WIWT: 11-30-2011

It’s the final day of the November of Dressing Nicely (aka, #NoDN) and it’s rather fitting that I actually needed to wear a suit today for work. You don’t really want to show up at a meeting with executives of a potential business partner wearing jeans. It’s also not the time to go over the top with your color, pattern and texture coordination acting as if you have something to prove.

I kept it simple and stuck to the rules: a dark, conservative, solid suit; a solid blue spread-collar shirt; a traditional necktie pattern with only two colors; a coordinating, a pocket square that’s been TV-folded; and black captoe oxfords.

Nothing’s too flashy or out of place, but it’s still a well-coordinated look that gets the job done. I’m a firm believer that if you don’t have to wear a suit everyday, then you can probably get away with owning a simple setup like this and be all right for 95% of what you’d need to wear a suit for in your life.

Get a well-fitting suit, a fitted shirt, a solid pair of leather-soled shoes and a nice necktie — and never worry again about needing something nice to wear on short notice.