This is the outfit I helped my brother, Bryan Artunian-Tice (who recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout), piece together, consulting for him for his Homecoming dance at his high school. This piece is an example of one of the most versatile outfits that a man can own, the "Charleston Tuxedo", also known as "The Uniform."
The Charleston Tuxedo is grounded by one major element, the navy blazer, with gold or dark buttons. Next up is a white, pink, yellow, blue (take care with blue, as sweat shows through blue well) or possibly another muted colour (I've worn a light orange, personally) shirt (button down collar should be fine with bow ties). Trousers can be khakis (I would suggest darker colours in fall and winter), grey flannels (or seen here a lighter grey with stripes), or crazy pants (also known as Go-To-Hell pants). Loafers or lace ups are good forms of footwear for this outfit, but brown should never be worn after 6pm. A bow tie or long tie of any colour is worn as well. Finally, whenever wearing a jacket, the breast pocket should always have a pocket square, or pochette.
When taking this all into consideration, fit should always be one of the first things you think about. It doesn't matter if your clothing is from Ralph Lauren's Purple Label, if it doesn't fit, it doesn't look good. On that subject, you may notice the break in the trousers: it is too much. He would have benefited from pulling the trousers up a bit more, or having buttons added for braces. However, even with this error, it is still a good looking outfit, and overall, a success.
