# How do you wear your 3-piece suits?



## Matt S (Jun 15, 2006)

For what occasions do you wear a 3-piece suit? I think of 3-piece suits as something for business, though I have never had a job and probably never will have a job where they would be appropriate. These days they would be too flashy for a funeral. If I get married I could see them being a good choice if I don't go for formal wear. Would you wear them for an evening out or to a special event, or would they seem too uptight for when one is supposed to have fun? I love 3-piece suits and I'd like to get one but I just can't figure out how I can wear one without looking out of place. I do have an odd buff waistcoat that I wore last year to my university graduation under my gown, though it's hard to find places to wear it.


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## Kurt N (Feb 11, 2009)

I think with questions like this, often there's not enough attention paid to functionality. Logically, 3-piece suits are a form of layering and as such are a natural choice in cooler weather or an evening event (or maybe when it's warm and you plan to shed the jacket but don't want to be in shirtsleeves?).

But I knew I was going to feel ill at ease wearing a three-piece suit, I wouldn't try to argue myself into getting one.

I hadn't thought of them as flashy. If that's how they're currently perceived, I hope that's just a passing thing.


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## Peak and Pine (Sep 12, 2007)

Don't forget too that a three-piece also has functionality as a two-piece, and not always in the way assumed. For example, you could wear just the coat and vest and by turning the vest upside down you could wear it instead of the pants, giving sort of a Peter Pan aura to the perhaps brief times you choose to do this.


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## Mad Hatter (Jul 13, 2008)

I have one, but it's a donegal. Given that weight and weave, it's definitely a seasonal suit. Good for holidays, school/community events like fall festivals, winter funerals, outdoor concerts. I think as a 3-piece it gives a little more refined appearance, without the image of stuffiness or dressing above the occasion.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

They're appropriate anywhere/anytime a 2-piece suit would be, unless you are trying to be as absolutely unobtrusive as possible. I work in a suit and tie environment, so I can (and do) wear them multiple times a week. Like any item that has some dandification points associated with it, it may take a couple of wears to get used to it. But they are so practical (layering=control of temperature, necktie never gets in the way, extra pockets, etc.) and so flattering that you'll get used to it. My wear of them has prompted at least a couple of my colleagues to adopt vests, especially during cooler weather.


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## Grayson (Feb 29, 2008)

The short answer is I wear my three-piece suits as such whenever I can get away with it.

I only occasionally wear a suit at work, mostly at industry trade shows/conferences. A waistcoast then may warrant direct attention to my clothes in comparison to my peers and management, so then I wear a 2-piece suit or the 3-piece suit as a 2-piece.

Non-black-tie evening events and awards dinners allow more latitude even for work, so I tend to wear the waistcoat then when the weather allows it. Dress-up evenings out with my wife (swanky restaurants and/or theater)... same rules apply. I love the look, the extra pockets, and an added plus - Still looking suited up when offering your lady your coat for her chilly under-dressed shoulders. :cool2:

I do tend to buy 3-piece suits when possible, as it's always good to have the option to wear the waistcoat. YMMV.


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## upr_crust (Aug 23, 2006)

In line with what Cuffdaddy and Grayson have said, I wear mine whenever possible, in situations where a little extra insulation or a little extra visual swagger would be considered apropos. I also adopted Grayson's philosophy of obtaining them whenever possible, which is now why I have eight of them in current rotation (I think that I can stop now . . .  ).


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## LeggeJP1 (Dec 3, 2010)

I'll chime in with the other gentlemen in this thread, although my job is most certainly not suit/tie, and even meetings with outside folks (who are often also engineers) tends to have me be the most dressed up person in tie/blazer/khakis.

I find that a three piece simply looks classy; it does not look 'overdone.' I only have one but I wear it whenever I feel a gray nailhead suit is justified. It does sometimes get me questions about whether I was just at a wedding, but I take that in stride.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

I don't own any three piece suits. Not because I don't like them. But because I can't find one I like enough to buy.


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## silverporsche (Nov 3, 2005)

I have both three piece suits single breasted and double breasted. The double breasted one is very sharp , with a singe vent and peak lapels, the two single breasted suits are
excellent with or without wearing the vest. 

