Learn How to Wear a Vest Casually

Hey Peter!

So in this case, you’re asking if you can wear a vest with just one (on a four button vest) or two buttons (five button vest) closed? We would advise that in any case, even when being worn casually, a vest looks best with the bottom button open, but the others closed. There are some that argue for an unbuttoned vest with say, a twill shirt underneath for a summer look, but for us, we prefer to stay away from this look.

Hey Mark!

That’s a great question. Our opinion is that while a gray vest will always be more versatile when it comes to pairing with other items in his wardrobe but a brown vest boasts a strong color for Asian men given their otherwise more monochrome combination of light colored skin and black hair.

Hey Jay!

Great question! And yes, you can do this if it’s your style. If we’re not mistaken, the gentleman in the picture from this very article is doing just that!

Hey Hugo!

That’s a good question. Hopefully this article can help clear up some of your questions. Tailoring is a two way relationship, your business is their business, so if you just talked to your local tailor, they’d be willing to work with you! Don’t be afraid to ask for any alterations that you would like to see!

If the invitation says the wedding is formal, a vest and dress slacks with Chelsea boots is definitely too casual. If the invitation is to be trusted, even a full suit is not dressy enough. Formal dress code means black tie (that means you should be in a tuxedo). A full suit is what is referred to as “cocktail attire.”

Our advice: call the bride or groom and ask for clarification of the dress code. Then consult our article on decoding the dress code where we give specific advice on what to wear to weddings of all types, broken down by dress code.

An open vest will only serve to emphasize a large stomach, like the classic Chris Farley fat guy in a little coat. An open vest doesn’t do anyone any favors, though. A skinny guy will look like Ed Norton on The Honeymooners. Either way, we don’t recommend recommending it.

Instead, try some of the concepts we referred to in the Big Men’s Clothing Guide.

So, first thoughts: the thing that stood out like a sore thumb in the outfit that you described is black pants. We would NOT recommend wearing this much brown and then throwing in a random pair of black pants. Black and brown can be combined, but, generally speaking, you’ll want to pick one of these two routes and stick with it as your theme or accent color for your outfit. Speaking of the brown, though, that’s a lot of brown. Don’t get us wrong. We love brown and think it’s an underutilized color in most men’s wardrobes so kudos to your fiance for calling it out. But still, that’s a LOT of brown. We’d suggest giving yourself a little relief with a white or blue shirt.

That last recommendation brings us to the root of the problem, Seth: how much contrast should your outfit include. In other words, should you be decked out, head-to-toe, in one color? Or are we recommending that you be a veritable rainbow of colors? Actually, we’re not recommending either. The answer to your question shouldn’t come from us because the answer to your question is looking back at you in the mirror. Without knowing your hair color, skin tone, build and defining features we can’t tell what colors would look good on you. That’s the bad news, but the good news is, we can tell you how to figure this stuff out for yourself. In fact, we’ve written extensively on the topic. We recommend you read and follow along with the guide in the Pick Shirt Colors That Match You, Even If You Have No Eye For Matching, and Picking The Right Suit Color is Not So Black and White articles. Armed with the knowledge you’ll get in those two articles you’ll never have to wonder what colors work for you again.

The vest and shirt combo is good, but it is a heavy look. Since those colors are dark, I would stick with the simple rule of contrast when choosing a tie. A light gray, textured tie (wool, knit) would be a great addition to this look.

Any non-collared shirt under a vest can look a little odd, Jack. Art Carney did it all the time on The Honeymooners but just like you shouldn’t trust everything you hear on TV, you shouldn’t wear everything you see on TV. We’re not fans of this look.

We have seen the turtleneck and vest done well by a more modern screen star, but that was a dressier look overall. The three-piece suit with a turtleneck can be really suave. Just avoid adding a gold chain or you’ll end up on the next Lonely Island album.

Before we get into pants, some advice about the shirt: Beware the dark shirt and vest combination. There won’t be enough contrast between the shirt and vest and the whole look will come off muddled. You’re better off with a pale blue or white shirt and a charcoal gray vest.

As for the pants, gray is more vesatile than black (you can wear black or brown shoes with gray pants), so we usually veer towards gray. Plus, black can be very jarring against bright colors, but with gray pants you can wear a wider range of colors.

Glad we could help, now go out there and show your co-workers what’s what.

You didn’t mention the color or type of pattern on the shirt but, actually, it doesn’t really matter. The neutral and solid vest and chinos combo means just about anything is possible. Go forth!

We’re going to suggest a white shirt with this outfit to give you a cool, crisp look for your prom night. As for adding a neck or bow tie, it’s not required. If you want to step up the formality of your look a little bit, go with a neck tie. You can have some fun with the color of it — maybe a blue pattern, maroon, or dark green. Show the world your beautiful outfit!

Of course you can, Jeff. How will it look on you? That we can’t say.

To get a sense of how it will look, it’s a look that was worn by Art Carney in his portrayal of Ed Norton on The Honeymooners (pictured here). If you’re a tall slim guy going for that 40s working-class Brooklynite look, a vest with a T-shirt might be the way to go.

Are you wondering if we’re down with untucked shirts and unbuttoned vests? Nope. Sorry, not our thing, but we respect your right to rock that look.

Wearing a nonmatching vest (aka an “odd waistcoat”) is a classic style move that’s been pulled off by many a stylish man over the years, so we don’t know who these jokers are who have been advising against vests but we say disregard.

