Quickpoll: Vest without jacket

[Edward]

I'm wearing tweed vests with flight jackets now that it's cool out. They give a little extra warmth when biking or walking, without the bulk of extra sleeves.

Indoors I just go with the vest over a dress(y) shirt or cotton turtleneck. The vest back doesn't trouble me much - mine all are of neutral greys. The pockets are handy for my fountain pens and little scraps of important paper. Overall effect: natty yet cazh'.

This works for me. I have a bunch of odd waistcoats that I might occasionally wear with a suit, but they most commonly get worn with trousers on days when I'm ditching a suit in favour of an alternative jacket, be that an A2 or similar style or a Harrington - typical on those wet or cooler days in Spring when it's too damp/cool for a suitcoat alone, but too warm to wear a suitcoat and overcoat of any description. I also find it exceptionally practical in the Winter when wearing my B3, given the complete lack of any pockets in that (save the map pocket, which is perfect for stowing gloves).

Oh if I had a pound for every time I've been mistaken for a barrister!

Better that than the client!

It's all personal taste, of course, but I don't get the hostility to the idea of wearing a waistcoat alone save in very limited circumstances, given that the whole point of the waistcoat was to allow the removal of the jacket in company without the dreadful faux pas of revealing the trouser braces. Of course, I frequently leave my office in shirtsleeves with braces on full view when all I'm doing is heading to the toilet or kettlewards. [huh]

 

[Nick D]

THUMBS UP. Come on guy lighten up.

Let me qualify, I have no issue or problem with other people doing it. But it's not something I'll do when out. [huh]

 

[Tomasso]

given that the whole point of the waistcoat was to allow the removal of the jacket in company without the dreadful faux pas of revealing the trouser braces.

You're falling behind on your reading.[bad]

 

[avedwards]

It's all personal taste, of course, but I don't get the hostility to the idea of wearing a waistcoat alone save in very limited circumstances, given that the whole point of the waistcoat was to allow the removal of the jacket in company without the dreadful faux pas of revealing the trouser braces. Of course, I frequently leave my office in shirtsleeves with braces on full view when all I'm doing is heading to the toilet or kettlewards. [huh]

The solution is wearing a belt as revealing it isn't a faux pas. Wearing it could be though I understand why some people prefer braces to belts. I think wearing braces in an office is acceptable, outside maybe not according to some.

 

[KeyGrip]

I do it friequently when it starts to get colder. I personally prefer a vest when I'm wearing a tie; it helps keep it in place and (I think) makes me a touch more dressed than others around.

 

[Phineas Lamour]

Yes. I think a vest with no jacket looks nice. Also my wife thinks vests are sexy.

 

[RobStC]

I often, in the cooler months at least, wear trousers and a waistcoat (as in two parts of a three piece suit), but with an overcoat rather than the suit jacket. I just like the look of it that way, and often find that I want the weather protection of the overcoat (in this wonderful Scottish climate!) but without the warmth of the jacket as well as the coat.

I like wearing a waistcoat and matching trousers when I'm working (I'm a teacher) as it looks smart but less formal than the full three piece. Plus I prefer having the lighter weight of just shirt sleeves over my arms when indoors.

So a definite thumbs up from me. But having said that, I wouldn't walk down the street in a waistcoat without a jacket or overcoat of some sort..... would feel 'not quite dressed'!

RobStC

 

[Cody Pendant]

Where's the Poll?

Where's the Poll? [huh]

Make this a real poll that we can vote on!

Thumbs up! (Vest alone is quite stylish I think!)

 

[Guttersnipe]

Definitely thumbs up - except in formal wear!

If it's part of a suit (shiny back OR you're wearing a three piece that day), thumbs down, but I don't own uncomfortable jackets (why would you?)

If it's not part of a suit, thumbs up.

Well, if you're engaging in any strenuous it's nice to loose the layer.

Not sure where you live, but in San Francisco I often find myself trudging up very big hills and running after buses and street cars (it's easier to take public transit than drive in this city).

Also, due to our temperate climate, air conditioning is not as ubiquitous as in other regions, so in the summer month loosing the jacket, but keeping the vest, can be a godsend.

One thing I and not comfortable doing is stripping down to my shirttails while in a suit - unless maybe changing a flat or engaging in fisticuffs . . . stripping down to the vest allows me to maintain some sense of stuck-up formality lol

 

[Lokar]

Well, if you're engaging in any strenuous it's nice to loose the layer.

