Blue Suit

[rodes]

Thought that I could start a new topic in response to the thoughts forwarded above in the "Minimal Tie Wardrobe". Perhaps the blue suit is not difficult to combine with other items, however I find it more of a problem than the grey. The reason for this, at least to my eye, is that although the grey suit goes well with the standard white or blue shirt, the blue suit really only works well with the white. An easy solution for me was to order one shirt in cream and another in faint grey with a white collar. These two colors are not nearly as common as white and blue yet still quite stylish and combine well with the blue suit. Checked shirts are another good alternative.

[Concordia]

Pink, yellow, pale blue, stripes of all kinds...

I think the biggest problem is when you have one blue that isn't totally neutral-- say, slate or royal. Then you have to make sure that the other color contrasts greatly and/or is pretty bland. But a sky-blue shirt should work with most blue suits, unless you think it makes the suit look too light for that time of day.

[davidhuh]

Dear Rodes,

I don't see any problem with blue suits. In general, the blue suit is a little more "festive" perhaps. One has to bear in mind that blue is not as neutral as grey. A grey suit allows stronger colours and patterns with shirt or tie - that's about it.

Cheers, David

[uppercase]

I think blue is the most elegant, rich color you can choose for a suit.

Makes you look like a million dollars.

[Melcombe]

My dear late father was a great enthusiast of the Blue Suit - and as good as his word, he got married in his.

My mother on the other hand never took to the colour and expressed some disappointment when I turned up wearing one.

Dad's rationale, amongst other pluses, was that once you'd worn out the trousers, you still had a blazer. (Same applies to a tweed suit perhaps).

I do think that grey takes a pattern that much more readily. The best blue suit is surely plain, in a substantial cloth with a rich hue?

Consider this thought experiment : your house is on fire, you wake up in your pyjamas as the flames creep closer - you can escape but you can only rescue one suit from your wardrobe. Which is it to be? - and how long would it take you to decide?...

For me, it would have to be the mid blue mohair, 2BSB. I'd make a grab for the spare trousers too.

[Rob O]

Blue suit, then mid grey, if the conflagration permitted.

[hectorm]

At my funeral I'll be wearing a dark blue suit. Not a grey one, not charcoal, least black. A blue suit.

[T.K.]

Ultimately the reason I choose grey over blue is not that I find it easier to wear, but that I feel less comfortable in blue. Most blues I know I find too 'homogenous'. It's just a personal preference.

Other than that, a blue suit is probably just as versatile as a grey one, if you consider that blue looks much better in the evening and you can wear such a suit all through the day.

[Luca]

I think that a valid point about blue is that, while a range of greys "suits" (could not resist the pun), I find that many blues are a bit harder to combine well. But not navy blue. Such a versatile colour.

The navy pin- or chalk-stripe does nto get a huge aount of kudos here but it's a favourite of mine. One of my first cases of rediscovering simplicity is one when I was wearing a classic navy "City" pinstripe with a white shirt, a plain sky-blue tie and a charcoal covert coat with velvet collar and a colleague "you don't look like you work in a bank; you look like you own a bank".

[uppercase]

Blue skies. Grey skies.

I told you, a blue suit makes you look like a million.

Everyone knows it. But most are afraid to step out.

Can't figure that out…is it some sort of pecking order thing in the corporate world to wear grey if you aren't the boss…??

I really don't know …enlighten me.

[Melcombe]

…is it some sort of pecking order thing in the corporate world to wear grey if you aren't the boss…??
…enlighten me.

Blue for the boardroom maybe, but not in court?

Reminded me of this :

(Entitled "Colour Bar" - an article from the Law Society Gazette in 2010)

Early on in his legal career, the Master of the Rolls learned an important lesson about the rule of law from a judge at Bloomsbury County Court, we heard last week. Lord Neuberger, a former property barrister, was recalling the first time he cross-examined a chartered surveyor, in a case concerning the 1967 Leasehold Reform Act.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Leasehold Advisory Service, he confided that he was a bag of nerves and had spent three days preparing: ‘Eventually the moment came, and feeling more nervous than I have ever felt, I got to my feet. Dispelling the urge to rush out of the courtroom or throw up, I started my questioning,’ he said.

Two hours later, he sat down feeling very pleased with himself as it seemed to have gone rather well. So, at lunchtime, when the usher rushed up to him with a note from the judge, the young Neuberger was anticipating a complimentary comment for an aspiring young barrister. The note read: ‘Neuberger, members of the bar do not wear blue suits or suits without waistcoats in my court.’

Clearly Neuberger must have changed his attire pretty sharpish, as his legal career prospered notwithstanding.

[Concordia]

Edward VII apparently once chewed out a staffer for wearing a blue suit when he was on duty. A bit too fashionable.