Actually, you already mentioned the only people who truly matter when it comes to judging your style: you and your wife. If you like the look, and she agrees, you’ve got something. We say go forth!

We’d suggest easing up on the dark colors and going with a white shirt instead of a gray. A white bow tie should be reserved for a very formal white tie affair (like the Nobel Prize Ceremony or a coronation). Since you’re going without a jacket, go for a more casual bow tie like this gray one to keep your outfit cohesive.

Let us preface our answer by saying that, you can wear whatever you want. We give recommendations, not condemnations.

That said, we don’t recommend wearing a vest with an untucked shirt. That would make you look like your vest had some sort of growth coming out of the bottom.

As for a printed shirt with a vest, sure, why not?

Before we go into any outfit suggestions let’s first address the cocktail attire issue. If you’re the host, it would stand to reason that you are deciding on the dress code? Right. If so, we don’t recommend calling for cocktail attire. Cocktail attire means full suits for men. It would be poor form for the host to set a dress code and then underdress. If there’s still time, we recommend changing the dress code to something like “semi-casual” to give guests a sense of the kind of outfits you expect them to wear. If it’s too late and guests are planning on cocktail attire, then your husband’s going to have to bite the bullet and wear a suit and tie.

If you do go with a more casual look and wants a vest to wear with a pair of gray pants, the color choices are pretty much wide open. Just about everything matches with neutral medium gray slacks. The color matching he should be concerned with is matching the colors to his own colors. If he’s got dark hair, a dark vest will do the trick. Lighter hair means a lighter vest is probably the optimal choice. For more on this, check out our Mastering Men’s Fashion From the Inside Out story where we break down how professional stylists come up with color combinations that work.

We hope this helps, Fran. If you want to get more specific advice from one of our stylists, feel free to send some pics to concierge@blacklapel.com.

While we make our clothes for men, they are made-to-measure and some women do get clothes from us (including the female employees of Black Lapel and some of our wives as well). The measurement process is roughly the same, though there are some key areas where you’ll want to adjust.

Without getting into particulars here, we’d be happy to walk you through the process with one of our stylists. Drop us a line at concierge@blacklapel.com (or schedule an appointment if you’re in the New York City area) and we’ll get you into a great fitting vest.

There’s nothing wrong with relaxed fit, in fact, we even sell a standard fit dress pant, which has a looser cut with a more relaxed look and feel. As long as your jeans aren’t baggy anywhere, your look shouldn’t be thrown off.

Our suits get reviewed (and reviewed well, we might add) by menswear bloggers fairly frequently, Kent. We work with a curated list of There’s even a website dedicated to them. Check out BlackLapelReviews.com if you’d like to see some unfiltered reviews.

No reason to be ashamed, we’re here to help, Lisa. We usually field questions from men, so our you’ll have to take that into account when reading our advice. That said, women have been wearing menswear stylishly since Diane Keaton made everyone fall in love with Annie Hall back in 1977. Diane Keaton continues to raid men’s closets with fantastic results and style icons like the unbelievably sexy Sarah Ann Murray have kept the tradition going. But enough about the women who wear them, let’s talk clothes they wear…

Vests work well for a lot of people but when advising men we generally tell shorter, thicker guys to beware the barrel/robot look that a vest can give you. However, for a woman, that’s a little bit less of an issue since you’ve got natural curves that men don’t have. So proceed, but proceed with caution. As for color combinations, a gray vest is an easy outfit starter. One thing we would change, though, is the black jeans and brown shoes combo. That’s a no-no in our book. If the jeans are black, the shoes ought to be too. With some black shoes and black jeans, a white button front shirt and a gray vest can make for a stylish casual look.

We’re happy to help, Jim.

No need to worry about the vest being too dressy. It’s always better to be a little overdressed, than a little under-dressed.

As for the backing, a Bemberg back, like the one featured on the back of Black Lapel vests work just fine with casual outfits. Of course, since our clothes are all custom made, you can special request a self-back vest. To do that just email concierge@blacklapel.com when you’re ready to order.

The tie decision is not one we can make for you, David. We will offer this advice, though: make a decision to wear it confidently or don’t wear it. Nothing will kill your look more than being doubtful about whether you’re wearing the “right” things. Meekness is the enemy of style.

Okay, enough of the tough love, David. On to your other questions. As for the pants, whenever you wear non-matching separates like a jacket and pants or, in this case, a vest and pants, avoid combinations that are too similar. A dark gray vest and a barely lighter pair of gray pants will look like you tried to make a matching suit out of two different fabrics (a Busch League move). Instead, we suggest going with the black pants.

When the rest of the outfit is all neutral solids you don’t have to worry much about the your shirt color clashing with the rest of the outfit, but you should look for a color and/or pattern that works for you. Explaining how to do that is a little more than we could fit into a comment reply. That’s why we wrote this entire story on creating your own shirt style. We suggest you use the advice we offered there whenever you’re stuck trying to figure out what shirt to wear/buy. That said, when in doubt, a solid white shirt is always the safest and easiest bet.

We’d be happy to help you out, Angel. You can wear the same outfit featured above with a light blue shirt if you don’t want to wear white. The rest can stay the same, or you could even add something to tie the light blue and dark blue of the shirt and jeans together, like a knit tie with dark and light blue stripes, if you want to dress the look up a bit. All of this still adds up to a simply stylish look for any casual occasion.

A light blue shirt will stand in for white just fine with a gray vest.

