https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 13 Jul 2026 05:33:37 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696749 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 19:43:11 +0000 T.H.O.U. 1696749@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You said he doesn't need a suit but does he need a jacket? Or just slacks shirt and tie? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696475 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:42:28 +0000 MsLipGloss 1696475@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: I don't know if you have a Men's Warehouse close to you, but they usually have good sales, and they can show your DH how to mix/match his selections . . . Take a few pictures of the pairings/ensembles and voila!, your DH won't have to *think* about what to wear every day! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696427 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:33:20 +0000 allison 1696427@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: I LOVE that first look! I'll see what he thinks about it. Thanks! :heart: :heart: :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696413 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:31:24 +0000 MsLipGloss 1696413@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: Work with what he's comfortable with (with a little translation), i.e., how about a suit/sport coat with a plaid shirt . . . It might help to make him feel more like himself (similar to flannel) until he feels at home in his new wardrobe (and as long as he keeps his beard trimmed, he should be able to keep it!)</p> <p>[attach=2207/14/n72xcd.236x295.Grey.Suit.Plaid.Shirt.jpg]</p> <p>[attach=2207/14/n72xce.600x400.Grey.Sport.Coat.jpg] </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696400 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:26:13 +0000 allison 1696400@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: yes, no pinstripes will be gotten!</p> <p>It might be helpful to tell you guys a little bit about my husband and his personality. Not that you haven't given me some great advice already! But, you know. So this guy has never owned a suit, that was actually bought for him, in his life. He's usually got a big, bushy beard and wears lots of flannel in the winter. A mountain man, if you will. His definition of misery is dressing up for things (we had a beach wedding, and he work khakis and a linen shirt). The only dress shoes he's owned came from Payless and were bought out of necessity when he was in a wedding. Most of his clothes come from the Goodwill.</p> <p>So I'm looking for stuff that will not put him toooo far out of his comfort zone, but will just neaten him up a bit, for those first impressions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696386 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:18:58 +0000 MsLipGloss 1696386@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: Navy, Grey, Brown, . . . they are all *neutrals,* so everything *goes* with them. Navy is the most traditional of all three . . . I very very rarely see a man in a black suit at work (professional dress environment), and although I regularly wear black pencil skirts, it is a rare occasion that I wear a black suit to work (mostly brown/khaki, grey, and navy!).</p> <p>I would avoid pin stripes, btw . . . they are considered *flashy* in a few professional arenas. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696350 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:07:33 +0000 birdofafeather 1696350@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: DH wears black. He does have a cognac color but they are more modern which don't fit the navy suit he has. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696230 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:16:13 +0000 SleepyMonkey 1696230@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: I would have never known this if my husband hadn't told me about it! </p> <p>I think one white, one light blue and maybe a blue patterned shirt will be the most useful and match with the most stuff. If you are sticking with Navy and charcoal suits and pants, brown shoes are probably the best bet. </p> <p>Brooks brothers outlets surprisingly have a lot of selection and wide variety of sizes. The salespeople are also quite knowledgeable too. If you have one near you, it doesn't hurt to go. even if you don't buy anything, they can measure your husband properly and recommend some things that might look good on him and tie/shirt combos. Then you can go online and search for better deals! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696206 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:04:24 +0000 allison 1696206@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SleepyMonkey: that's what I read in Esquire, too, about black suits! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696190 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:52:16 +0000 SleepyMonkey 1696190@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am going to respectfully disagree with some pp's. My husband wears suits every day and I work in finance with men in suits every day and I've been told by multiple men that black suits are no good. They only wear them for funerals. Navy or charcoal is the way to go. I can confirm that i rarely see black suits on men unless it is a really young guy out of college. </p> <p>For a navy suit, dark brown shoes go well! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696182 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:43:46 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1696182@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: black will, but it's boring. I love when navy is paired with a dark caramel or cognac color shoe. It's a rich looking brown coor. My husband gets his shoes from DSW. They always have a few cognac styles. