Sport Coat, Sweater, No Tie

Sport Coat, Sweater, and No Tie

I saw the picture below on the Heavy Tweed Jacket blog and it inspired me to give the sport coat, sweater, and no tie look a try. In general I am not a fan of wearing a jacket of any sort without a tie, but this picture convinced me otherwise. There is a timeless quality and an informal sophistication about it that made me think this look was worth exploring.
Inspiration Pic #2One of the problems with wearing a sport over a sweater is that it requires a roomier sport coat to properly fit. Luckily for me, I had acquired a grey herringbone Brooks Brothers jacket that was a touch to big. Not quite big enough to get rid of, but big enough that it spent more time in the back of my closet than being worn.

I tried the combination on two separate occasions. On my first attempt I paired the jacket with a grey cable knit sweater from Brooks Brothers and a blue OCBD. Even though the colors were similar in shade I thought that the herringbone and cable patterns would provide enough contrast to make it work. In my opinion, it was a success.
Grey Sweater and Grey Sport CoatCable Sweater and Herringbone JacketOn my second attempt I tried to add a little color. This time I paired the jacket with a burgundy Rugby sweater (I should have bought more of these when they went belly up.) and a blue university striped OCBD. I personally like this combination the best, but that’s not surprising considering that I love university stripes and burgundy sweaters.
Sweater and Sport CoatRugby Sweater and Sport Coat

I found the sport coat, sweater, and no tie combination to be a winner. I think that it can be an especially useful look if you work in an environment where ties are unwelcome, or if you are attending an event that is casual (especially if it is outdoors), but you want to make use of a sport coat. In these situations, the sport coat can truly serve as a piece of outerwear replacing the need for a coat. You can also remove the sport coat when indoors as you would a coat to reinforce its casual nature. This is a look at that I can see myself putting to good use as winter fades, but the warmth of spring still lies ahead.

 

oxford cloth button down
Jerrod Swanton is a simple man interested in simple, classic, and traditional style.

4 Comments on "Sport Coat, Sweater, No Tie"

  1. Fading Fast says:

    Spot on, the look in general is a good one and it looks great on you. I, too, use my heavier winter sport coats as “outside” jackets to increase their wear options and, as you pointed out, it has a more casual look in our very casual age.

  2. Manuel says:

    I like the sports-coat-no-tie-look a lot, too. You pull it off very well. I like the more colourful option better, but its perfectly cool either way. Well done.
    Here is some inspiration from my own wardrobe:
    http://the-perfect-casual.tumblr.com/post/76454077242/polo-and-tweed
    http://the-perfect-casual.tumblr.com/post/74754273963/relaxing-in-tweed

  3. Erik says:

    Looks good! My rule of thumb is to always have at least one colored item. That means (to me, at least) since your pants, jacket and shirt are probably neutral, you can use a tie or sweater to add a shot of color. I try to have color in my socks and watch band as well (depending on the dressiness of the setting). I suppose I see most of my items as canvas and my accessories as the shot of color.

    I just learned something about myself.

  4. Jerrod,

    Looking like a young Steve Mcqueen..well done.

    If any of your readers would like more detailed information about pairing a colored sweaters with jacket then there is lots of detail in the Encyclopedia of Men’s Clothing available at askandyaboutclothes.

I would like to hear from you