As for pants, it sounds like you’re fully stocked in the gray department, so the pairing should focus more on the interplay between the vest and the pants than the vest and the shirt. Try to differentiate between the pants and vest by choosing the light gray pants if the vest is dark or dark gray if the vest is light. A little variation on the gray theme will go a long way. Finally, with all but the black pants you can add some brown shoes to this look to keep things interesting and add a little color to this outfit.

Now, try not to lose your shirt in Vegas, Ryan!

You would know the answer to that better than we do. If you’ve got a buttoned up stylr and have a closet that consists of classics, then such a strong departure from that style like you are describing would come off looking as ridiculously put on as Garth Brooks’ alter ego Chris Gaines (Brooks and Gaines may have been equally cheesy but at least Garth Brooks seemed authentic).

Would we wear the black vest and sneakers outfit you described? Hell to the no. That’s because it’s not our style. It wouldn’t be our style. But that’s us. As a maker of fully customizable clothes we respect, and encourage you to take full advantage of, your right to define your style. You do you, Antonio. We won’t judge. Who knows, maybe we’ll even give the look you described a try ourselves one day…well, don’t hold your breath.

This same look would work with a black belt and black shoes. Black shoes tend to be more formal looking, so the overall look may not come off quite as casual, but it’ll play.

If you were to add a tie to this outfit, we’d suggest a black knit one like this to give a bit of texture to your look and keep things casual.

Yes to experimenting with pairing different shades, but “bright colored tuxedos?” Seems like kind of a non sequitur.

The answer to this question depends on what you look like, Charlie. Too many guys focus all of their attention on getting their clothes to match and don’t think about how the clothing color works with the wearer. As we discussed in our piece about building the ultimate suit, your skin and hair color are the most important things when it comes to deciding on clothing colors.

All that being said, a middle of the road blue is neutral enough to work with almost any complexion and always pairs nicely with browns and tans. So, even though we haven’t had a look at you, we’ll advise you to go with a blue shirt like this.

No need to get all matchy-matchy, Jim. A black vest and black pants might have you looking like the wait staff at a catered affair. (That’s no knock on waiters, but rather a knock on some of the uniforms they’re forced to wear.)

A word to the wise, though, Jim. Black is tougher to wear than most guys think. A black vest on a lavender shirt is going to be a seriously high contrast combo. Consider wearing a lighter vest like the one pictured above for a laid back look.

This outfit is so neutral it’s hard to come up with a shirt that would clash. Don’t overthink it, try a white oxford with a button down collar for a laid back look that will complement the casual canvas kicks.

Other colors of oxford shirts would work too. Or, if you’re looking for a lighter, more casual shirt, get yourself a chambray shirt.

Isn’t the whole point of the masquerade party to wear a costume, Nate? You may want to consult with the host before showing up in your street clothes.

As for the outfit, we always say go with dark blue jeans. Dark jeans are the most versatile. They work with everything. As for shoes, we’re always in favor of brown shoes for the same reason. For more on this check out our guide to essential dress shoes. Neither of these things should be purchased to wear to this one event, though, Nate. Even if you’re not going to wear a costume, dark jeans and a good pair of brown dress shoes are foundations of the stylish man’s wardrobe. Invest wisely. Look for quality shoes and a color/style of jeans you’ll get a lot of use out of. Then you can go masquerading as a stylish gent everywhere you go.

The combination of plaid shirts and vests is a great way to go, Mike. Black is a tougher color to wear than most guys realize. It’s so stark there’s little room for error. Black can be unforgiving when set against fairer skin and can highlight flaws on anyone’s skin.

That’s why gray and navy blue vests are a much safer, and more versatile, choice. Unlike a black vest, you can wear them with either brown or black shoes and they harmonize with many more pairs of jeans/chinos. Even those plaid shirts with some black in them will look good with neutral gray or navy.

All of this doesn’t mean the black vest is useless. Rather, it should be used with caution. But hey, why not have a few vests, one in each color? As you can see from all the comments above, a lot of guys (us included) can’t get enough of them.

Sorry to be the bearers of bad news, Nathan, but this outfit has “huge flop” written all over it. To start, a black button-front shirt is one of the hardest shirts to wear with a tie. Wear it with a black tie and you look like Regis Philbin circa 1998. Wear it with any colored or patterned tie and it looks like you were trying to dress up a casual shirt. Why? Because a black button front really is a casual shirt. That’s why we recommend you do not wear it with a tie.

As for the vest, a white vest is a non-starter. Wearing a vest that is lighter than the shirt underneath it is a tough style challenge (it can be done, but the degree of difficulty is high). A white vest makes pairing pretty much impossible.

No need to go off the menu, for this look, though Nathan. Stick with a white shirt and a neutral vest color (like gray) and follow the guidance above and you’ll be looking fly.

Take your cues from the vest buttons, John. If they’re brown, wear brown shoes. If they’re black, go with black shoes.

If your jeans won’t stay up without one, you’re out of luck, but if you can get away with it, ditch the belt. Belt buckles tend to push out the vest awkwardly and make you look paunchy.

“Semi-formal” means so many things to so many people it’s virtually meaningless. Since you’re asking this question in response to a story about wearing a vest casually, we’re assuming that you’re going for a pretty casual look.

Play it safe and wear a pair of charcoal slacks, a crisp white shirt and a black knit tie for a tie that is still pretty laid back and looks great with a vest.

We do approve, Kimberly. This outfit sounds appropriate for the occasion and the individual pieces can be mixed and matched with tons of other outfits.

