When we were growing up in New York City in the 80’s, a guy wearing a vest meant one of two things: he was either a Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street” type or a card-carrying member of the Hell’s Angels.We were neither, so we gave vests a wide berth. In the last few years though, we’ve been re-thinking the vest, and are now working them into our wardrobe. In fact, we’re wearing them a lot these days. Here’s how to work a vest or two into your everyday wardrobe:
First Date: Try a slim-fitting pinstripe vest with plain-front dress pants, a white shirt with a retro/hipster skinny tie. Or try a sweater vest for an appealing geek-chic variation.
Informal afternoon barbecue: Try a vest with dark blue or black jeans plus a well-fitting, long or short-sleeve v-neck t-shirt.
Casual dinner with friends: Pair a tweed or corduroy vest with jeans and a collared shirt. To loosen the look up a bit, unbutton the cuffs and push or fold up the sleeves a few inches.
At a formal office: If you’re wearing a 2-piece suit, you can dress it up further by adding a vest to the proceedings. A word of caution though – with a 2 piece suit, we recommend that the vest be made of the same fabric as the suit for a polished, professional look.
On a desert island: If you’ve recently washed up on shore or are currently appearing on “Survivor, Saomoa”, then it’s OK to wear a vest without a shirt.
To a Halloween party: The only occasion a fun vest could work is a Halloween party and even that’s might be a stretch. Hit a thrift store for some granny glasses, a paisley puffy shirt, bell-bottom cords and a fur vest, and you’re good to go as Brian Jones or Sonny Bono, circa 1966.