Where do I wear them anywhere I wear a suit , the DB with a vest and the single breasted suits with vests or woolen suits. 
At one time DB suits with vest was very much in fashion , cost and World War Two led to 
their demise.
A well dressed man at one time wore a vested suit. Again cost had an effect.


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## Phileas Fogg (Oct 20, 2008)

Well a lot depends on the cloth as a three piece suit goes almost anytime and anywhere (except for most sports), you could wear one while gardening, sitting at home, in the office, visting friends, on a shopping tour, at a dinner with friends etc etc.

I do wear one almost on a daily basis but I do work in an office (Saigon did not change my European habits, we have airconditioning so the climate is no excuse do let standards fall to unacceptable levels). The only exception is during weekends when I go for a walk, thanks to the horrendous humidity of the place I do also wear two piece suits.

If you go for a business environment colours are bound to be ina shade of grey and blue, most likely a dark one, perhaps even black (with a pinstripe). For more leisurely activities both lighter shades of the above colours or even the same suit will do, you could also have some different patterns for cloth and actually even brown can be a good choice (countryside only, not for the town).
Yours,

Phileas Fogg


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## RM Bantista (May 30, 2009)

*Three piece suits and their applications*



Matt S said:


> For what occasions do you wear a 3-piece suit? I think of 3-piece suits as something for business, though I have never had a job and probably never will have a job where they would be appropriate. These days they would be too flashy for a funeral. If I get married I could see them being a good choice if I don't go for formal wear. Would you wear them for an evening out or to a special event, or would they seem too uptight for when one is supposed to have fun? I love 3-piece suits and I'd like to get one but I just can't figure out how I can wear one without looking out of place. I do have an odd buff waistcoat that I wore last year to my university graduation under my gown, though it's hard to find places to wear it.


Three-piece suits may be for business, but just as often they are casual. They may be be worn in order to make a deliberate presentation of some particular style, or just knocking around with friends. The materials and cuts, patterns and applications are limitless. People may wear three piece suits in extremely casual surroundings such as going on a cross-country walk, golfing, shooting, exercising the dogs, or just have a sit on the porch with a friend. They may be made of very warm or very cool materials, plain or fancy. I have several, and I'm always happy to have one available. I have worn them to business meetings in many styles and seasons and no one thinks they are not appropriate. Donegal tweed and English patterns which have names I don't know. Western suits in grey wool and brown polyester. I am always looking for other cuts and fabrics that I don't presently have.

A glance through some archival materials will quickly reveal that the three piece suit may be applied to any kind of activity and has been by men of achievement and distinction through out several hundreds of years of human history... It just requires the will to make it your own history of achievement and distinction. One must be at ease with the selection of the item for the occasion, whether exploring the grand canyon or having a cool drink and a cigar on the veranda. Certainly appropriate for leading troops or defending the rights of persons before a court, playing music for an audience or killing bulls...

Imagine the possibilities.

Whatever you are interested in doing; There's a three-piece suit for that!

Just my own opinion and observation, of course.

regards to all, Gentle-persons,

rudy


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## son of brummell (Sep 29, 2004)

I wear a three piece suit often during the work week.

I am comfortable in a three piece as regular business attire because:

1. I grew-up in a suit culture. I am almost 56. My father wore a suit every business day. When I graduated college (1976) three piece suits made a revival which lasted well into the mid 1980's. 

2. I am a trial lawyer. The public welcomes a bit of formality and dandyism in attorneys.

3. I own my law firm. 

4. I feel comfortable in a three piece suit.

5. I like the added layer of clothing and the ability to remove my coat and retain some degree of formality. Also, in the Spring and early summer, a three piece suit can provide some added warmth. In other words, a three piece in those warmer months can be lighter and more practical than wearing even the lightest shell of a rain coat. 

I must add that a good number of my contemporaries would never be seen in a three piece suit. I think that this is a function of near extinction of the three piece in RTW for the last 25 years. They think that it is too old fashioned and fuddy-duddy.

I think that the death of formality in both the work place and the social world has made it difficult for a younger man to wear a three piece suit with comfort and ease.

Good luck.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Three piece suits are rare in the SoCal suburbs and they really are too warm for our summers. However, if you need to create an impression of power or prestige, they are definitely the ticket. Every Casual Friday sluggard is immediately reduced to utter slob in the presence of one. I only have one because I'm retired but if I were in the corporate world, you bet I'd have several.


