While this is a bit of a deviation from the traditional posts that you normally see on this section of the blog, it was extremely important to me that I take the time out to share my appreciation for the support that everyone who reads this blog has shown me.

This past Friday, St. Louis Fashion Week officially got underway with a kick off party and the St. Louis Fashion Blog Awards.  As some of you may be aware from posts here on the blog and my social media, I was nominated in a number of categories - six or seven and won 5 of those.  I am most proud of the four People's Choice Awards that came from YOUR votes.  My beautiful wife (who takes all my photos) and I are truly humbled by your support.

Came across this random vest while thrifting and it got me to think about how well it could serve as an additional layering piece.  There is a very faint plaid pattern that works well with the color of this suit.

Summer is officially over, but I was able to get one more wear out of this suit before I put it away.  When I put it on, I noticed that the shoulders are starting to divot both on top and at the sides, most noticeably on the left side.  Usually, this is the result of either poor construction, body type of the wearer or a combination of the two.  The reason for the observation here is that this wasn't the case when I bought it, so now I figure there's a new opportunity to learn something new - how to get rid of divots if at all possible.

Moving on.  So ordinarily, I would go for a much darker shoe with this suit, maybe a dark brown suede even, however I really wanted to stick with the sort of light colored theme here.  So instead I decided to break up the almost continuous color with the socks.  In hindsight, I probably could have also gone sockless here and let my skin provide the break.

Khaki Suit Separates x Claiborne, Cream Cutaway Collar Shirt - MTM, Raw Silk/Linen Blend Tie x Brooks Brothers, Silk Socks x Ralph Lauren, Tan Tassel Loafers x Zara, Silk Paisley Pocket Square x Tommy Hilfiger.

Suits.  Love 'em. Can't get enough of 'em.  Would wear 'em all the time if I could.  Maybe over the top?  Sure.  But they're my thing.

Lately, I've been getting into breaking up the usual suit routine of the work week with some sort of jacket and trouser combination.  As the summer in particular comes to an end, I'm looking to rotate through pieces as much as possible before putting them away for the season.  This cream, well off-white really but who's counting, jacket is one of such pieces that falls into that category.  Even though its a cotton-linen blend, I could probably get some decent wear out of this into the early fall season as well.  I was really digging how the color of the trousers played with the jacket and the tie here as well.

Off-white Cotton-Linen Blend Jacket x Stafford, Denim Spread Collar Shirt x Trashness, Caramel Wool Trousers x Claiborne, Silk Navy & Tan Flower Burst Tie x Haines & Bonner, Brown Split Toe Oxfords x Santoni