Reply With QuoteI would say yes, more so, if they had a black dial.
I have always been interested in Dive, and Military inspired watches.Following on from the excellent Bambino thread,has made me think more about ,some of the beautiful classic Orient Stars, and the Grand Seiko's that i have always admired.
My problem is,my job doesn't allow me to wear a suit,but i have just ordered a Bambino.
My question is can a dress watch be dressed down,for casual wear.
I thought about putting it on less formal leather, or a nato.
I would love some advice.
Thanks.
I would say yes, more so, if they had a black dial.
I think gold watches have made the crossover, favoured as they are by celebs and rappers at the minute
Depends a bit on your job and what else you are wearing?
its the kind of thing that can look casually chic if you get it right or a bit Forest Gump if you get it wrong...
Yes unless you are living in the 1950s.
The times we live in Josh . I have to put up with my 21 YO son Tattooed from head to foot. The stuff my daughters wear ( 27,23,19) if I take them to dinner. if I can't par contre, wear a dress watch with jeans I give up.
I wouldn't wear small leather bracelet dress watch with jeans.
Of course. Dressing a watch down almost always works.
Turning up underdressed - despite being, on occasion, (mistakenly) justified by those who do as "individualism" ("I don't care what people think of me - I'll wear/do what I want") - is slovenly and wrong - and as much herd mentality as those it weakly contradicts. It more often than not, rightly or wrongly, hints at a lack of security.
Theres never much harm in turning up overdressed, however.
While not necessarily ideal, its better to wear a dress watch with jeans than a dive watch and a suit - far less poncy too.
NATO is the way to go for any smaller dress watch, it can give any watch that casual look, and the extra nylon under the watch makes it wear larger.
Many also look better on a regimental style NATO, it can give off that 'varsity' vibe or the James Bond look that will always be cool and never go out of fashion.
I was thinking outside of work,wearing casual clothes.Originally Posted by Josh B
I did see a Bambino(black face), with a black perlon strap which i thought looked nice.
Any thoughts on a less formal leather,as they come on a simulated croc style leather strap.
Thanks.
Can't give style advice I'm afraid, but as a former Bambino owner I can tell you that they do wear big, and actually look a bit more like a Max Bill style watch than a '50s throwback dress watch. The black would definitely be easier to dress down, and a stripey NATO should complete the job. The one I had kept time to about 2 seconds a day - five times better than the (rather lovely and smaller wearing) Orient Star Somes that has replaced it.
I´m very tempted to get one of the black face Bambinos and put it mostly on a nato strap, looking forward to seeing some pictures soon on t´other thread. I personally think you can wear whatever you´re most comfortable in.
I take it they've inherited their mothers extroverted dress sense rather than your own quiet and conservative style ;)
ofc you you can wear whatever you want wherever you want and a nice dressy watch on leather can look great with jeans and I've done it often enough myself. What I am getting at is that if the guy is wearing a boiler suit on an oil rig then a bambino on leather is just going to look a bit fish out of water in the way a g shock with formal wear would look odd.
Its not about freedom of choice but whether the choices will look good!
I was thinking of a vintage bond Nato or a black perlon,as i tend to wear these a lot.
Thanks.
There is a review of the Bambino on Worn and Wound, and its on a variety of straps - I reckon it'd fit with most types of clothes.
I would say that there is a category of watch that can slide in comfortably anywhere, that is neither a sports nor a dress. Take Nomos for example or Stowa with their Antea range. Or an Explorer I, or a plethora of other watches (far too many to mention) that are not for evening wear but for casual day wear. They are not dress watches as such.
When I think dress watch, I think gold, I think small, I think (possible) no seconds, black leather strap to go with black tie.
Where does that leave my Omega Railmaster?
Safe choice, but summers almost here, go for something with a little more colour, its not like NATO's cost a lot. Go a little wild. :-)
Last edited by Meinessex; 25th April 2014 at 09:26.
I wear whatever I want with whatever I want... clearly I am a trend-setter not a follower :)
I think we may need a Bambino owners club soon! I liked the Bambino on a NATO as shown on the W&W review, and might do that with mine at some point, although I'm going to start it on a black leather Hirsch when it arrives.
More seriously I'm also off to slap myself repeatedly for having (in the past) worn my Sea-Dweller with a suit.
I am jolly glad my club does not admit your type. How utterly ghastly it would be to have to take one's brandy within eyeshot of such a monstrous vision!
Apparently a Patek 5196G can be worn with a scorpion jacket if you are a getaway driver...
(I'd be more than happy to wear a 5196G with anything if I'm ever in the fortunate enough position to own one!)
Pretty much suitable to all occasions? I recently wore mine on an Admiralty NATO and surprisingly it worked with a suit and also jeans. Maybe in part down to its 42mm. Now on a fudge Toshi it also works in both settings, as it will on a bracelet. When it wouldn't work well in both is on a shiny flat leather strap; that's a definite no no IMHO for casual.
Most of my watches would be considered (by most on this forum) as dress watches and I rarely wear a suit, but then I hardly wear T-shirts either.
On the other hand I would feel odd wearing a 'tool/diving' watch with anything other than the appropriate gear.
