Eight men's fall workwear essentials

Upgrading the wardrobe for fall, especially during economic slowdowns, is a difficult balancing act. If there's a question as to whether there'll be a next paycheck, it may not feel like the right time to spend money on clothes. Then again, as layoffs mount on Wall Street and beyond, working men might feel the need to appear more serious so as to avoid the ax.

"Work-wear is more relevant any time the economy is in a downturn," says Michael Fisher, menswear editor at Stylesight, a trend forecasting firm.

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Fisher's belief is shared by many. According to a survey conducted by Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO) HotJobs, 75 per cent of recruiters believe how you dress to the office affects your job, salary and possible promotions, and 72 per cent say it is important that employees dress like their bosses.

Then again, not everyone practices what they preach. For a short period of time, men and women bent—or completely broke—the rules of office dress, says Michael Ostrove, son of Paul Stuart and current owner of the upscale men's and women's clothier.

It seems, however, that casual doesn't cut it anymore. The number of companies allowing workers to dress casually every day is dropping, falling to 37 per cent in 2007 from 48 per cent in 2004, according to the Society of Human Resource Management, a human resources trade group.

Fortunately, designers were ready for the tide to turn. Tailored items like three-piece suits, trousers and crisp collared shirts appeared on the fall runways of Dolce & Gabana, Burberry Prorsum and Michael Bastian, to name a few.

And, for the time being, men seem content to buy new threads. Spending on men's apparel increased 1.6 per cent in July compared to the same month last year.

Back to the '60s

As men head to clothing and department stores, it's not the same old suits they'll find on the racks. There is newness in the men's market, with a movement toward '60s-inspired apparel that is buttoned-up and polished a la Mad Men, the popular drama on AMC, Fisher says.

Three-piece suits, such as the one from Dolce & Gabana, are being sold at all major department and specialty stores, and Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue (nyse: SKS) and Neiman Marcus all featured this type of suit in recent ad campaigns.

The suits can also be viewed as value items. "You can wear the vest without the jacket and pair it with jeans for the weekend," Fisher says. "It feels like you are getting a lot more for your money—which is essential in today's economy." The most popular suits have jackets that are slightly cropped in shades of a mod, shark-skin gray, he notes.

But while jackets can be slightly cropped, avoid the "little-boy suit," the pairing of narrow pants with an over-cropped jacket, says Cameron Silver, owner of Decades, a high-end boutique in Los Angeles. "They are a distraction in the workplace and don't enhance how you look in the work environment. They are not for the trading floor."

For shirts to go with the suits, style experts suggest contrasting collared dress shirts, especially ones in sophisticated stripes of navy, white or gray. The shirts also work well with this season's popular tailored trouser, like the one from Burberry, Fisher says.

Smaller adjustments

If you want more personality in your work apparel, but don't want—or can't afford—to drastically alter your wardrobe from head to toe, add some of this season's more unusual and distinct accessories.

Suiting accessories, such as narrow ties, pocket squares, briefcases and men's shoulder bags, tie bars and cuff links, have become increasingly popular and are growing in demand.

At Paul Stuart, tie bars and pocket squares, which are usually soft sellers, are flying off the shelves, Ostrove says.

Narrow ties, like the one from Dior (other-otc: CHDRF.PK), can be paired with more traditional suits and blazers. These ties are non-traditional but are still appropriate for the office, Silver says.

Belts can also be considered a luxury purchase, says Mark Evan Blackman, chairman of the menswear department at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Men are choosing well-made classics, such as Gordon Rush's leather belts in brown and black, over trendier items.

In other words, just like a suit or shirt, it's the same approach men should take in shopping for accessories: Look for quality and versatility. Find items that work well for the office or can be adapted to another, more casual environment.

"Men are going for quality over quantity," Blackman says. "This is the opposite of what females are doing. Women want to shop to feel better. Men are looking for quality pieces."

With any luck, they're also the pieces that make the more serious worker stand out.

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In Depth: Men's fall workwear essentials