Confession: I don't dress up very often. Most days, I'm wearing casual or business casual outfits. I'm talking about jeans, chinos, casual button up shirts, boots, vests.
Two of my favorite casual wardrobe items are my grey J. Crew Factory Walker vest and my green ASOS long-sleeve polo shirt.
Combine these with dark wash jeans and a smart pair of shoes, and you get a simple, fitted casual outfit. Perfect for mild spring or fall days.
vest | shirt | jeans | shoes | bag
This Walker vest is perfect for shorter men because it's nice and thin. Thick, bulky vests are no good for smaller gents. Same goes for all outerwear.
You can make any outfit more interesting by including one or two basic accessories. I'm partial to these Warby Parker sunglasses and this vintage leather strap watch that my father used to wear to work.
The great thing is, you can dress this look up a little bit by swapping the suede chukkas and canvas messenger bag for leather loafers and a leather satchel.
You could make this ensemble even dressier by switching out the jeans for some dark grey or brown wool trousers. This would be a great casual Friday getup.
sunglasses | bag | socks | shoes
Notice the yellow socks. I'm not one for wearing crazy loud socks, but it's fun to add a pop of color every now and then, especially when the rest of your outfit is relatively subdued.
Here, the yellow goes well with the green shirt and blue jeans, but you could choose whatever color or pattern you like.
What do you think about this outfit? Let me know in the comments!
thekentuckygent says
January 19, 2015 at 12:18 pmI don’t often dress up either, it just doesn’t work for me. I’d rather leave it to the pros, and I’ll gladly stick to my jeans and t-shirt + chucks routine.
Marjorie Carter says
January 20, 2015 at 12:10 pmSharp!! Love the pop of color with the socks!
David Virella says
January 20, 2015 at 2:15 pmVery cool and clever!!!! Love the shades too!
Priss says
January 20, 2015 at 2:44 pmLove the suggestions for changing up the look!
Priss says
January 20, 2015 at 2:49 pmSorry, I just thought of this. I’d like to get this vest for my husband, because it doesn’t look too long. Here’s the question: Because he’d probably take a L/XL, does the vest get progressively longer as the size increases? That’s the problem! Thanks!
Brock says
January 20, 2015 at 3:03 pmIt will probably get longer, but not much. You could always order two sizes and return the one that doesn’t fit as well.
Priss says
January 21, 2015 at 3:33 pmThanks!
tab says
January 20, 2015 at 4:03 pmLove the outfit but I thought us short guys were to avoid cuffing our jeans as it’ll make us look shorter.
Brock says
January 20, 2015 at 5:34 pmIt’s okay, just keep the cuffs thin (like an inch).
Robert Scott says
October 5, 2015 at 3:36 pmDoesn’t cuffing the jeans defeat the purpose/intent of so many of your previous posts expounding the importance of buying clothes that fit and if pants are too long having them altered?
Brock says
October 5, 2015 at 5:17 pmThe way I see it, cuffing and hemming are two different ways to achieve the same goal – shortening pants that are too long.
Since it’s almost impossible to buy pants that are the right length, both cuffing and hemming are good options, although for difference situations.
Hemming is always a good option, while cuffing is not.
Phil says
January 20, 2015 at 5:13 pmIs your shirt untucked? Hard to tell from the photo. Also – the shirt model on the ASOS site has it buttoned to the top. What is with this horrible trend? There’s no reason for buttoning a shirt to the top unless you’re wearing a tie!
Brock says
January 20, 2015 at 5:37 pmYup, untucked. I’m not into the buttoned up all the way look. To me it seems like more of a street/urban look. Nothing wrong with that, just not for me.
Peter Roy says
January 21, 2015 at 3:39 amI love ASOS but I sympathise with you about the buttoned up shirts, Phil – it does make me laugh, as my wife wouldn’t be seen dead with me wearing a buttoned up shirt. I sometimes wonder if ASOS are on a mission to try to prove that you can make a male model look cool whatever they wear or however they wear it 🙂
Barrie Osborne (Nickname is Baz) from Australia says
January 20, 2015 at 5:21 pmPretty cool outfit Brock. My only comment is that I don’t like the color grey. But that’s a matter of choice.
nancy goldblatt says
January 20, 2015 at 9:38 pmThe grey vest looks better open than closed because it creates more vertical lines when open.
