What Alex Wears... when he meets the parents

Oh boy.  This was the big one.  I went to Ashley's parents house for dinner the other night (she was there too).  I don't know why I was worried, they both love the blog! (note to advertisers: I have cross generational appeal!)  In fact her dad was wearing a vest, tie and jeans! Thankfully he had on a snappy tweed number with a woven wool tie.  I had on my grey vest and a burgundy (that's like a dark purple-ish red, if you don't follow color too closely) knit wool tie.  How embarrassing would it have been if we had been wearing the same thing?!


Probably not very, my ego is vast and can accommodate people thinking I look good enough to copy.  I'm still waiting to see who dresses up like me for Halloween.  Of course I have a full break down of the outfit after the jump.  (Plus some musings on style, which I'm sure everyone was chomping at the bit to hear... or read... which I guess on the internet is pretty similar).

Here's the whole thing.  I know I've been wearing these jeans and that vest a lot in these few posts, but I promise it's all coincidence!  I have a huge wardrobe that gets a lot of use (what kind of fashion blogger would I be without one?) But sometimes you have to wear that one thing that looks better than all the others.  Something tried and tested.  This is a slight spin on one of my favorite outfits.  I have my go-to brogues and dark Levi's (Ashley's mom asked if I was wearing them.  Of course I was!)  Then a dark blue gingham shirt, the aforementioned burgundy knit tie (with Ashley's handmade tie tack, natch) the gray vest and, just as a kicker, a scarf colored... wait for it... navy blue, gray and burgundy.  No I wasn't planning that, but sometimes you just have something that goes perfectly with your outfit.  I think in baseball parlance they'd call that a "touchdown."

Then there's that jacket.  This was one of those tough ones.  I couldn't decide what to wear on top.  I thought, should I go all dressy?

I mean, no denying this blazer is razor sharp.  It's this ventless Yves St. Laurent number I got for like $20 a million years ago.  If I had bothered to pull out the sleeves of my shirt you'd see that it fits like it was made for me.  Sleeves, waist, bottom all perfect.  I actually like ventless jackets.  No, they're not practical, you can't really sit down or access your pockets, but get used to buttoning and unbuttoning all the time and you will look like a million bucks when you're standing still (actually it's more like 1.3 million, but we're not splitting hairs here).  

In the end though it was too much, I'm going to dinner, not a supper club.  I don't need to get all dolled up or anything.  So I thought, my suede jacket!

I like how it interacts with all the other parts of the outfit.  A little dressy, a little casual, jeans and suede.  Brown shoes, brown jacket.  All nice things.  But it was drizzling.  DAMN YOU SUEDE! Why must you be so impractical against the elements!?  That's what I get for living in New England.

So furry lined corduroy jacket it was!  I think it was the best decision. I mean, I am 30% punk rock by volume.  Someone much more eloquent than me (and more read than me) once said style fills the gap between the way the world sees you and the way you see yourself.   Now, I see myself as a stylish guy and whatnot, but I'm certainly not stuffy.  And I don't want to go around trying to outdress everyone near me (best dressed man in PPM 610, notwithstanding).  So there it is.  Toss on a rock-esque jacket over whatever, let people know you came to party, but you'll help clean up after you're done.