As for the fashion sense, just steer your son on over here to The Compass. We’ll get him dappered up good. It’s never too early to start working on his style!

Glad we could help, Jake. The new information doesn’t change our recommendations much. Since you will be the only man up there, you will likely stand out regardless of what you wear. And the brides gave you a classic shades of blue + shades of brown palette to work with. With that in mind, we suggest only minimally tweaking the original idea. It sounds like you prefer shades of black to shades of brown so you can swap those colors and stay somewhat close to what the brides intended. Here’s how it breaks down (with links to relevant Compass stories):

• Light blue shirt (though we wouldn’t suggest wearing the white contrasting collar and cuffs shirt since that’s an uber-formal look that really should only be done with a tie and jacket)
• Gray vest
• Black belt
• Charcoal or dark gray pants
• Dark gray socks
• Black shoes (to go with the vest buttons as you mentioned).

Rock this look and the happy couple will be happy (and you’ll look great).

First off, are you a member of the wedding party, Jake? If so, you may have gotten the OK to deviate but having the right to do something, doesn’t mean you should do it. If everyone else in the wedding party is wearing the powder blue shirt with a light brown vest and navy blue trousers, you should wear that as well. If one man is going to stand out it should be the groom, not the third guy from the left in all of the wedding photos.

Now, if you are not a member of the wedding party you do have a lot more leeway. Still, going completely “off the menu” if you will, is not recommended. As a guest you should be able to wear a gray vest instead of a brown one and no one will have any complaints. You may even be able to get away with khaki pants (though if you’re going to stray from the requested navy blue you might be better off sticking with dark pants in a color like charcoal gray or even black), but the shoes should not be white bucks. For one, Labor Day was last week. While we don’t strictly adhere to the “no white after Labor Day” rule, white bucks are about as mid-summery as dress shoes get. But fashion faux-pas aside, white bucks will put a lot of attention on you. Let the bride and groom have the spotlight and choose a more traditional pair of kicks (brown or black).

Finally, check out our guide to wedding attire for men for more on this subject.

Adding a vest to your wardrobe is a smart move, Akshay. (Good to see you’re learning something at college!)

Like many young guys it sounds like you’re a little nervous about looking too “dressed up.” Don’t be. A vest and a T-shirt has a distinctly Ed Norton-ish look (not the gifted actor from such classic movies as Fight Club, but the garbage man neighbor from the old Honeymooners show pictured here). Most guys are trying not to stand out too much so they put on a T-shirt and a vest and what does it do? It makes you stand out for all the wrong reasons.

Are we advocating wearing a full-on dress shirt like you would wear with a suit and tie? No. But a more casual chambray shirt in an easy pairing color like blue or an oxford shirt will keep things laid back and still look great under a vest.

This outfit sounds pretty straightforward (that’s a good thing). Our only concern would be looking a little devilish with a black vest and a red shirt. If the red is subdued (like this) it can work.

The safer bet, though, for an evening out, would be to go with a dark red that creates less contrast with the vest. If the red is the shade of a red wine you might end up drinking with some of those high class cigars, then you’re on the right track.

On the whole this sounds like an outfit that will work. Sneakers and a vest is a pretty young look, though, Trae. Judging by the Thursday night party plans, this is probably not a concern.

If you do want to go with a more grown-up look, but don’t want the whole outfit to turn too formal, try a pair of brogue shoes with a slightly chunky sole for a casual, yet mature pair of shoes for this outfit.

Sounds good to us, Michael. Lighter grays also work with white shirts (a summer staple) and light blue shirts as well.

Blue will provide the most harmony with the blue in the shirt, so that would be our first choice.

The gray would work too, but only if it is as light or lighter than the slacks. A really dark charcoal gray vest with khaki pants would clash, but a gray vest like this one with medium or chocolate brown pair of pants would do the trick.

We’re no fans of pinstripe separates. A pinstripe suit all coordinates, but start wearing the pieces separately and our favorite part of the pinstripe (sleek lines from head to toe) breaks down. Plus, we wouldn’t wear businesslike office styles like pinstripes (separates or as a suit) for a night of dancing.

Other than that, our main bit of advice when wearing a vest with dress slacks is to avoid a belt. With jeans wearing a belt may be inevitable, but your tailored pants ought to fit you well enough to go without a belt. Why? A belt buckle will add girth and push the bottom of your vests open. What’s worse, belt buckles draw attention to the problem because they’re metal and contrast with the fabric around them.

If you do need a little help holding your pants up under the vest you can go to a tailor for two solutions:

1. get the waist taken in so that your pants stay at your waist naturally, or
2. add suspender buttons to the insides of your pants so that you may wear suspenders under a vest (what we do when we wear three piece suits around Black Lapel)

We’ll assume you meant to write “short sleeve shirt” in your comment.

Sounds like a lot going on, in this outfit, Dread. Two different seersucker types will likely look mismatched. Of these two we’ll take the pants. We’re not too sure what kind of shirt you’re talking about (button front? T-shirt?) but the dark shirt with a white item on top like a white tie on a dark dress shirt, can make you look like you’re wearing a 30s gangster Halloween costume. The whole outfit sounds a little forced. We’d suggest skipping the vest and wearing the pants with a white button-front shirt and rolling up the sleeves.

The good news is, there’s no need to try to buy a pair of matching pants for your vest. The bad news is, unless you bought the vest as a separate from a suit, the chances of matching it up exactly are slim to none and nobody’s going to be fooled by a vest that’s “almost” the same as the pants you’re wearing. In fact, wearing two items that are close but not the same just draws people’s attention to the fact that they don’t match and will make you look like a rube.