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696177 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:40:51 +0000 allison 1696177@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: yeah, he definitely doesn't need a suit for work! Just want to keep an eye out for a good deal since he doesn't own one. </p> <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: @birdofafeather: what color shoes go with a navy suit? Black? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696175 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:38:36 +0000 Anagram 1696175@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: My husband works in finance in NYC and none of them wear full suits anymore, just dress pants and a button up. No one wears a tie except the security guards (says my husband, who is next to me right now), haha. Some guys wear a suit jacket, but no tie.</p> <p>Maybe your husband should feel out the environment before buying a full suit, if nice dress pants and a button up would work. My husband really likes Ralph Lauren slim cut wool trousers and the Alfani slim cut trousers at Macy's.</p> <p>On the other hand, every man needs a nice suit, so if you find a good deal you should get it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696165 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:30:02 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1696165@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Navy suit.<br /> Gray pants<br /> Brown or olive pants</p> <p>Dark caramel shoes and belt (if he's risky) or black shoes and belt.</p> <p>white or cream shirt for any color pants<br /> light gray shirt for gray pants<br /> Pastel shirt for brown pants or navy pants<br /> light olive or tan shirt for olive pants</p> <p>Have fun with ties to bring color and patterns.</p> <p>The shirts can have a subtle pattern. From a far they look solid.<br /> pants should be flat front</p> <p>coordinate sock color to the pants</p> <p>Burlington is a good place for low cost professional wear. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696160 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:27:45 +0000 birdofafeather 1696160@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>for DH's interview suit, he got something cheap that fit "okay" and then got it tailored and it looks like a whole new suit. it had to be a bit more traditional because of his desired profession, so we went with navy, but charcoal is a good option too! i second finding someone at the store that looks good themselves and having them help! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696076 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:46:07 +0000 allison 1696076@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: @septca: I would LOVE to just send him to a nice store and have the salesmen fix him up! So easy! But we can't afford that. And he doesn't need this stuff for day-to-day. Just the random, once-in-a-blue-moon business trip. Gotta go cheap, unfortunately. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696054 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:38:46 +0000 septca 1696054@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: raises another good point... many suit outfitters have gone almost exclusively to a skinny cut. That is not going to work for most men. My husband is built much more traditionally and has to shop at higher-end, more conservative store (Brooks Bros, Nordstrom) to find suits that fit his build. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696029 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:25:20 +0000 yoursilverlining 1696029@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: My husband is a clothes horse too who wears a full suit 5 days a week! haha </p> <p>If your husband is going to need to dress up a lot (wear suit or dress pants on a regular basis), it will be worth it to invest in good quality pieces. More $$$ upfront, but will last longer and look better for longer as well. For those, my husband prefers Brooks Brothers and Nordstrom, especially since both do tailoring. These shops are also good because they have a variety of sizing, sell by neck size and will measure/size your husband, so he’s not just trying to buy M, L, XL, etc. </p> <p>For colors, I’d go with black since it goes with almost everything. I don’t think you can go wrong with a crisp white button-down and black pants/shoes/jacket. My other favorite colors for men are French blue, and some pinstripe patterns. </p> <p>For ties, it seems like super skinny ties are all the rage now, but (IMO) only some men can pull them off. I’d play it safe and go with a regular width tie unless you absolutely feel your hubs can rock the skinny. The same is also true of a lot of men's shirts; "skinny-fit" is making a comeback and just doesn't work for some dudes. My husband is all shoulders and a skinny-fit just won't work.</p> <p>For more casual professional, I do like personally like khakis with a navy blazer and button-down. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696028 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:25:07 +0000 septca 1696028@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: *Everything* goes with charcoal in ties. Just be sure to stick with white or light blue shirts. Anything else with charcoal looks dated, in my opinion. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696024 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:22:55 +0000 allison 1696024@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What shirt/tie combos go with a charcoal suit? I'm leaning in that direction, because I think he'd look hottest in charcoal. :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696020 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:21:25 +0000 allison 1696020@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlebug: me either! I'm so clueless about menswear. Thanks for the input!</p> <p>@septca: Yeah, I was just thinking, if we can find an awesome deal on a suit, we should get one, seeing as he doesn't have one. Thanks for the list! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696018 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:21:13 +0000 looch 1696018@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A brown suit is tough to pull off, I haven't seen any in recent memory, but khaki or tan? Looks super with a light blue shirt and brown shoes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696011 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:18:41 +0000 littlebug 1696011@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I mean, *I* wear black shoes with khaki pants. And so does Hubs. But I'm no fashionista. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696010 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:18:38 +0000 septca 1696010@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: That makes sense. My husband wears a full suit 5 days a week and is a total clothes horse, so I can get a little carried away. If it's not an environment people wear suits all the time, I would go for:</p> <p>1 pair grey pants.<br /> 1 pair khaki pants.<br /> 1 navy sport coat.<br /> 2-3 button down shirts in either white, light blue, or french blue.<br /> 2 ties - one red/burgandy, one yellow/navy and yellow.<br /> dress loafers rather than cap toe dress shoes with a matching belt.</p> <p>Do you have a Brooks Brothers outlet near you? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696009 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:18:06 +0000 LuLu Mom 1696009@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Okay I work with men who wear suits. My opinions from staring at them daily. Always have a nice well fitted/tailored black suit. Doesn't have to be expensive just needs to fit well. I agree with charcoal/gray suit. Steer clear of tan/brown, they always look weird with black or brown shoes. </p> <p>I nice white shirt is always a must, and make sure the tie isn't too flashy/busy, stick with red/blue, it reads as confident. Then throw in some blue, green, ect. </p> <p>Get a couple extra pairs of dress pants that will work with a navy suit coat (kacki, ect.) </p> <p>Stay away from pinstripes, they are more noticeable if wearing them frequently.</p> <p>Edit: if his boss is wearing jeans, then I suggest kakis and button ups/polos. Still professional but sounds like a casual business. I still suggest he travel with slacks in case they go to a nice restaurant. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696008 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:17:46 +0000 allison 1696008@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: No-iron would be awesome! We don't take things to the cleaners...ever. And don't own an iron! But we don't have Costco here. Womp womp. I'll look for no-iron at Dillard's, though.</p> <p>I am worried about fit. He's got some weird proportions, I think. Tall, but length is in his torso. Larger-than-average neck. Long arms. I don't think the outlet store is going to be very helpful with fitting... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1696001 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:15:07 +0000 allison 1696001@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlebug: do black shoes go with khakis?</p> <p>@septca: uhhhh. This is overwhelming! I'm not sure he needs this much, though. He works from home most of the time. He's flying out to Denver to meet some clients that he's never met before, so he needs to dress up a little more, but his boss (who was previously handling the account) said he just wears jeans and button-ups to the meetings now.</p> <p>Basically he just needs a few pieces that he can throw together and look more polished than he would in jeans and Sanuks, but not super-fancy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1695999 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:14:49 +0000 looch 1695999@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Costco sells no iron shirts for $17 a pop. I buy my husband his blue and white solid shirts there.</p> <p>If your husband is hard to fit, try suiting separates instead of a suit sold together. Ideally, you want something in a blend with a touch of stretch so they move with him and don't wrinkle as badly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1695990 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:09:59 +0000 septca 1695990@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Okay. Deep breath. Men's clothing is actually really simple if you can find someone to help you who knows what they are doing. (Look for a saleMAN that looks good - his clothes fit well, match, etc.) FIT and tailoring is extremely important in men's clothing - it can make a cheap suit look great.</p> <p>Here's what you need:</p> <p>Navy suit. Bonus if you can buy an extra set of pants because pants wear more quickly than jackets.</p> <p>2 pairs charcoal trousers.</p> <p>Navy sport jacket to wear with the grey pants for a less formal, but still professional, look.</p> <p>4-5 button-down shirts. Avoid button-down collars if you can because they are not as professional. 2-3 white and 2-3 light or French blue. If they have them, DH LOVES non-iron shirts because you don't have to have them dry-cleaned.</p> <p>3-4 ties. Stick with simple, conservative patterns. Reds, blues, greens are always safe. A nice burgandy or yellow is also good. I personally prefer thin stripes and small patterns to big stripes or pictures on ties. Look for quality here - if there are threads loose or pills, move on. Ties made from printed silk generally hold up better than weaves. </p> <p>Navy socks.</p> <p>Brown/cordovan belt and dress shoes. Make sure the shoes are high quality and not too trendy-looking. Buy polish so he can keep his shoes looking new on his own. (Shoes really matter, according to my husband.)</p> <p>Black loafers to wear with the charcoal pants/sport coat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/husband-styling-help-businessdress-wear#post-1695989 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:09:53 +0000 littlebug 1695989@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd go charcoal. It's super versatile. You can wear pretty much anything with charcoal - black, white, blue, green, grey, pink, red, yellow... That way you can get a pair of black pants, a pair of khaki pants, some colorful shirts, and black shoes. </p>