Styling a Pair of Grey Wool Trousers

[mkk]

Thanks to all who gave me some advice from the last posting. Been reading the forums quite a lot and realised my mistake with the vagueness of my last request so will try and add a bit more detail.

I will be going on a date to a smart restaurant and then out for some drinks soon and have this pair of grey wool trousers I recently bought from uniqlo.



and was thinking of pairing it with some tan brogues from grensons which would be these

http://www.grenson.co.uk/en_gb/shop/lewis-752

and a white shirt with possibly an all saints jumper like this

Mens, Womens and Childrens Clothing | AllSaints Spitalfields needed to get a coat and was thinking either this all saints coat

Mens, Womens and Childrens Clothing | AllSaints Spitalfieldsr this style of tweed jacket



Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

Oh and I would say I like the classic styling more than trend and am a slim athletic build, hence the slimmest type of grensons brogues!

Thanks for your help!

[Ben Herbert]

Sorry that I haven't got time to write a detailed reply right now - just wanted to note that we will be covering wool trousers in the near future, as they have become extremely popular within a lot of the collections recently - not used as a full suit, but more in smart-casual combinations that you pointed out above.

Your outfit combination sounds great by the way, although I may stay clear of the tweed jacket in order to try and come away from the full 'suit' look - unless you are aiming for that smart.

Plus you will probably never get an exact colour match, and when you don't then it looks sloppy - not like when you pair true separates together - like a navy blazer with the aforementioned outfit.

[Sam]

Yeah, I agree with Ben - the grey tweed jacket is a risk. Tweed in general is a little tricky with such nicely textured trousers. Have you considered a different texture like corduroy? Or even velvet? You don't want to be head to toe in woolly textures, nice though they are. If the texture of your tweed is reasonably dissimilar to that of your trousers and it's in a colour that's firmly different - even dark grey - then you'll be alright, but otherwise I'd avoid.

Also, your Allsaints links are broken I'm afraid. If you can patch them up somehow we'll be able to comment better.

What I'd do, personally, is wear light roll neck top in jersey or merino - perfect for a smart but not formal evening. A navy roll neck and camel/brown jacket, a burgundy (very trendy itself) roll neck and a navy jacket... there are a lot of options.

Hope that's some help

[Jay]

I agree with the other two! the tweed jacket is a no-no. It will just end up looking like you put a mismatched suit on by accident.

I'd also advise you to swap the brogue boots out for a pair of brogue shoes especially as you are likely to be spending much of the date sitting down. As the trouser rises, I ind that a boot creates a poor silhouette when sitting and a shoe (with a colourful sock) creates a sleeker, sharper line.

The Allsaints links take me to the main page of the site, so I can't comment on them as I can't see them.

The white shirt is a safe bet as long as it is well fitted and crisply ironed. I see more badly worn white shirts than any other item of clothing. Keep it simple: no double cuff or fancy buttons.

If you wanted to, you could team the white shirt with a narrow grey woollen tie. Something like this would look awesome (especially if the socks were red too - which would show a real eye for detail).



I'm assuming you'll be spending most of the date indoors so you won't be wearing the coat unless moving between places, so a smart peacoat or trench coat would look great.

[mkk]

Hi guys thanks for the reply. Sorry I didn't realise it was broken!

Attempting it again.

Here is the alternative coat

Italian Wool Melton Coat | Bale Coat |AllSaints


And here is the jumper in oxblood

Merino Wool V Neck Jumper | Code Merino V Neck | AllSaints

I suppose I was thinking of the tweed jacket because I was thinking I could use that in a lot of other cases too. But yeah I was thinking the grey on grey and different shades may be a bit odd.

The Bale coat from all saints only comes in black but I wasn't sure if that would be OK with the tan brogues- I know a hotly debated topic but I wasn't sure if them having another piece of clothing in between would matter or make a difference.

I want to get a good quality camel/brown jacket actually and looked at the Barbour International one in sandstone I didn't think that would look right in this case. Where would you looking?

Thanks again for the brilliant advice

[mkk]

Jay that tie is really cool! Where is it from?

And about the shoes, in terms of broad usability, I haven't yet bought the brogue boots yet so do you guys think it would be better to invest in some brogue shoes or the boots?

[Jay]

Yeah, you can wear a black coat and tan brogues, because as you said, you have the grey in between (although I'm not a fan of the coat you showed). I'd go for a navy or stone trench coat personally.

And as much as I love roll necks, I'd avoid it. They create quite a statement and you want to avoid big clothing statements on a first date. She might hate roll necks on men! (I'm assuming you don't know her too well as yet.) Keep it simple: you want to be the main attraction not what you are wearing.

Also, how smart is the restaurant? There are a few in here in Nottingham (and I'm sure in any major city) where you'd be underdressed in anything less than a suit.

[Jay]

Jay that tie is really cool! Where is it from?

It's by Alexander Olch. He makes beautiful ties. You might choke at the price though at £115.

Alexander Olch*The Penn Plaid Wool Tie*|*MR PORTER

But you can find something similar for much less, I'm sure.

[Jay]

And about the shoes, in terms of broad usability, I haven't yet bought the brogue boots yet so do you guys think it would be better to invest in some brogue shoes or the boots?

For the date and what you'll get most use out of (especially if you own no brogues at all at the moment), go for the shoes. Grenson do great ones. I adore my Paul Smith ones (which cost another £80 on top of the Grenson price). Tan or a rich red/brown are the way to go.

[mkk]

I think its more casual smart so not a suit but I thought when leaving the restaurant for drinks, it would be nice to go to some nice bars.

And yeah its a first date so I thought something smart but not too much of a statement to start of with like you said.