Some consider the brown to be old-fashioned and boring, associating it with elder generations. In my opinion, brown is a very versatile color and can bring fresh and timeless look. All depends on the clothing cut and how it is combined. Especially, the suit, is a very nice way to do so.

Nowadays the brown has a small revival in the fashion industry. Many brands included brown clothing items in their newest collections. However, classic brown suit is still considered as something conservative and outdated and cannot be found that easily off the rack.

I decided to give it a try and when ordering my MTM suit couple of months ago, I went with rich brown birdseye fabric. This post is a final result of it and the example how versatile the brown suit can be. Specifically, here I would like to give the examples of 3 ways how I would wear it in different settings.

Some words to the suit itself. The fabric I went for was an Ariston birdseye 130s cloth. I decided to go with this fabric as the pattern of the birdseye fabric allows this suit to be worn in formal as well as in casual settings, allowing for more versatility and possibility to wear it as separates. In general, when going for versatility in a suit, I think that birdseye and hopsack are a nice fabrics to fulfill this cause (for me personally). The suit jacket is fully canvased, with high armholes, half-lined and patch pockets. Those details and structure underlines a bit more casual touch as well as Italian flair and the possibility to wear it as separate. As for trousers, here I went with high raise, double pleats, 5cm cuffs and rather more relaxed fit.

Formal with a little touch of orange

First look is more applicable for office wear. To make the look a little bit more interesting I combined it with an orange cardigan. In general, I think that orange / burnt orange is a very nice addition to a brown suit. Even without the cardigan (if office environment does not allow for it), the look would still work nicely. Most important here is the proper tailored fit. Some might say that the brown suit is not the proper color for the office. I would disagree and think that nowadays it is a nice alternative, still appropriate for business environment. As for footwear, I went with suede dark brown tassel loafers. If your office does not allow to wear it, dark brown oxfords or derbies would work fine as well. Rounding up with a pocket square, here with various elements of browns, gold and navy. Just the right accessory to make the outfit a bit more interesting.

Smart casual

In the second look I swapped the shirt and the tie with a dark red sweater and added this patterned brown scarf. Keeping the formal note with a suit, the sweater adds a very nice casual note and again the dark red is very nice color, which goes well with this brown tone. Ideal for casual Fridays or just a drink in the evening. To match the color of the sweater I also went with this burgundy pocket square with floral motive.

Tonal weekend look

Personally I think that brown is a great color for tonal looks as well. Just adding different shades of brown would do the trick. Here I am wearing the suit pants as separate with turtleneck in a lighter shade of brown. Then, double breasted wool coat and adding the scarf from the previous look. Scarf adds a nice accessory to make look a little bit more interesting. I also added the navy blue pocket square with some brown paisley elements, in order to have a little bit of a different color pop, just the right amount of a small accessory for a tonal look. When mixing different shades of brown I try to ensure that all items are in different shades. Tonal looks are not that easy to pull off, but if mixed correctly it is quite a chic look. You can call it relaxed elegance, which is ideal for casual weekend strolls.