Here’s a better strategy:

1. Be sure that formal isn’t that formal. If you think it’ll be a room full of guys in suits, beware of under-dressing. Don’t show up in a vest or you’ll look like you’re catering the party, not attending it.
2. For pants try light, khaki chinos.
3. For shirts, a simple white shirt is an easy option, but the brown of the vest will even allow you to pair with pink or lavender shirts.
4. For casual looks, go with a darker wash denim for easy pairings and try a white oxford shirt or T-shirt for un-fussy Saturday style.

This sounds like a strong outfit for stepping up to the next level on your educational journey.

For a tie, we would suggest going with a solid black knit tie. Knit ties are great for a more casual style like you’re planning to wear and great for spring.

For the shirt color, a lot depends on your own coloring (how your skin and hair look against the blue of the shirt). If you try it on and it doesn’t look quite right, take the safe bet and wear a crisp white shirt instead.

Knock ’em dead, Luis!

Using the dark tan slacks as your starting point we recommend going with brown shoes. Earth tones on your legs means you should avoid black shoes (they’re better paired with black, gray and navy slacks). For a shirt and tie, keep things simple with a white or light blue shirt and a knit tie to keep the look casual (we love solid navy knits but for this situation).

Now on to the reason why we’re all here: the vest. The same rule of thumb that applies to the shoes applies to the vest color. Look for a vest in another earth tone, like a lighter or darker tan than your pants. Or, if you’re looking to add some color to the look, you could wear a vest in just about any color (tan is neutral so you don’t have to worry too much about the colors clashing). Just avoid bold, highly saturated colors like royal and stick with more muted color options.

With these guidelines in mind you’ll be able make many an outfit work with those tan slacks.

You can wear another gray, just try a different shade of gray than the light vest. With the purple and blue up top you probably shouldn’t add another color to this outfit, but you could go with navy for the slacks as well.

As for shoes, with either gray or navy slacks, you’ve got your choice of brown or black shoes. Stick with classics like brogues or, if the weather will be warm and dry, loafers. Any of our five essentials of the dress shoe wardrobe ought to do the trick.

No, you may not. Just kidding, Scott. While we usually suggest medium shade vests over black, the shirt and vest combo will work.

The tie with the striped shirt may be overdoing it a bit, though. We’d steer clear of adding another element to this look.

While this look might be a fun one, as the title suggests, it’s a casual look. For an event like a graduation, we still recommend wearing a tie.

You can still wear a vest, though. Take a page out of Men’s Style Pro Sabir Peele’s book and add a pocket square to the mix to further dress up this casual look.

The “odd waistcoat” (a vest that doesn’t match the suit) can be pretty sharp. Black and pink can be an awkward combination, so we’d suggest either going all the way monochrome and changing the shirt to a white shirt for a fully B&W look, or ditching the vest.

Of course, that’s all built around your starting point of a gray suit, but if you want our ultimate advice, check out the Royal Wedding story we just published.

The outfit sounds pretty sharp, JK.

Judging by the leather laces, it sounds like you’re talking about some boat shoes. Boat shoes with dark jeans and a worsted wool vest would be a little awkward. We’d suggest going with a pair of loafers for a somewhat casual, yet still dressy enough for the vest look. And when you do this, follow the rule of thumb and match the belt to your shoe color.

On the surface it sounds like a pretty straightforward plan. A white shirt and a black vest is a really high contrast look, be sure you’ve got enough contrast in your face/hair to stand up to this look. This is a good look for a medium to dark skin tone and darker hair (pictured here. If you’re on the pale side and have light hair, try lightening up with a mid-gray vest like this, Billy.

We eat bombardments of questions for breakfast, Bradley. So let’s start chowing down…

1. The dark jeans and Chelsea boots ought to work out fine, though, if you plan to hit the dance floor hard, just be careful not to step on any toes.
2. A long sleeve white dress shirt will work. You’re right about not getting it too baggy. It’s tough getting a shirt that doesn’t fit like a tent when you buy off the rack. You know where they sell shirts actually fit, don’t you? Not to drop names but there’s a company whose name rhymes with “smack the bell.”
3. Vests are generally made with fabric fronts and lined backs. You can find fabric back ones, but they’re rare (starting to sound like a broken record here, but you can special request a fabric back when you order a vest from the same guys who run this site).
4. We’re not on board with the short sleeve choice, B. A vest is a layer and adds warmth. By nature it looks a little weird with short sleeves (like shorts and winter boots).

Hope this is all helpful!

With the black shirt and a gray vest, we’d suggest keeping things dark below the waist. A dark wash blue, or even black, is the way to go here. Go middle of the road here, not painted on skinny but don’t go loose and baggy either. A standard or slim fit is in order here.

As for shoes, black is the way to go if you’re doing a black V-neck. If you want to keep things casual but don’t want to go with athletic shoes, try some loafers like these from Cole Haan. If sneakers are your thing, you may not go for those. If that’s the case, just be sure to keep the kicks black.

Have fun and don’t do anything we wouldn’t do. In other words, do whatever you want!

We’re down with a little fade in the jeans in the right context. We suggest dark wash for pairing with a Black Lapel vest because our vests are a bit dressier than, say, a cotton vest. So in our context a dressier pair of jeans is more appropriate. If the vest in question is more casual, then the jeans can be too, Andrew.

