MALE CALL: Business-casual dress has specific ground rules to follow

Q. My office has become even more casual post-Covid than before, such that I am the only one wearing a tie. I've avoided the change to casual dressing before, but it is clearly the standard now. What would you say is the basic concept I need to get? 

A. Well, the formula is not at all as clear-cut as for the typical business three pieces (suit, shirt, and tie), but then that helps explain why you and so many other men have difficulty looking well-pulled together when dressed informally. Too many options. 

All those possibilities are confusing. Men often think that if they’re not wearing a business suit, then anything they pick up off the floor can be “casual.” Don’t wear something you might wear shooting baskets. The whole concept of casual does not mean sloppy; it means appropriate, comfortable, and – one hopes – also attractive.

There are different levels of casual dress: smart/business-casual, casual, and ultra-casual.

Careful color coordination is important for business-casual, just as it is for dress attire. The basics to keep in mind are: 1.] two-color dressing, and 2.] repeating colors.

•         When you’re not wearing a jacket, begin with the color of the trousers as your base.

•         Add a quiet or colorful top – shirt, sweater, vest, whatever – either with one color that’s in the pattern repeating the color of the trousers, or else in a completely different contrasting color.

•         Traditional business-casual means “no suit and no tie required.”

Since your personal preference includes wearing a tie and perhaps, on occasion, a blazer or sport jacket, then, that is a good choice for you; it becomes your statement. Many great combinations might begin with a pair of khakis. For example, add a two-color plaid shirt with a handsome khaki-and-blue or khaki-and-pink pattern. (For years I have recommended that men be on the lookout for a plaid shirt that has khaki as one of the colors in the plaid. It will look good with all of your khaki pants.) Adding smart shoes and a belt – both in some shade of dark brown – helps turn this into a coordinated look.

Try wearing a blue blazer over a red-and-blue knit polo shirt with a pair of well-cut blue jeans. Or, with a navy blazer, choose a bold red-and-white striped dress shirt and white jeans. When you are wearing casual clothes, repeating one color in two or more items creates a pulled-together look.

Don’t make the mistake of ignoring your shoes. In casual dressing, they take on added importance. Not only should they be a color that works with your combination, but their style should harmonize with the degree of formality of your mix. Canvas sneakers might well be too informal with a blazer. Casual shoes these days range from decent sneakers, through colorful deck shoes, to burnished brown or black tassel loafers. And be sure to check out the many handsome dress-casual ankle boots on the market; they are a useful new category of leather shoes. Base your choice, in addition to comfort, on the other clothes you are wearing. Consistency is essential to being well-dressed.

Avoid wearing T-shirts with messages, cargo pants, dirty or beat-up sneakers, anything too trendy.

The casual clothes you choose send major messages about you. Perhaps most important is dressing your age or what is considered appropriate casual wear for your generation. Dress like a grown-up. If a man in his 50s dresses too young, in clothes that are too tight or too hip, he is out of his comfort zone. Age-appropriate clothes are not only flattering, but they project your good judgement.   

 

Small neck shirt with long sleeve length hard to find

Q. I recently lost a considerable amount of weight. I now wear 31x33 pants, and have a 14½- inch neck and a 35-inch sleeve. I have been checked for size by a fine store’s shirt department and several tailors. I find that fine stores do not carry shirt sizes that fit me. Sales people doubt you or assume that you really mean 15½ neck sizes. Stores’ online offerings can be identified as white, blue, and yellow – nothing stylish. Custom tailoring is an option, but not always stylish. 

From a clothing standpoint, it does not pay to be male and thin. I wish that next time, salespeople would spend less time questioning the shopper’s vanity, and more time on the issue he raised. 

A. The truth is that the size you are looking for (14½/35) is so rare that not one of the many stores I checked with has it. Some come close, but no one carries that combination of neck size and sleeve length. Certainly, there is no reason to add to the difficulty you and others face finding correctly-sized clothes by doubting your measurements. 

Despite the rarity, it does not mean you necessarily have to give up or have your shirts custom made. Far less expensive than custom made are “made-to-measure” shirts. These are a variation of shirts that can be special ordered at many stores for an additional expense of about 20% of the cost of ready-mades. Since they offer many customizing options, the shirts can be as stylish as you like. 

There are also other, even less expensive alternatives. I always believe it helps to know how shirts are sized and which stores are likely to carry the cuts/styles you’re looking for; but in situations with outliers, it is even more important. It also helps to be at least a little flexible. So let me explain further.  

SIZING -- Sport shirts are manufactured with “average” sleeve lengths; sized small, medium, and large, each size usually comes with only one sleeve length. Dress shirts are marked in one of two ways: either exact neck and sleeve sizes (a 15-inch neck and a 33-inch sleeve, for example), or “adjustable” sleeve lengths (a 15-inch neck and a 32/33-inch sleeve; an additional button has been sewn on the cuff, allowing the wearer to tighten or loosen the cuff). Better shirt makers produce a full range of sizes, running from 14½/32 and 14½/33 on up through 17½/36. But some manufacturers cut corners with just two sleeve lengths – designated 32/33 and 34/35. So, instead of exact sleeve lengths, you are given a choice of only two in your neck size, neither of which is likely to be your precise size.

So, what you are looking for is a store that sells shirts made by fine manufacturers, offering a full range of sizes. This generally means a large mid-range department store or a men’s fine specialty shop. When you find a store and a salesperson you like, remain a loyal customer. It makes life easier.       

BEING FLEXIBLE -- Here are a few suggestions. First (and I know this is a hard sell with men), be willing to actually try on a few shirts. Be aware that even the best makers’ sizes and cuts tend to vary, one from another. A size 15 shirt from one company might be looser or tighter than a size 15 from another. Online, many sites and companies provide information regarding whether items run small or large; these can be from the store, the manufacturer, or customer reviews, and should be considered, but not counted on. In those cases, you can either purchase one and follow up with more if they prove accurate, or purchase many if you are one who will take advantage of the quasi-easy return elements of online shopping. 

Most of the stores I spoke with said their size 14½-inch shirts only come in one sleeve size, 32/33. But Brooks Brothers stocks a 14½ shirt with an exact 34-inch sleeve (since a 32/33 sleeve is actually 32½ inches long, you are getting an additional inch and a half). Brooks Brothers also stocks 15-inch collar shirts with a 35-inch sleeve (most 15-inch collars only go up to a 34-inch sleeve length). Nordstrom’s and Tommy Hilfiger sell a size 15 shirt with a 34/35 sleeve; the style from Hilfiger is called the “Essential Slim-Fit.” 

Here is where “being flexible” comes in. If you are willing to try on a few nearly-correct-sized shirts (14½/34, 15/35, and 15 34/35) or whatever shirts you discover that come close, you’ll probably find one you can live with. If you’re unwilling to try on the shirts, my advice would be to select a size 15 neck with a slim fit and the longest sleeve you can find. And here is one more idea that a knowledgeable salesperson at Bloomingdale’s suggested: she said to have the shirt’s top button near the collar moved “a smidgeon,” thus customizing a slightly too-small or too-large shirt for a better fit. Moving a collar button is a very easy tailoring procedure that you may be able to do on your own, and certainly can be done even at a dry cleaner’s for much less than custom shirts or the cost of being uncomfortable.