The 10-Piece Men’s Holiday Capsule Wardrobe

The holidays can be a busy, fun, even stressful time, and the last thing I want to think about at this time of year is what I’m going to pack or wear to a particular place or event.

But when you have quality, versatile travel clothes that you can dress up or down, finding the perfect look for the occasion, event, or location of your holiday revelry isn’t a big deal. We wanted to show you how a shortlist of men’s wardrobe essentials could help you check at least one thing off your holiday list — so you don’t even have to think about looking good.

Our team pulled together some example outfits for three scenarios we know you’ll need to dress for this season. Then photographer Matt Hartman helped us style them so you can see how these pieces look together and how to pack it.

The men’s capsule wardrobe for the casual family get-together

For casual family events — like picking out your Christmas tree, shopping, or getting everybody together to watch your favorite holiday movies — this outfit does the heavy lifting for you.

We paired our khaki Chinos with the Meridian 2.0 Dress Shirt in Deep Blue Mini Check and our Horizon Quilted Vest in Olive Green for warmth. Paired with some nicer shoes, this outfit can take you lots of places.

I particularly love the fact that these wrinkle free chinos and button down performance dress shirt elevate this outfit so you don’t have to worry that Great Aunt Phyllis is going to make a snide remark about your clothes, but you’ll still be comfortable enough to get on the floor to play with all your nieces and nephews, get up on the ladder to help hang lights, or be the hero who lights the bonfire for s’mores.

The work capsule wardrobe for your holiday party

Depending on where you work, the annual holiday party can be a total blast — or a faux pas waiting to happen. Either way, you’ll feel prepared in a Gramercy Suit and a dress shirt, with the option to add a sweater.

We paired the Blue Hour Gramercy Blazer and Pants with the Meridian 2.0 in Highland Grey Check and a handsome lighter blue sweater in this combo to show off the fact that you can really dress it up or down and still look stylish. I love the combo of the blue travel suit with the lighter colored shoes and watch with a pale pocket square to really kick the style up a notch.

This capsule wardrobe for work is classy enough to impress the boss and other big wigs you might only see once a year, and still comfortable enough to get down and boogie — if you’re into that sort of thing.

The suit makes you look professional, and the accessories mean you’re here for a good time. Now your job is just to make sure the only thing people will be talking about by the water-cooler on Monday morning is how awesome you looked.

The best travel clothes for holiday visiting

Finally, if you’re traveling for the holidays this year — which statistically, you probably are — you want to be comfortable and still arrive looking presentable for whatever activities the family have planned.

One of my favorite travel tricks is to pack travel clothing I can mix and match and wear again and again (check out our ultimate travel capsule wardrobe for more examples).  In this case, I suggest wearing chinos and a dress shirt, then adding a blazer and vest for warmth on the plane and at your destination. We’ve shown it here styled with the Gotham Grey Gramercy Blazer, Stone Chinos, our Peak Blue Tattersall Meridian Shirt, and Dark Sapphire Horizon Quilted Vest to give you another color combo option.  

(And while your Blazer and Horizon Quilted Vest are both totally packable, you’ll save precious space by wearing them, so you can get away with a smaller carry-on bag.)

With these stylish travel clothes, you’re almost literally ready for anything; the blazer and nicer shoes elevate the outfit to work at a nicer restaurant or event, while the chinos and shirt keep you comfortable on any planes, trains, and automobiles you’ll be utilizing. Plus, the combined warmth of the vest and blazer mean you may not need an extra coat — unless you’re headed for the North Pole or somewhere like it.

How to pack your travel outfits 

You can easily pack all three of these outfits for wherever your travels take you this year - one fo our favorites is the Tom Binh Aeronaut 30L backpack shown here. Since our specialty is making easy care travel clothes, you don’t have to worry about anything getting wrinkled or damaged when you stuff it into a carry-on bag. Though we’ve shown three shoe options, you can also opt to bring two pairs or even one (and check out our other post about the best shoes for travel). Add an extra pair of pants and shirt for every additional couple of days of travel and you’re good to go: your Bluffworks men’s capsule wardrobe will serve you no matter what’s on the holiday agenda.

Tree lightings, sledding, caroling, epic family football games, sightseeing, relaxing, even formal dinners and high holy days are covered when you go with this kind of matchable, remixable wardrobe for the holidays.

Cheers to one less thing to think about this season.

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