I am who I am

I went to Chicago this past weekend for a career conference/networking session, and hung out an extra day to celebrate the girlfriend’s birthday. The weather forecast was grossly wrong, so she ended up in snowy Chicago with only a spring weight cotton jacket. So, being a good boyfriend, I let her wear my quilted LE jacket, and wore this Stanley Blacker wool flannel blazer pretty much everywhere.

This outfit is what I wore to the career/networking event. Tried to be as classical and traditional as possible: blue shirt, repp tie, grey wool trousers, navy blazer. In retrospect, I could have ironed a better crease into the pants. At events like this, you want people to remember you as the guy who looks neat and put together, not the #menswear dude.

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Shirt: Merona button-down collar pinpoint dress shirt (thrifted, NWT, $4)

Dress pants: Zaharoff Basileia - I’ve never heard of this brand before; items on Ebay seem to be going for a lot of money, it is really high quality material and construction (thrifted, $7)

regimental tie: Jos. A. Bank (thrifted, $2)

Navy blazer: Stanley Blacker (thrifted, $8)

Wingtips: Florsheim Haviland (MyHabit, $90)

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Notes on fit, esp. pants: I’m kind of torn on whether to have the pants shortened a little. I like having a little fullness and break in my dress pants because it helps balance my proportions. I have 23.75” quads on my 5’8” frame, so 7.5” openings with no break make me look funny. The fit of these pants is insanely comfortable, especially in the waist and thighs, without being baggy. I’m just trying to decide if the current break is a little too much. 

Took the girlfriend out for a belated Valentine’s day date to our favorite steakhouse. Snuck this selfie in the restroom on the way out.

Glen plaid sportcoat: Stafford, thrifted
White OCBD: Nordstrom, thrifted
Grey slacks: Dockers
Saddle shoes: Bass

The girlfriend dragged me to a dinner for prospective grad students in her department, held at a professor’s house. This full-length mirror beckoned to me, so I snuck this shot while trying not to look like a fool in front of 50+ people. So forgive the poor posture. I just didn’t have the opportunity to pose just so.

P.S. My nth beer of the night, a necessity for such gatherings.

The kit:
- Merona navy with white stripes long sleeve polo, thrifted, new with tags, $2.50
- Merona olive five pocket pants, Target clearance, $5
- Gap corduroy navy jacket (with elbow patches), Gap factory store, $12
- Bass saddle shoes, outlet, $30

Down below:

Clarks black leather chukkas

WIWT yesterday:

Lands End OCBD
Lands End Canvas shawl collar sweater
Denizen jeans
Syrian farmer scarf
Wilson Leather jacket (black)

WIWT: Temps in the low 30s today, so I bust out my camel coat (Actually, 80% wool, 20% nylon). I might have overreacted.

Shirt: Nordstrom (thrifted)
Sweater: Banana Republic
Cords: Gap (outlet)
Coat: Stafford (thrifted)

WIWT:

Shirt: Nordstrom (thrifted)

Sweatshirt: Gap (outlet)

Jeans: Levi’s STF 501 ($33, online sale)

Sneakers: Tretorn Skymra (Amazon Myhabit)

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Here is what my STF Levi 501’s (34Wx33L) look like after 2 weeks of continuous wear. They are not as trim as I originally wanted (Tip: for STF 501’s, get the size you normally wear in sanforized jeans. For me that should have been 33 or even 32). The waist is slightly loose, but nothing that can’t be fixed with a belt. The thighs molded to mine near-perfectly. The knees however are pretty billowy, even the though the leg opening isn’t too big. I’ll probably end up getting another pair of STF 501’s but in a size 32, maybe an inch shorter (so 32Wx32L) to be a dressier, trimmer pair of jeans. 

All in all, not too disappointed with these as a pair of slouchy, relaxed jeans. What do you guys think?

Election day swag

Just in: Lands End Quilted Sportsman Jacket in Orange Brick. Originally bought this for my brother who’s visiting here and is being unpleasantly surprised by the cold temps in the mornings and evenings. The size small is too small for him (the fucker is 5’11”; i’m jealous), so instead of returning it, I kept it for myself. I could probably use a slightly larger size, but I like the way this one fits. Corduroy collar and pocket linings! Best of all is the price: $25, free shipping!

Tattersall Flannel shirt: LL Bean, thrifted

Navy Chinos: Perry Ellis, Gordman’s

Saddles: Bass

Jacket: Lands End

WIWT (Sorry for the crappy pics with the blown out highlights! Didn’t have much time to snap these pics before I left. Reminder to self: use flash in backlit situations!)

Shirt: blue microcheck, Lands End, thrifted

Cords: Gap straight fit, outlet

Shawl collar chunky cardigan: Lands End Canvas

Saddle shoes: Bass, outlet

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@eclecticstyles: I think this is the same cardigan as yours, only in navy instead of burgundy.