Losing the jacket.

[Tommy H]

Does anybody else like to lose the suit jacket and just go with waistcoat/vest and trousers?

 

[Shangas]

I don't own a three-piece suit (at least, not a complete one), but yes, I frequently wear a waistcoat and trousers just as they are. The one three-piece I do own (ironically, missing the trousers), I do occasionally (when the weather calls for it) wear with both jacket & waistcoat.

I love waistcoats. I have nearly a dozen of them.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Not me, but some people can really pull off the look.

 

[Shangas]

I like the waistcoat & trousers look (I like it even more with a necktie) because I think it's a very casual and relaxed look, as it would've been back in the 1920s. It gives a sort of middle-ground between smart casual and street casual.

 

[dnjan]

That is my standard workwear (waistcoat and trousers) as soon as it cools off enough in the autumn to be able to keep the waistcoat on all day.
That is also when I switch from belt to braces.

Necktie - not so often. But I will put one on for special events or if I expect a free meal ...

 

[Nick D]

When I'm working in the department study room (I'm a post-grad), I will sometimes take off my jacket if I'm wearing a waistcoat. If I have to go further away than the coffee pot I'll put the jacket back on.

 

[Oldsarge]

It's a great indoor look, both at home and at work.

 

[Edward]

It's a look I've seen photos of Howard Hughes doing - typically, he replaced the suit jacket with a leather. It's a look I graduated towards a long time ago, and still like. Long before I'd seen any actual vintage precedent for it, actually. for me it was simply a matter of having somewhere to put my pens / work ID / field telephone etc when in the office. I first started doing it in Winter when I got my B3 and needed pockets for that sort of thing, there being no suitable pockets in the jacket itself. I also do it with other leather jackets at times too. not with a three-piece, I tend to do it with odd waistcoats and trousers. Not the clearest shot as it has been 'aged', but this is one of me with my Bootlegger over waistcoat and trousers:

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

I like the no jacket look, but it looks especially good when the waistcoat has a cloth back to match the front. I understand the reasoing for the silk/whatever back portion, I just think the cloth back looks so much better. They're very hard to find though. I've found them custom through Bookster, but that's it aside from the occasional eBay find.

 

[Shangas]

All-cloth, silk-interior waistcoats aren't that hard to find. I have lots of them. Of course, the silk-backed waistcoats that are parts of suits still look nice, but I agree that they look a bit wierd without their friends.

 

[Tommy H]

It's silk back every time for me.

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Any suggestions on where I should be looking for cloth back waistcoats, Shangas?

 

[Rathdown]

Does anybody else like to lose the suit jacket and just go with waistcoat/vest and trousers?

Only if called upon to change a tyre by the side of the road.

 

[Tomasso]

The self back (all cloth) waistcoat is the way to go with this look. It signals that one has made a stylistic choice rather than a faux pas.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I don't loose the jacket altogether, but in a de facto sort of way I end up going jacetless a lot. Usually I end up going around the office without my jacket (seems silly/wateful of time to put on my coat just to walk to the copier or printer).

I like sweater vests and like 3 piece suits at work for just this reason.

 

[Shangas]

I was never a fan of sweater-vests or pullovers or whatever the hell they're called. They muck up my hair too much when I put them on and take them off. One of the reasons why I love waistcoats instead.

 

[Tomasso]

They muck up my hair too much when I put them on and take them off.

That's what they make combs for.

 

[Shangas]

I haven't used a comb in years. I use the vintage hairbrush-set my dad found at the flea-market.

 

[Tomasso]

I haven't used a comb in years. I use the vintage hairbrush-set my dad found at the flea-market.

I was actually going to write comb/brush in an attempt to stymie the pedantry..................

 

[resortes805]

I rarely wear my three piece; my suits are almost exclusively two-piece.