Reader Question: Off Duty
Wearing in what you wear out
This week, a reader question that gets at a much bigger topic—one I am slowly, slowly, working on a bigger essay about.
Dear Bruce,
I am really enjoying wearing chinos with OCBDs or polos to work, but when I wear that combo for something like a weeknight dinner out with my wife she says she wants less “Business Steve.”
She likes my chore coat and tee shirt outfits, and I like that vibe too. How can I style more things like this when I’m off duty?
—Steve
Steve, thank you for your question. I love this because it gets at something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Dressing well does not have to mean dressing up. A corollary to this: a collar doesn’t make a shirt a business shirt, and collars don’t have to be uncomfortable (more on this soon).
Before we get into my suggestions, there are a few questions worth asking yourself.
What does “Business Steve” really mean to her? To you?
What do you want to be wearing in those situations?
If your tees and chore coat are feeling good, what is it that you’re looking to add?
With those out of the way, let’s get into some things that you can do.
First, I think the better option might be committing to the chore coat you’ve got and really wearing the hell out of it. I was listening to the excellent Central Division podcast (I’m sorry it’s behind a paywall but if you subscribe to it you get both ACL and David Coggins’ newsletters as part of it) and Michael Williams of A Continuous Lean said something that’s been rattling around my brain ever since.
The key to breaking things in is not having too many things.
The best clothes in my closet are the ones that I (or someone before me) has worn a ton. So break in what you’ve got and really make it your coat.
My suggestion would be to mix up the colors of your tee shirts, or add some variety in your accessories. Everything about an outfit is contextual, so if you want to make the outfit more casual, swap your boots for something like a sneaker. You could go with something basic like a cream Chuck 70 or you could wear a little heat. Beyond footwear, wool/silk scarves are great for the cooler weather, and a dad hat, wool baseball cap, or beanie can add some visual interest to that uniform.
Your other chore-coat-related-option is to add a second coat to the rotation. As the owner of far too many chore coats, I’m happy to help you spend your money. For this, I would suggest something that is a stark contrast to what you’ve got in fabric, color, or both, but make sure that it still plays nice with the other colors in your wardrobe.
If you have a rust chore coat, maybe something in the classic French blue twill. You could find something with a more pronounced texture to it, think wool herringbone in grey or corn corduroy. Or get really wild with something embroidered like this from Todd Snyder.
Chore coats aren’t the only top layer you can wear off-duty, but I will save that for the next dispatch.
Until then, keep sending your clothing conundrums my way.
—Bruce