Never, ever wear a suit jacket as a sport coat.

The reason they are sold as separates in some stores is for sizing, as someone mentioned, and also so that you can purchase multiple matching pants for the same jacket. In many business environments, you remove the jacket throughout the day and only put it on for occasional meetings, etc, so the pants wear out quicker. The suit separates system allows you to save a bit on expenses as you no longer need to throw away the jacket when one pair of pants wears out.

It's cool... I disagree. Some suit jackets can be worn apart from the pants depending on the cut, the fabric, the structure, the detailing, and the pattern.

YJ, to be fair, there are a few exceptions to that rule. However, the types of suits one finds sold as separates in the stores mentioned won’t be suitable.

A deconstructed suit that drapes more casually could definitely work, or a modern linen one - but you won’t find either off the normal rack.

And this is why I asked the questions here. I knew I'd get a lot of great information. Keep it coming all, this is very helpful.

I'll have to stop by Allen Edmonds at some point soon. There's one not too far from me.

The type of real estate you’re doing will also dictate some of your dress. If you’re doing rentals to college kids in Cambridge and Allston, casual is fine, if you’re doing residential or commercial in the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, North End or Seaport, or Wayland Wellesley Weston different story, suit, car, business card, hair cut and accessories all are noticed. Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by spunk639:
suit, car, business card, hair cut and accessories all are noticed

A decent Blue blazer can be worn with a solid polo or Oxford shirt without tie. Always a classy look. Don’t forget the shoes. Surprisingly, the first thing folks notice. Good luck, sell that yad!

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
residential real estate or commercial? commercial brokers have their own separate dress code. residential is much more casual. these days, if I were starting from scratch for a business casual wardrobe, I'd get:

1 - navy blazer, contrasting, but not gold, buttons

Residential real estate.

And can I ask why not gold buttons? Seems like almost all of them have them. And if not gold, then plastic.

Being really, really specific, a blazer in the American sense is virtually always a navy wool jacket of a coarser weave fabric than a suit jacket with gold or sometimes silver metal buttons.

I have read that the blazer originated in rowing and boating clubs in the UK and that naval-style metal buttons are a remnant of that heritage, while sport coats originated as tweed hunting (or “sporting”) jackets.

In the UK a blazer can also still be a brightly-colored (which is apparently where the word “blazer” actually came from) club or school uniform jacket with a club/school patch sewn on the breast pocket (or sometimes with the crest embroidered directly on the pocket if you’re being fancy).