GuidesDressing up and down
One Outfit, Three Occasions
A base outfit on: shirt, chinos, white sneakers. He gets out of the car and sees that everyone is in a suit. No reason to turn back. Swap the sneakers for loafers, put a sport coat over it – it works.
Three levels, one change each
A good base outfit is not a fixed state but a starting point. Swap one piece or add a layer, and it sits a level dressier. Take a layer away, and it becomes more casual again. Below, the same outfit in three levels, calculated from our catalog and rated safe in every pair.
View in StudioLevel 1 · Base
Casual
Saturday: farmers market, coffee, a walk. Comfortable, but not careless.
Light blue Oxford button-down, Beige chinos, White sneaker
View in StudioLevel 2 · Leather sneaker → dark brown Penny loafer
Smart casual
Dinner at a restaurant, a date, Friday at the office. One shoe makes the difference.
Light blue Oxford button-down, Beige chinos, Dark brown suede penny loafer
View in StudioLevel 3 · Navy Sport coat on top
Dressy
Everyone else is in a suit: business dinner, gallery opening, guest at a celebration. The sport coat lifts the whole thing.
Light blue Oxford button-down, Beige chinos, Dark brown suede penny loafer, Navy Havana sport coat
How to adjust it yourself
- Shoes first
- The fastest lever. Sneakers, loafers, derbys – each step lifts the outfit a level without anything else having to change.
- Layers up, layers down
- A sport coat over it makes it dressier, a tie once more. Taking them off makes you more casual at once. A quilted vest works the other way.
- Only as much as needed
- One change is usually enough, two are the exception. What stays has to go with the new piece – which is why Stil checks every pair.