By repeated the grey vest color with grey shoes this also makes the eye go up and down in a vertical manner and makes your outfit look pulled together.
If you repeated the grey one more place, such as your watch band or a grey cap you would be even more visually pleasing because when you repeat a color an odd number of times it keeps the eye moving.
Everything works except for your cuffs and colored socks. They are whimsical, but they make the eye stop and they shorten you.
Nancy Goldblatt, Wardrobe Wizard
Brock says
January 20, 2015 at 10:54 pmI think it’s important not to get too hung up on tiny details. Otherwise almost every outfit would violate some “rule”. The more I learn about dressing well as a shorter man, the more I tend to move away form the hard and fast rules, such as “don’t cuff your pants” or “more vertical lines is always better”.
Cuffing jeans will almost always create contrast, just like pop-of-color socks. But I like both of these things, you know?
As far as repeating the same color and odd number of times… that’s news to me. I don’t think I have enough brain power in the morning to make that happen (or grey accessories, for that matter).
nancy goldblatt says
January 20, 2015 at 9:44 pmI just realized you do repeat the grey in the satchel you are holding in one of the pictures. If your cuffs were the same color as your pants you would look taller.
Justin says
January 20, 2015 at 10:09 pmThanks for this blog! As a short guy it hard to find relevant advise on style. Oh and I am diggin’ the socks!
Brock says
January 20, 2015 at 10:54 pmThanks, Justin!
Peter Roy says
January 21, 2015 at 3:40 amI like the outfit, Brock – I confess that every single last pair of socks I own is black, so you’re encouraging me to branch out a bit here! Also, love the vintage watch with the square face. What make is that, I couldn’t tell from the photograph.
Bruce says
January 21, 2015 at 10:45 amGreat outfit! I love vests too. In fact, I’ve got 4 that I rotate. The trick is finding the brand with the cut that fits you. A small Patagonia fleece vest is a good cut for me. As we all know, not every manufacturer’s “small” really is small. Too many are 42″ and have large arm holes designed for body builders. As Brock notes, it’s got to fit!
Annetta says
January 21, 2015 at 12:30 pmBrock, the change in the suede chukkas to the leather loafers with the leather sachel makes this look so much more classier. It makes me wonder if the yellow socks (the pop of colour) has something to do with this. Grey and yellow looks great together too. Wonder what the combination would look like – hmm. I like it when you show the many options via your photos. Good work!!
Darryan Williams says
January 23, 2015 at 12:15 pmI am a very short guy, like 5’3″-hobbit kind of short. So I really enjoy dressing up to give myself an air of maturity, I just can’t afford to wear a suit and tie everyday. But those leather loafers with that outfit make casual actually look very classy.
Btw, last week I took your advice and got some thin jackets and coats on sale for next winter. Since it’s still a little cold, I took them for a spin and wow, what a difference it made! Normally girls kind of glance over me when I pass by them, but you wouldn’t believe how much attention I got with this simple change. It was a real morale booster, and I’ve got you to thank for that.
Brock says
January 25, 2015 at 12:27 pmAwesome! You’re very welcome.
Cyrus says
January 28, 2015 at 10:16 pmIs the vest warm and functional? I like to wear something over my shirt like a suit vest or sweater. But during these cold spells in Florida, I’m keenly interested if these vest your suggesting has a dual purpose: style and functionality.
Henry Novas says
January 29, 2015 at 9:26 pmThis is a great out fit and casual and quick to dress
Tiffany Sutherland says
February 5, 2015 at 2:10 pmKeep the outfits coming!
Andrew says
January 31, 2016 at 9:51 pmBrock, I really love that vest. The outfit choices are great because they give me ideas. I’m not partial to the cuffs but that’s a personal preference. I’m lucky that I can find pants with a 30 inseam and that fits me most times…although now I’m becoming particular the more I know. I love those gray chukkas but I’m going to start with a more versatile brown.
Stelio Charalambous says
April 4, 2016 at 7:32 amVery interesting suggestion !! Unfortuantely, people would judge me down here in my country, that if i wear that grey vest i may look like a hunter !!!