Suit
Jacket and trousers made of the same fabric, usually smooth worsted wool, cut together and worn together. Navy and medium gray are the two colors that cover almost every business occasion. To go with it: a white or light blue poplin shirt, a tie and smooth leather shoes. Worn separately, the jacket goes with jeans or flannel, the trousers with knitwear, which spares the suit.
In the catalog
From the Guide
- Brown suede loafers, black smooth leather loafers and lace-ups are safe with gray trousers.
- With flannel trousers in winter, suede penny and tassel loafers go well; Belgian loafers and driving moccasins are too summery for that.
- White sneakers and boots work, but make the wool trousers more casual: good on the weekend, less so at the office.
Related terms
- Poplin shirtShirt made of poplin: smooth, dense and fine, with a collar that carries a tie, such as the wide-spread cutaway collar.
- WorstedWool whose fibers are combed and aligned in parallel before spinning.
- TieWoven silk tie with a pointed end, plain or with a fine pattern: the tie for suit and poplin shirt.
- Sport coatSingle-breasted jacket with lapels that is worn without matching trousers.
- Double-breasted jacketJacket with overlapping fronts and two rows of buttons, usually with peak lapels.
- OvershirtA garment between shirt and jacket: cut like a shirt, but made of a sturdier fabric such as wool or twill and meant to be worn over a T-shirt or knitwear.