Note: We’re interpreting a little bit here, but we’ll assume you meant “gray” pants not “great” pants. You should always wear great pants. And now on to our answer…

As Ray Charles would say, night time is the right time (for black vests and jackets). The black jacket and vest could work here. Once, for a photo shoot, we needed a photo of the bow tie in a tuxedo. The model, who was wearing our gray glen plaid pants, slipped on a black jacket and bow tie over a white shirt. The look came off really well. We say go for it, Matthew.

Black jeans and brown moccasins, you say? Sorry, but we can’t go down that road with you. Black shoes are the only way we’d go here. Swap out those mocs with some black shoes (loafers or monk straps would do the trick) and a black belt and you’re all set for the evening’s debauchery.

If the goal is to move more towards casual, then we recommend moving away from the all-black combo. A black vest and pants with a black bow tie will make you look like you’re either one of the caterers or you just took off the jacket of an uber-formal three-piece black suit. Neither of those scenarios adds up to a casual look. Instead, go with the gray slacks, the vest, and a more casual knit tie, like a black dotted knit. With these tweaks this outfit will keep things casual and stylish.

This style does work for a lot of body types. For a bigger guy, we’d suggest going with a lower contrast version of the look. Rather than pairing a white shirt and dark vest, try a light blue shirt with a navy vest. This will take the emphasis off of your midsection. Fit is important as well. Make sure the vest is long enough to cover your waist. If your shirt is peeking out at the bottom of the vest, that will draw attention to your stomach. Finally, avoid a belt with the vest for the same reason. With those adjustments, you can add this look to your casual repertoire.

If only we had known about this sooner, we could have gotten your groom and groomsmen decked out in some custom threads! Alas, we won’t bother recommending any of our own vests but, instead, we’ll offer up a picture we really like as an example:

Sabir M. Peele, of Men’s Style Pro, loves his vests. Here he is rocking an outfit that straddles the line between dressy and casual quite well. The color combination of darker brown pants, shoes and tie with the lighter blue shirt and mid-blue vest is a classic. Plus, he nails the details like the stubby tie clip and the brown trim on the pocket square (don’t forget the pocket square).

Alternatively, you could go with a lighter version of this outfit by choosing caramel/khaki color for the slacks and vests, going with a mid-brown tie and light brown shoes plus a white shirt.

Hope this helps and best wishes to you and your groom.

It’s a Golden Knight night, huh, Thomas? That’s excellent. Your outfit sounds pretty sharp. Two suggestions:

1. Be sure that vest is matte. Avoid shiny gold fabric and opt for a more subtle way to express your black and gold pride.
2. Swap out the black shirt for a white one. Black shirts are trickier than they seem. On their own you’re good to go, but we’d never wear one with a vest. Part of the charm of the black shirt is the “blackout” effect you create up top. Breaking up your upper half into body and arms with such a high contrast shirt & vest combo destroys the blackout effect.

Hope this helps. By the way, since you’re an Army man, you might also want check out our 5 Essentials of the Military-Inspired Wardrobe story.

Thanks, Jesus. We’re just doing our thing and, hopefully, helping you do yours!

The strong pattern of the tie and colors of both the shirt and tie would need to be balanced out by a pretty understated lower half. Try khaki chinos with brown brogues, like the ones we recommended here and a matching brown belt for a classic look.

With a silk tie you could dress this look up a bit below the belt with light gray wool slacks. In that case, brown or black shoes with a matching belt would be appropriate, just stick with more casual styling like loafers to avoid looking like you just forgot the of your suit.

We would avoid shiny or glossy shirts under vests or even without vests. We would just avoid shiny or glossy shirts. The matte look of 100% cotton shirts is more our style. There are still many different types of cotton shirts, from twills to oxfords to chambrays. All of these are suitable for wearing under a vest and on their own.

By cloth, do you mean cotton or linen? If that’s the case, yes, these are a good option for warmer weather vests. They look especially good for spring in neutral colors like khaki/tan or mid-gray with white shirts.

Match the texture of the tie a well. We love knit ties with vests for a bit of texture. Cotton ties are another good seasonal option for spring.

The outfit sounds good, Aizad. The only thing we might edit are the shoes. Balance out a wool vest and jeans with a more rugged shoe like these boots in the colder months or desert boots like these when it’s warmer.

As for appropriateness, we haven’t cruised the mall in a while, but with this outfit you’ll likely be the best-dressed guy in the place.

That sounds like a good look, Nick. The only thing we would advise you to be mindful of is the shoes. Black is the way to go here, but black shoes tend to look pretty formal. If the goal here is presentable+casual stick with black shoes with more casual styling like monk straps or loafers (see our piece on building your shoe wardrobe for more on these styles).

As for the tie, we would suggest going with a textured tie. This can be, but isn’t limited to, a knit. You could also wear a cotton tie, like this one from J.Crew, or even linen, like this one from The Tie Bar, that are just what the doctor ordered for your spring look.

Sounds like a family that takes their photography seriously, Jesse. It’s clear why you would want to nail your look. All of the guidelines about fit above apply. As for color, we love medium gray vests. They’re neutral so they play nicely with lots of other colors so you can really get a lot of use out of them. A white shirt is a fail-safe, but if you want to go with a color, try a light blue like this twill or this light blue oxford.

As for the shoes, we could write a whole story on the types and colors of shoes every man should have in his wardrobe. Oh wait, we already did! Even though it’s called How to Build Your Dress Shoe Wardrobe many of the shoes we highlighted there, like the brown brogues, the monk straps and the loafers, would work very well for a more casual look like the one you’re going for. If we had to pick just one pair of the shoes we mentioned in that article to wear for the rest of our days, it would be the Charles Tyrwhitt brown brogues.

