Brown suit with brown accessories

You don't have to wear a blue or gray suit all the time. Those two colors are safe choices and they always look good. With the re-emergence of the brown suit over the recent years however, being down with brown has become a fully accepted style choice.

I haven't had a brown suit for a few years now. But recently I have more and more started to appreacite the color again. Therefore I acquired two new brown suits, one single-breasted three-piece and one double-breasted suit. And I need to admit that these two are perfect additions to my wardrobe as they are versatile and diverse choices to wear for business and for leisure.

Brown suit is appropriate for business

Brown suit is nowadays as appropriate choice for office environment than any shade of blue or grey. I would avoid it only if you work in environment where formal and very strict dress codes are still in place. Brown color is also basically appropriate around the year. It's all about the shade and material. Brown linen or cotton for example is a perfect choice for warm summer days.  

Brown double-breasted suit made of Loro Piana 100% wool with brown grenadine tie and striped button-down shirt.

On the other hand brown double-breasted flannel or heavier wool suit takes you through cold winter season. And if you want something that can be worn during all four seasons, go for light weight wool fabrics. Brown suit as well as brown ties is easy to combine with multiple different colors and shades.

Brown wool is a great choice for the dark days and night of Finnish fall and winter.

In general brown of course include darker shades of brown as well as lighter shades such as camel and geige. As with other matters related to colors, darker shades suits the fall and winter season, where earthy tones are further appreciated. Conversely, summer months should be accompanied by lighter shades of brown. But this rule as any, is not absolute. A light brown cashmere sport coat can be a great option to wear during winter. And a dark brown linen suit with a light brown shantung tie is an excellent choice for casual summer day. It's all about the balance and occasion.

Brown garza grossa grenadine tie with the double four-in-hand knot.

Loro Piana wool double-breasted suit

The suit I wear is a new one in my rotation. I got it from Vaatturiliike Sauma a few weeks ago. It is actually a sample piece of their private made-to-measure line. So it is not made for me in particular and could be considered as a ready-to-wear piece in that matter. But as I tried it on it I really liked the fit on the suit. It is perfect for me on the shoulders and only the sleeves and trouser lenght needed to adjusted. With my body build those adjustments are always needed.

Brown accessories with the brown suit. A wool-silk pocket square is a good match for the wool suit to keep the outfit in balance.

The suit is made of "semi" lightweight Loro Piana 100% wool. The tag on the suit does not give the weight of the fabric but I would say it's something around 220g. The thing I personally like regarding the fabric is the kind of "jersey wool" feeling. It is very soft and durable which makes the suit rather casual. Despite being double-breasted it is a suit I would wear it for formal business occasions. The casualness is also highligted by the 4x2 buttoning and patch pockets. But the fabric and details makes the suit perfect for more casual and relaxed business and work occasions. And this suit jacket I could also wear easily with dark or light colored denim for example.

Details - brown leather watch strap to match the outfit colors.

Brown suit with brown accessories

If you choose to go for a brown suit I recommend to play with shades of brown in terms of other parts as well. Of course dark blue tie or a light blue shirt works perfectly fine. But when it comes to shoes and bag for example, I'd keep them brown as well. And as brown is more casual color than gray or blue, you can also keep the textures casual. Try for example to pair your wool suit with a shantung silk tie. Or you can go for grenadie tie as I have done here. The grenadine tie is actually a choice that makes the outfit a bit more dressed-up. And if you would like to add some color to the outfit, try for example a rusty orange or deep purple cashmere tie.

I have chose here to go for the full brown look. Therefore I also picked a brown wool-silk pocket square which repeats the colors of the outfit.

Brown suit, brown tie, brown pocket square and brown calf leather oxford shoes - all in harmony.

Sum up - do's and don'ts with the brown suit

To sum it up, brown is a rich, versatile color that helps to bring out and enrich other colors. Given its neutral underpinnings, it can go with virtually any color, though it does tend to work particularly well with shades of blue and brown. And if you want to get the best out of your brown suit, here are my three simple tips:

• Pair the suit with white, light blue, pink or blue striped shirt
• Wear brown shoes in shade that is darker than your suit
• Never wear a dark brown suit to a formal event or to a place where business dressing is taken very seriously

The brown suit can easily be paired with casual outerwear. Here I wear the Liddesdale quilted jacket by Barbour and colorful wool scarf repeating the brown shades to match the attire.