dark green put with burgundy). This is somewhat trickier, however, because you run a greater risk of your pocket square either looking too thought out, or chosen at random. Best to judge on a case-to-case basis.

Material: Silk or wool pocket squares can generally be worn with almost anything, although silk – especially cream or white silk – will look a bit dressier, especially if it has a “wet,” rather than a “dry,” finish. The shinier a square is, the more formal it can look. Linen is also very versatile, except maybe with tweeds and corduroy, where a silk or wool square might be better. The traditional white linen goes with pretty much anything, however. Cotton squares should be kept to summer suits, and wool has a cold-weather feel. 

Personally, I like wearing a square in a different material than my tie. So wool squares with silk ties, silk squares with wool ties, etc. This is just a personal preference, however. 

How to Fold: Gilt Manual covered the three main methods. I wear mine using a slightly different technique, which is shown here by Michael Alden. I find that produces a more appealing “puff,” but you can use whatever works best for you. Just don’t use a needlessly fancy fold that makes your pocket square look like origami, and if you wear your pocket square with the points up, don’t have them stick six inches into the air. Again, you want this element to be tasteful, harmonious, and charming, but not distracting.

The Reliable White Linen: When in doubt, wear a white linen in the TV fold (or what Gilt Manual called the “traditional fold”). You’re almost always safe with that.

(Pictured above: StyleForum member Manton)

Q and Answer: How Should I Wear Suspenders?

Joe asks: I really want to start wearing suspenders for work. It is a shirt and tie shop but not necessarily the suit crowd. I have one pair of pants in my closet of 20 that actually has buttons. Do I really have to replace the other 19 pair of pants or can I get the clip on suspenders?

We’re big proponents of suspenders here at Put This On. As a general rule, they’re more comfortable than a belt, reduce the amount that you have to mess with your pants, and pretty much keep your shirt tucked. They’re not for everyone, but I certainly wear them as frequently as reasonably possible. Suspenders are particularly comfortable if you carry a bit of weight in the middle, since your gut (be it small or large) doesn’t push down your trousers. (One note: generally in the UK, what Americans call suspenders are called braces. Typically “braces” is a bit of a fancier way of saying it, but generally, they’re interchangeable.)

There is a catch, though: suspenders are generally underwear, not outerwear. Nobody wants to be a Larry King. Suspenders are best hidden under a coat, or at the very least a sweater. Some say no one but you and your beloved should see your suspenders. I’m not that dogmatic - I take off my coat when I sit down to work - but I think they should be worn in a situation where you can reasonably expect that they’ll mostly be covered by your jacket.

Furthermore, suspenders work best with higher-waisted trousers that fit a bit more loosely around the waist than their belted counterparts. Belted pants must grip your hips with sheer friction. Pants with braces hang cleanly from the shoulders. The best pants for suspenders, of course, are fish-tailed pants. They’re designed to take the back central buttons a bit higher than the waistline, which gives a clean line to the back of the trousers. You probably won’t find those, though, unless you’re buying custom clothes.

As a result of this convergence of small reasons, most ready-to-wear clothing simply isn’t prepared to accept braces.

So where does that leave you?

First of all, clip-on suspenders are only appropriate if you’re on a work site. Even then, you can get a pair of Carharrts with metal fasteners for your suspenders that’ll hold those pants steadier than any clip. In an office environment, do not wear clip-on suspenders.

Second, you can convert non-suspender-supporting pants into ones that will work with your choice of holder-upper by having a tailor or alterationist add a few buttons. Again, this is more appropriate for pants with a longer rise and higher waist, but it’ll work on pretty much any pants. It’ll also be cheap - maybe $5 or $10. You can even have them remove the belt loops while they’re at it if you like.

Most likely, your best bet will be to wear a mix of belts and braces for the time being, as you add buttons to your trousers and add trousers designed for braces.

(Photo by Akeg)