One final note: if you really want to class up the casual look, slip a pocket square into the vest that brings out the color of your shirt (like this one for a light blue shirt).

You’ve come to the right place Zak! Depending on the venue for the birthday (let’s say just about anything but a fancy restaurant), your outfit sounds like it’ll look fresh. That said, there are definitely several colors in between kelly green and black and we fully encourage you to explore the full spectrum. A note on the shoes, going dressier is always a classy move but coordinating other accessories with the shoes is important as well. Said kelly green tie may not work so well with a pair of dark brown wingtips. 😉

Billy, swap out that short sleeve white shirt for a long sleeve white shirt (you can roll up your sleeves like the model in the post above) and you’ll have the look down!

Richard, we’re happy to inform you that your desired outfit is BL approved. Start with a tie and you can loosen the knot and roll up your sleeves for a bit of sprezz as the night goes on. Remember to sport a pocket square and stay stylish!

This is a good, laid-back look. We would caution you on one thing: While matching your belt color to your shoes color is smart, we would avoid the belt if possible. Under a vest belts create a bulge around the buckle that can look a little awkward. If you need another way to hold the pants up, you can try one of our secret tricks and wear suspenders under the vest. No one will see them but they you won’t run the risk of a belt-induced muffin top.

Enjoy the party!

We can do some special customizations on your vest that might work. Please contact our concierge team at concierge@gmail.com for some one-on-one advice.

If you are a plain-clothes law enforcement officer or agent of a three-lettered federal agency (FBI, CIA, ATF, DEA, etc.) you wouldn’t be the first one who has come to us with “special” needs that we needed to accommodate when making a garment!

If you’re going with a dark shirt, stick with a solid and boost the contrast by going with a lighter vest (like this one) or a patterned one like this plaid which can be made into a vest and looks pretty boss with dark shirts as our own Frank the Tank showed everyone on Instagram.

To get one of these vests, contact our concierge team at concierge@blacklapel.com.

Before we get to color let’s talk texture. This outfit begs for a textured tie. A sturdier fabric will stand up nicely to the ruggedness of the jeans and boots down below and won’t look like a mismatch.

As for the color, avoid black, since you’ll be wearing brown shoes. Instead try neutrals like navy or medium gray. If you really want to have some fun with it, try Mr. Cord with a gray pattern on the front that will stand out and you can let the brown in the back of the tie peek out to perfectly accent the brown boots. Bonus points, this tie is great for suiting up with a charcoal suit as well.

It’s the black vest, Dude. The old adage about black going with everything is a half-truth. Try it with darker reds, blues and purples and the whole look turns dark and dour. Alas, you can still make the vest work, you just have to boost the contrast with lighter colors like light blue and white shirts. Also, a black knit tie and a crisply folded pocket square can go a long way toward making this outfit come off better.

The other thing to consider is how this vest can work as just a layer. While the above is all about how to make the vest the centerpiece of your look, you can drop in the vest under a light gray suit or under a gray blazer of a different textures (i.e. tweed) for a little added dimension to more dressed up look.

If you’d like more specific advice, go ahead and send some pics to the Black Lapel concierge team at concierge@blacklapel.com.

The biker jacket is intriguing, Matt. Of all of the choices, this sounds the most unexpected and we like a little unexpectedness in our pairings (like this puffer vest with a suit).

This is not to say you couldn’t make the dark brown suede jacket work, depending on what kind of jacket you’re referring to. A suede bomber? Sure. A suede duster? Not so much. We would also steer clear of the double-breasted overcoat, which sounds too formal for this look. Regardless of the top layer, a pair of loafers or monk straps, like the ones we highlighted here, ought to do the trick with a pair of jeans.

We give you our blessing to wear that vest with other clothes, Tom. We love this look. All of the above advice still applies.

Of course, if you’d like to get a vest with a fabric back you can order one from us and special request a fabric back. Just email concierge@blacklapel.com and when you place your order.

You can’t go wrong with a medium-shade neutral vest, and a pair of dark wash jeans.

To get attention without overdoing it, stay away from busy patterns, but nail the details. Pair the above with a freshly laundered white shirt and a solid, non-silk (you said you wanted it to be pretty casual) tie that echoes the color of the pants and (like this). Top it all off with a tipped pocket square and you’ve got an understated but stylish vest outfit.

Both dark blue and black jeans would work for this look. If you want the light purple to stand out more, go with black jeans (no other colors to compete with it in the outfit).

As for the buttons, if it’s a Black Lapel vest, then it will have black horn buttons which will work well with black shoes, so you’re good there.

In summation, we approve.

Still tough to be too specific with a recommendation without seeing the vest but the red and pink shirt options sound like just what the doctor ordered.

As for the denim, we’ll stick with our original rec., medium to dark wash. When in doubt err in the side of slim, dark, non-distressed denim. It never goes out of style.

It’s tough to picture gold, Strech. If you mean gold, as in gold lamé then we will have to give you a big thumbs down. We’re guessing that’s not what you mean, though.

If you’re referring to a golden-hued khaki then we wouldn’t recommend offsetting it with a black shirt and black shoes. The richness of caramel khaki works better with white or a color, like light blue or pink for the shirt and rich brown for the shoe. It’s also difficult to give a denim recommendation without seeing the vest, but we generally err on the side of darker wash indigo shaded jeans.