Not sure where you live, but in San Francisco I often find myself trudging up very big hills and running after buses and street cars (it's easier to take public transit than drive in this city).

Also, due to our temperate climate, air conditioning is not as ubiquitous as in other regions, so in the summer month loosing the jacket, but keeping the vest, can be a godsend.

One thing I and not comfortable doing is stripping down to my shirttails while in a suit - unless maybe changing a flat or engaging in fisticuffs . . . stripping down to the vest allows me to maintain some sense of stuck-up formality lol

I'm in Sweden, so AC is unheard of here. It rarely gets above 75F in the middle of summer where I am, so it's really not needed.

I'd probably change my tune if I had to live in a very hot climate, and should point out that I don't think there's anything _wrong_ with not having a jacket, just for me, in my location, I think there's no reason to and that it doesn't look as good.

 

[Edward]

I'm in Sweden, so AC is unheard of here. It rarely gets above 75F in the middle of summer where I am, so it's really not needed.

I'd probably change my tune if I had to live in a very hot climate, and should point out that I don't think there's anything _wrong_ with not having a jacket, just for me, in my location, I think there's no reason to and that it doesn't look as good.

lol I hear you on climate.... as a Celt, I am simply genetically unsuited to the extremities of heat we get in the Summer down here in London. Before I moved into an air-conditioned office, I used to spend most of July and August whimpering on the floor. I also miss rain down here - don't listen to that rubbish the English come out with about their supposed "bad" weather - it's nowhere near "bad" enough for those of us who prefer it that way!

The solution is wearing a belt as revealing it isn't a faux pas. Wearing it could be though I understand why some people prefer braces to belts. I think wearing braces in an office is acceptable, outside maybe not according to some.

Wearing a belt most assuredly is not.... the faux pas, in my opinion, is the assumption among some in the vintage scene that braces were the only option throughout the mid twnetieth century. I don't have a strong aesthetic preference myself - or so I thought, anyhow, until recently I wore belted trousers in the office and realised just how often a shirt will ride out of those in warm conditions as compared to with braces. Braces definitely hold things together better in my experience.

You're falling behind on your reading.[bad]

Oh yes, I saw this.... funnily enough, I was well aware of the evolution of the modern waistcoat from that earleir garment; my choice of wording in the post above was, however, poor. I would still contend that covering the "underwear" of braces was the primary purposes of the waistcoat by the 20th Century. That said, in his post futher down that thread, I think Orgetorix makes a very good point, which is probably closer the mark than the idea of the modern waistcoat being a braces-covering by design:

And, actually, now that I think about it, I think the reverse is more likely--that braces came to be seen as "underwear" because they were always covered by one's waistcoat, and not the other way around.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Better that than the client!

It's all personal taste, of course, but I don't get the hostility to the idea of wearing a waistcoat alone save in very limited circumstances, given that the whole point of the waistcoat was to allow the removal of the jacket in company without the dreadful faux pas of revealing the trouser braces. Of course, I frequently leave my office in shirtsleeves with braces on full view when all I'm doing is heading to the toilet or kettlewards. [huh]

You're quite right!

Yes my wife was telling me about the intimacy of seeing a chap's braces (from Emily Post perhaps?) a convention that seems lost today. When I worked in The City it seemed a status symbol to wear braces without a jacket. One director had bright pink ones.

I too am a fan of a waistcoat and alternate jacket, how else could one wear a doeskin waistcoat? That makes me ponder about a doeskin suit hmm...

 

[Highlander]

If I am wearing a 3 piece suit, or just a jacket and a vest, I don't have any problem, going out with just the vest on.

If I am in the West, or even in jeans and boots, just a vest is fairly regular wear for me. (plus it's a place to put your pocket watch).

THUMBS UP!

 

[Ghostsoldier]

What's a vest?
(I live in Florida... )

My wife likes the look, so it's gotta be 'thumbs up' for my vote....
Rob

 

[Hal]

I have vests with self fabric backs which I wear casually. But, I wouldn't wear a bemberg/silk backed suit or odd vest sans jacket.

Agree wholeheartedly - the nature of the back makes all the difference.

...it's not something I'll do when out.

I wouldn't walk down the street in a waistcoat without a jacket or overcoat of some sort..... would feel 'not quite dressed'!

Agree with these as well. Taking off a suit jacket indoors is fine when it's warm (and so many interiors are over-heated in winter); deliberately going out in a bemberg/silk-backed suit waistcoat or odd waistcoat without coat or jacket is quite another thing. The operative words in the second and third quotes above are "when out" and "down the street".