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## TheRomanhistorian (Feb 7, 2010)

I have two (one Bookster in dark brown herringbone, medium weight and one Stafford black/white herringbone from E-bay) and I try to wear them whenever possible. I wear them more often in the autumn, winter, and early spring due to the weather. I'd wear mine more often in the summer but I've not had my three piece suits long enough to go through a summer! 

I enjoy wearing my three piece suits and many of my friends/colleagues say 'You look like a professor', though this must depend on whichever academic field one is in. I am a lecturer in History at a Seattle area university but the vast majority of my male colleagues don't even wear ties for the most part (only one of my colleagues in my department wears a suit and tie every day). That said, no one blinks when I dress like this (though I think the black/white herringbone and my Christys bowler do get a double take or two). I don't think my colleagues in the department and the university don't generally think I'm 'overdone'. I think they just accept that I'm someone who enjoys suit and tie or sport coat and tie. On the days when I'm just wearing a sport coat and OCBD shirt then I'm usually wearing a sweater vest as well. I pretty much wear a three piece suit at least four to five times a month on teaching days. The only reason I don't wear them more often is that I only have two and I have seven sport coats which also need to be worn. 

I wear them because I like that extra layer of warmth when it has snowed (or whatever passes for snow in the Seattle area) and my heaviest coat is a trench coat (not a fan of anything heavier). Plus, they do look rather nice when I feel like wearing one of my pocket watches.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Oh heavens, yes! Nothing pairs like a good three-piece suit and a vintage pocket watch. My great grandfather's is up in your area for cleaning, repair and adjustment. I've the perfect fob for it, a cut Canadian dime showing a steam locomotive at full power so now I need to get a decent gold chain. I fear that in the current precious metals market, it will have to be gold plate, unfortunately.


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

My only three-piece happens to be my most ill-fitting and uncomfortable suit, so I don't wear the vest much (I try not to wear the suit much). Also, I find suspenders very cumbersome.

But they play fine in lots of places: office, the opera, fancy restaurants, wherever else you happen to wear a suit . . .


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## David Reeves (Dec 19, 2008)

I have worn them for years, and as a "house style" they are a bit of a speciality. I think they are great for giving you two looks for a suit. Ironically I wont wear them to see very conservative clients or often a first time client but perhaps ironically Im wearing my new Dormeuil Tonik Mohair on Friday to see the strokes tomorrow night. Matt S you may recognize and appreciate the inspiration for this look:







[/URL]
me 41 by davidreeves1979, on Flickr[/IMG]

I made this one up for a young man recently who was only 21. he's wearing it to his sisters wedding. I really hope he upstages the groom with this bad boy.


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## Cal27 (Mar 23, 2011)

Is it acceptable to leave the jacket completely unbuttoned when wearing a three piece suit? Also, does the "leave the bottom button undone" rule apply to vests?


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## David Reeves (Dec 19, 2008)

Yes it's perfectly acceptable to wear the jacket undone. Actually the bottom button rule allegedly originated from wearing the vest or waistcoat.


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## Cal27 (Mar 23, 2011)

David Reeves said:


> Yes it's perfectly acceptable to wear the jacket undone. Actually the bottom button rule allegedly originated from wearing the vest or waistcoat.


 I was the best man in a wedding recently, and our tuxedos had vests. I was the only one in the wedding party that unbuttoned the bottom button of the vest. I felt kind of awkward at the time, but I'm glad to know that I was "right." To make matters worse, the groom buttoned every button of his tux despite me telling him not to.


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## Matt S (Jun 15, 2006)

Cal27 said:


> I was the best man in a wedding recently, and our tuxedos had vests. I was the only one in the wedding party that unbuttoned the bottom button of the vest. I felt kind of awkward at the time, but I'm glad to know that I was "right." To make matters worse, the groom buttoned every button of his tux despite me telling him not to.


It sounds like he was wearing a fancy black suit, not a tuxedo (dinner jacket). A proper dinner jacket should have only 1 button. And the proper vest (waistcoat) should have only 3 or 4 buttons, all of which should be buttoned. There's no proper way to wear a dinner jacket with more than 1 button and a corresponding waistcoat with 5 or 6 buttons.


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## Cal27 (Mar 23, 2011)

My mistake, it was a fancy black suit. Thanks for the info.


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