We like jeans for this look. There’s something about denim and rolled up sleeves that just never gets old. Or maybe it’s the fact that it’s old (like California Gold Rush era old) that makes it so cool. Whatever the case, denim is a classic pairing with this look. Why stray from what’s worked for all these years.

All good options, JC.

Black goes with everything, so instead of giving you matches, we’ll give you a list of things NOT to wear with a black vest:

1. Brown shoes (even though the shoes are far from the vest on your body, black and brown will still clash)
2. Very dark shirts (this look is workable, but creating a little contrast between the shirt and the vest keeps your overall look from being muddled).
3. Short sleeve shirts (sorry Micky, but unless you’re going for the Ed Norton from The Honeymooners look, stick to collared long-sleeve shirts under a vest. If you want to cool off, just roll up the sleeves).

Pretty much everything else in your closet is fair game.

There are very few times when a skinny black tie won’t work. That said, if the shirt is too dark it could the black tie and gray vest could make for a generally dull look. You could boost the contrast by wearing a light blue shirt (like this one) or by pairing with a lighter tie like that still ties in the gray from the vest (like this one from Everett or this plaid one from Armstrong & Wilson).

Duly noted, Kawoin.

Yes, you CAN, wear a black short sleeve shirt under a white vest. You CAN’T get in a time machine and go to the 1991 Junior Prom at a Miami high school. If you could do the latter, the former would be the perfect outfit otherwise, steer clear.

Black Lapel vests come with fabric on the front and Bemberg lining on the back. You can choose another lining color, though, for the back to get the desired effect and, upon special request, you can even get a vest that is fabric on both the front and back.

In your case, Kieth, we suggest something like our Cool Gray four-button with Sky Blue lining on the back for that casual, rocker look.

Everything goes with black. The only pants or shirt color we would suggest avoiding is brown. For a cool look try Light Gray Glen Plaid pants and a white shirt.

Congratulations, Andrew, you’ve already begun. The vest and shirt above are both available from Black Lapel. You can rock this look in a number of settings, but when it comes to pants, we suggest you pair the vest/shirt combo with a pair of less formal slacks (like the Brownstone, Solid Tan, and Gray). If you are opting for a more casual look, then dark wash jeans always work.

A black and white, shirt and pants outfit leaves the door pretty wide open, Pete. The varsity move, is to keep things neutral neutral with a Solid Cool Gray vest. This would allow you to wear the vest with just about anything after your party (nobody needs a one-hit wonder in their closet). As for ties, the Mr. Cord by Armstrong and Wilson would bring just the right amount of pattern to this all solid outfit and, again, would be highly wearable after the party because it looks great with everything from a suit to jeans.

You mentioned wanting to “surprise” your girlfriend by dressing very stylish. Follow the advice above and you looking stylish will never come as a surprise to anyone ever again.

“A big pile of indecision” huh, Bill? Well you get points for having a sense of humor about it.

If it were the Black Lapel holiday party we’d dress down with the charcoal vest and the brown shoes. The charcoal vest will look better with the texture of the shirt and the brown shoes will keep things from getting too serious. It’s a party, after all.

That’s a pretty neutral combo, Aaron, so don’t stress about matching. Just about every shirt in your closest (barring maybe a black one) will play nicely with this vest and jeans.

As for ties, match the ruggedness of the jeans and play up the casual look of the outfit with a wool tie like one of these Armstrong & Wilson or Everett ties. You can’t go wrong with any of these under a vest and they also look sharp with a suit during the cooler months.

Glad to be of service!

There are a lot of possible combinations here, Dipen. (This comment sounded vaguely like a word problem from the probability section of a math textbook. This isn’t some kind of pop quiz is it?)

This story is about wearing the vest casually, so usually we would suggest the white shirt, navy blue vest and khakis and a knit tie to pull together this casual look. Still, a “President’s Ball” sounds pretty formal. It begs the question, are you sure casual is what you want to do here? A jacket (either a suit or a blazer) and dress pants might be the way to go.

We think blankets should remain blankets. Anytime they try to pass themselves off as vests or anything else (like the upholstery in the back seat of the car in Pulp Fiction), it’s a sign that something has gone terribly wrong.

Hey Sean! That’s a fine look. If you want our input, how about going with a lighter shirt (like a solid light blue shirt or even a crisp white shirt) for better contrast against the black vest? Also, if you go with a tie, try a knit tie. It’ll help achieve that dressed-down look you’re going for. Hope that helps!

We’d rock it. 🙂 Sounds like the perfect opportunity to vest up and leave an impression!

Bryn, here are our answers:
1) We recommend keep your shirt tucked as too much of the shirt billowing out from underneath the vest can tend to look sloppy. The exception to this is if the shirt you are wearing underneath is short enough to be hidden underneath the vest.
2) Yes, you can.
3) No, the pants don’t have to be rolled, but it does add that small casual touch to dress down the look.

Hope that helps!

Travis, a gray vest makes for an absolutely fine pairing. You’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’d like, send us (concierge@blacklapel.com) a pic of an outfit you’d like to rock and our stylists will give you a second opinion! 🙂

Great suggestion Brandon. Mixing and matching vest and jacket fabrics is a smart option for dressing down a vested & trousers look. Just to add to your point on going belt-less, side tabs on your suit pants is a great alternative to wearing a belt if you’re looking to avoid that extra bulk at the bottom of your vest. It creates a cleaner look, especially if everything fits the way it should. 🙂