Does Spearmint Rhino have a dress code? :)
There are no rules you know.... do what you like!
Like the Athenaeum, the dress code applies to the staff. But it's quite easy to determine whether those who choose their own clothes are members or perhaps a tradesman called in to unblock the WC (the latter will invariably be wearing a Rolex Submariner, although at your peppermint elephant place one imagines that applies to the punters equally.)
Based on the bambino thread I have one incoming too. I never wear a suit and expect that it will be very wearable. Is it really a dress watch or just a well designed piece that will take a variety of straps?
Is an Omega SM AT classed as a dress watch? I'm wearing it with my jeans and tshirt today.
I wouldn't class it as a dress watch I wouldn't class the Omega Aqua terra as a dress watch either. I think people are so used to diver/ tool watches that anything without a timing bezel gets lumped into the dress watch category.
I think they're just wristwatches in the classic sense occupying that large area between tool and dress watches.
And just because you wear or have worn a watch with a dinner suit does not make said watch a dress watch. I think many get confused by this.
Fair enough though.... Mine is a 39mm and I wear it most often on a black shell cordovan, so slightly shiny and certainly flat leather and I think it's good for casual. I don't have the bracelet but do have the OEM dak brown alligator it came with.
Anyone have an appropriate bracelet for me....?
I like wearing a dresswatch to jeans and a good sized t-shirt with some nicer/casual shoes. Looks okey to me :)
I wear my dress watch with my dresses.
"A man of little significance"
I think it can. I wear my AT (perhaps can be considered sporty/dressy) with anything. I also wear G-Shocks to work under a suit. I really don't care what clothes I'm wearing, I just choose the watch I like that morning and put it on regardless.
Dads a trend setter!
In my younger days,i would wear the latests fashions.
Now in my mid 40s,i wear what i like, and probably have no fashion sense....Well acording to my 11 year old son!
But then again,recently i purchased some lovely Dessert Boots that ive always fancied.
Now i see in all the shops that my son frequents,they are selling these.I tried to explain that these were not new and from the 1940s,
but then my son thinks ACDC,WHO and the likes are New Bands!
Bingo. It's a normal wrist watch. The 40.5 mm diameter is inherently casual.
While it is very difficult to dress an item up, you can almost always dress something down. A shirt, trousers, and shoes is easily compatible with dress watches. After that, provided you look neat and tidy, you can usually get away with it. I regularly wear my vintage Omegas with coloured chinos and a shirt, even sometimes a nice polo.
It's easier with brown straps than black though.
FFS. I laughed at that for some reason!
Very nicely put and agree 100%.
I very, very rarely dress smartly (weddings/funerals) and have a few dress watches; they therefore get worn with most things. There's something quite satisfying about a Breguet Classique with jeans and trainers!
A nice classy 50s/60s gold watch can be worn with anything IMO, particularly if fitted to a nice strap rather than gold bracelet. It's only the big shouty gold watches that look wrong.
Paul
Nothing would be more fun than dressing in shorts and t shirt and wearing a white gold Patek
Yes in one word.
It is not about these made up rules but ability to carry it off.
Most 'normal' people dont differentitate between a dress watch and a sportier watch.
Well said. I loath the modern indifference to others
Due to most people not even noticing that you're wearing a watch these days, I think you can pretty much wear any watch with anything and still not be thought of as inappropriatly dressed. Most people seem oblivious to it all.
However, I really don't like to see big steel Rolex sports watches with a suit. Looks very silly and as if it's the only watch you've got but you still wear it with the suit because it's expensive.
There will be a law against it somewhere.
Best to get legal advice before attempting it tbh.
I do agree with that to a large extent. I think it's a lack of respect to those around you to not dress accordingly depending on the circumstances.
I've seen people turn up to weddings in polo shirts and sleeveless jumpers and remember thinking that the bride and groom had home to am awful lot of effort and expense to make the occasion special, and this person couldn't make the effort to wear a bloody shirt.
I think the SubC goes fine with a suit. I even tried my Navi World once with a suit, it's way too big. Wouldn't try a PAM at all either. But SubC is ok, I wear it when I wear my greay suit, black belt, black tie. Goes well with it as the bracelet and black face match the grey and black I'm wearing.
I wear the JLC Master the other days and used to wear my (now sold) Omega AT too.
Speaking of weddings, I'm trying to get my grail before my close Friends wedding at the end of next month and as a surprise to loan it to him for the event. Can't have him wearing a black Tag Carerra ffs on his wedding day.
For a number of years the only watch I owned was a Rolex submariner. Wore it everwhere without thinking about the dress code. I also laughed at Foxy 100's barb.
Nowadays I would consider what watch to wear for the occasion. How we change.
Agree that is easier to dress down agold/dress watch than the other way about.
To be fair there are very few instances these days where proper dress is required and ofc there are changing mores and fashions as to what is appropriate.
nobody really cares what you wear to B&Q on Saturday nor does ones choice if watch make much difference in most work place situations.
its rather be using to see the generalisations as if these were of wide application. If you do not know when proper dress is required then take the trouble to educate yourself.
and on that note anybody who decries a steel watch with a business suit is a blithering idiot who hasn't the faintest idea what they are on about.
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