Capsule Wardrobe Step 4: The Full Capsule

Step 4 completes the capsule wardrobe. It adds a deep green suit, a tuxedo, two sport coats and three shirts, so you finish with seven suits, a tuxedo, two sport coats, a vest and fifteen shirts. The green is the last suit colour, the tuxedo covers black tie, and the two sport coats are the first jackets in the wardrobe that were never part of a suit.

This is the wardrobe for a man who wears a suit every day and wants every season and every level of formality covered. The full capsule wardrobe guide shows how the four steps fit together.

What You Own Going In

From Steps 1 to 3 you have six suits: navy, charcoal, a blue, a mid grey windowpane, a light grey and a brown. You have the navy vest from Step 1 and twelve shirts.

That already dresses a man for years. What it leaves out is the edges. Black tie. Anything that is not a suit. And the weekends, where six suits' worth of trousers are waiting and there is nothing to put over them that was not cut as part of a suit.

What You Add, and Why in This Order

The order inside Step 4 is looser than in the earlier steps, because by now nothing you add is an orphan. Every new jacket has six suits' worth of trousers and twelve shirts waiting for it. Most men add them roughly like this.

*A note on the cloth: the fabrics and linings in these photographs are examples, not a fixed menu. Every lining is chosen for the man it is made for, so yours will be its own. Our books also change as mills come and go, and they change without notice. If a cloth you have chosen is unavailable when your order is placed, we replace it with one of the same quality or better, as close to the colour as we can get, and we tell you before anything is cut.*

The deep green suit

Green is the last suit colour, and it is far quieter than it sounds when the green is deep enough. Under most light it reads as a very dark, slightly warm neutral, and then in daylight it is obviously green and obviously deliberate.

It sits between the brown and the navy in what it does: warm enough for autumn, dark enough for an evening, different enough that people notice the suit. Wearing a deep green suit goes through the shirts and ties that work with it.

The tuxedo

The tuxedo is not tied to the order above. It comes whenever black tie turns up on the calendar. If you go to one black tie event every few years, a dark suit and the right tie will do, and wedding suit vs tuxedo goes through when each is right. At Step 4 you are going often enough that making do gets old.

A tuxedo is any of our suiting cloths plus $75, which means the cloth is your choice rather than a fixed option. Black is the traditional answer and midnight blue is the one that looks blacker than black under artificial light. If the events you go to have any room in them, we also make dinner jackets in jacquard and in paisley, which is the part of black tie where a man is allowed some character.

The shirt is the other decision. The white French cuff shirt in the list below will carry a tuxedo perfectly well and go to work the rest of the year. If you want the traditional version, we make a proper tuxedo shirt: studs rather than buttons, a pleated front, and a wing collar. A black bow tie finishes either one, and a white cotton or linen pocket square goes in the breast pocket. What to wear to a gala or black tie event covers the rest of the dress code.

Two sport coats

A tweed and a linen, and they come last for a reason. A sport coat bought first has nothing to go with. Bought here it has six suits' worth of trousers and twelve shirts waiting for it, and it gets worn the week it arrives.

The tweed is the autumn and winter jacket: textured, warm, and at home over grey or brown trousers. The linen is the summer one, and it creases, which is what linen does and not a fault. Both have flap pockets, which is what makes a sport coat a sport coat rather than a blazer. Sport coat vs suit jacket covers how they differ from the jackets you already own, and how to match patterns covers wearing a textured jacket with a patterned shirt.

Until these arrived you were wearing a suit jacket over another suit's trousers, which I recommend and which costs nothing. These two are the better version of the same idea, not a correction of it.

Three shirts

The three new shirts take you from twelve to fifteen, and none of them is another business shirt, because you have twelve of those.

A short sleeve pattern and a short sleeve casual, which are the two shirts for the weekend and for July, and which are what the linen sport coat wants over them. And a white French cuff, which is the formal end: it goes under the tuxedo, and it goes to a board meeting with a pair of cufflinks the rest of the year. Dress shirts start at $199. Our suit price calculator prices an outfit in about ten seconds.

This Step Is a Starting Point

Nothing here is compulsory, and this is the step where that matters most. Plenty of men take the two sport coats and skip the tuxedo, or take the tuxedo and skip the green, or swap the tweed for something they will actually wear where they live. Take it as it stands, change what is in it, or build your own last step with us. Payment plans are available and you set the pace.

Ties and Pocket Squares, If You Want Them

Add-ons, priced separately, as in every step. The one that belongs to this step is a black bow tie, which is the only piece of neckwear the tuxedo will take.

Keep the same rules you have used since Step 1. The tie and the pocket square never match. No tie means the top button undone and the rest fastened. The pocket square stays cotton, wool or linen.

How the Pieces Combine

By Step 4 the maths stops being the point, but here it is.

| Piece | Count | How often each one gets worn | |---|---|---| | Suits | 7 | Roughly once every week and a half | | Dress shirts | 12 | Once every two to three weeks | | Casual shirts | 3 | Weekends and the warm months | | Sport coats | 2 | Over any suit trousers you own | | Vest | 1 | Turns the navy into a three-piece | | Tuxedo | 1 | Black tie only |

Seven suits and twelve dress shirts give eighty-four pairings before you count the vest, the two sport coats over six sets of trousers, or a single tie. The more useful number is the last column. Every suit rests for days between wears, and a suit that rests lasts a lot longer than one worn twice a week.

After Step 4

There is no Step 5. From here the capsule runs on what you love, not on replacement. Our garments last for years with proper care, so the wardrobe grows with the pieces you actually want: the colours, the cloths and the details that bring out your personality.

Your measurements stay on file, so a re-order starts from where the last one finished. Re-orders take the same five to six weeks as a first order, so replace a suit before it gives out, not after. How often to buy a new suit and how to take care of your suit will help the seven you own last longer.

If you want the next few years mapped, a Wardrobe Plan with our Owner and Founder, Derek Burbidge, sets out what to replace and add in what order, with no measuring on the call. On any multi-piece order we produce one suit and one shirt first, and you confirm the fit on those before the rest is made.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is in a full capsule wardrobe for men?

Seven suits, a tuxedo, two sport coats, a vest and fifteen shirts. The suits are navy, charcoal, a blue, a mid grey windowpane, a light grey, a brown and a deep green, with a tweed and a linen sport coat over them and a tuxedo for black tie. That said, it can move around with what you actually need and how you dress. Book a Wardrobe Plan and we will find the path that fits you.

Does a capsule wardrobe need a tuxedo?

Only if you go to black tie events often. For one every few years, a dark suit can do the job if you prefer. It is in the full capsule for the man who goes often enough that making do gets old.

What cloth is a tuxedo made in?

Whichever of our suiting cloths you want, plus $75. Black is traditional, midnight blue looks blacker than black under artificial light, and we also make jacquard and paisley dinner jackets for events with some room in them.

Do I need a proper tuxedo shirt?

Not necessarily. A white French cuff shirt carries a tuxedo and goes to work the rest of the year. If you want the traditional version, we make it: studs instead of buttons, a pleated front, and a wing collar.

Why do the sport coats come last?

Because a sport coat bought first has nothing to go with. Bought here it has six suits' worth of trousers and twelve shirts waiting for it, and it gets worn straight away.

How long does it take to build the full capsule?

As long as you want it to. Payment plans are available and you set the pace between steps. Each order takes five to six weeks to make, so plan a step around the next time you need it.

What happens after the full capsule?

You replace pieces as they wear. Measurements stay on file, so re-orders start from your last fit, and they take five to six weeks.

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Previous: Step 3: The Seasonals. Back to the full capsule wardrobe guide.