Paul McGregorSo the grey suit has been a huge feature within men’s fashion for decades, being worn at formal outings such as weddings, business meetings and for some people expensive nights on the town. The wearing of a grey suit automatically adds that elegant approach to your style, and its been said that a grey suit is a fashion essential for any mans wardrobe. With it being a wardrobe staple for men, it really got me thinking about ways to “mess around” with the traditional wearing of a grey suit. Today we’re going to be looking at taking the basic elements of a traditional grey suit, and adding items, which will create another dimension to the look.
Reinventing With Colour
Grey is a neutral colour, allowing you to really let loose with clothing around it. Reinventing with colour is going to really achieve a unique look, perfect for all seasons. However, the elements of the grey suit are going to neutralise any colour you opt for, so the opportunities really are endless. Dependent on the occasion or the season, different tones of colours can be used. For example: On a summers day you may opt for a red shirt, where as in the winter you may want to tone it down to a burgundy. Don’t look to implement too much colour to take the attention away from the traditional grey suit elements; you still want this to be a focal point of the look. Here are two looks I’ve put together.
Reinventing For Summer
As you may well know, I’ve had a huge crush on the smart/casual look for summer. Pairing a linen blazer with a buttoned down shirt, tailored chino shorts and loafers have been the highlight of my previous summer seasons. On a few occasions when the suns covered by clouds, I’ve taken a grey tailored blazer or a pair of grey tailored trousers and built my look around them. Again the ability to really let loose with both these elements of such a traditional aspect of men’s fashion is simply due to the versatility of both elements, grey screams neutral, so the opportunities really are endless. We’ve covered some popular trends or specific pieces of clothing for summer, so take heed on this advice and use the articles to decide what you’re going to implement into your chosen element of the traditional grey suit. I tend to wear a pair of grey suit trousers with a coloured shirt or striped t-shirt if it’s a nice summer evening, and opt to wear a grey blazer with a pair of coloured tailored chino shorts if I’m going for that summer smart/casual look.
Reinventing Casually
When you don a grey tailored suit your outfit screams formal and elegant, so reinventing it to look more casual than formal offers originality. You want to focus on the casual aspects first, as you know a pair of grey suit trousers or a grey suit blazer is going to add a formal feel automatically. So it really depends how casual you want to go, replacing smart brogues with plimsolls, replacing a shirt with a t-shirt, replacing a blazer with a cardigan, again the opportunities are endless. Here’s something to take inspiration from:
Get The Look
So invest in a decent grey suit, and look to implement it into your current wardrobe. What pieces you can reinvent the traditional suit with? What colours work well?
Some of the traditionalists may not like the idea of reinventing the grey suit, but it really does offer a whole bunch of new opportunities to enhance your style. Sometimes when its time to wear a grey suit, the works almost done for you, you just need to choose what shirt to wear, what footwear and the accessories you’re going to wear. With reinvention of the grey suit, you can really strip the basic rules of wearing a suit and add originality to your style.