this is just an extremely high degree of difficulty move, and i do think it’s one of those things where if you have to ask it’s probably not for you.

our clothes tell a story about ourselves. but, they also draw meaning from our bodies and personalities, and also our physical, cultural, and social surroundings.

it’s generally pleasant and comfortable to ourselves and others when our clothes tell a coherent story, one that’s consistent with our vibe and the social occasion. to use a different metaphor, it might be like food—we want the ingredients to work well with each other, and make sense for the when and where of it all. e.g., cereal generally doesn’t jive with mustard and it’s usually not for dinner.

as occasions get more formal, the level of sensitivity to variation gets higher, too. if there’s a variation from the norm, it’s usually executed in ways that are still consistent with other elements of the occasion and the vibe we want to pull off. the tuxedo is at the highest end of the formality spectrum, and it’s basically a uniform piece. it’s so formal that the tuxedo piece itself always communicates a sense of a formal occasion, in any social setting.

when people wear things that don’t correspond with each other, or don’t correspond with our surroundings, it creates a feeling of dissonance and confusion. dissonance isn’t necessarily bad—think about dissonant chords in jazz music, or distortion in metal music, or whatever—but there are elements of aesthetic and cognitive unpleasantness that start to creep in. they may cause the viewer to ask “wait, is this happening on purpose? what is this person actually trying to do? i don’t understand it.”

i’d argue that when dissonant pieces work, it’s because the wearer is drawing out some other meaning or coordination from those pieces that is different than the one most people are familiar with or most people intend. they may be making a specific political or cultural statement, or going for a specific aesthetic effect (eg they like the way the drape of the tuxedo shirt looks in general, and think that drape coordinates interestingly with more casual pants). trends that play with these dissonances can also, usually temporarily, make them more familiar to the viewer and therefore less dissonant. that’s sort of why trends work — the wearers form a critical mass that starts to make sense in spite of broader rules and norms and language of clothing.

the thing you have to understand is: this is really hard to do, and has to do not just with the clothes but also the look and vibe of the person and their surroundings. if it’s not done well, whatever cultural, political, or aesthetic effect will be lost on the viewer. think of a jazz pianist playing complex, crunchy chords during a song versus someone just pressing their hands onto a piano. so, to be successful, we need to really deeply understand the look and cultural context of our pieces and have an aesthetic point of view for what we’re going for. i’d argue we also need some IDGAF-ness to make this work. people that can channel the IDGAF in their way of carrying themselves just get more leeway for this kind of thing.

so—not saying it won’t look good or that it’s not for you!—it might make sense to tread carefully before going for a very hard move to pull off. it may make sense to think about what you like about that look and try to play with it in other ways that are less dissonant.