On a regular day I will wear cotton pants with a button-up shirt, occasionally with a blazer added in. In general I try to look sharp while not overdressing, even for such things as going to the store or spending time with friends.

I am, however, looking to expand my wardrobe and would like some input. So I ask, is wearing a dark vest (like the kind found in a 3-piece suit) with a complimentary button-up shirt too formal for regular wear? So far I have been able to dodge the "you are way to over-dressed" look and don't really want to start now. I do, however, like the look of a vest-shirt combo.

If it effects your decision, I am attending College in the fall. I would like to point out now that I am Canadian (I have heard our colleges are more tamed when it comes to student harassment), and have seen students on various campuses wear blazer-jean combos regularly.

If you feel the style would be too formal, could you suggest some other styles I could look into? Basically, I want to avoid the "ripped jeans, tee-shirt, long hair" look many seem to go for now (I think it looks trashy).

It's as casual as you want it to be, I think that it just depends on how you wear something rather than what it is your wearing, Pee Wee Herman looks pretty casual in a suit whereas you can look formal in a shirt and jeans.

Perhaps, but in a special formal occasion nobody is going to look formal in jeans and a shirt. Although, the personality of the person can be formal no matter what they wear. I once went to a formal gathering and I met a dude who wasn't really dressed appropriately but his personality was so smart and formal that I really forgot what he was wearing. I liked the person, he was not fake like the people who often frequent those occasional lofty gatherings.

This kind of reminds me a bit of Chanel when she said that when a woman wears a bad dress the people notice the dress, but when she wears a good dress people notice the woman. I guess in my example above, when people wear a good personality, people notice the person.

To the OP: are you going to dress like that, as you stated, everyday? Btw, I'm curious, what are you studying in college?

I think wearing any kind of a vest with a button-up shirt is to formal for day to day business, unless you work in a lawyers office or something. You don't have to follow the trend of "ripped jeans and ragged t-shirt", you can always just go with a nice pair of well-fitting jeans with a nice button-up shirt and look just fine. I mean, it's nice to want to look sharp, but you're a college student for crying out loud. Save the formal stuff for when you're older and working in an office that requires it.

I dunno, I think people should generally wear what they're comfortable in, and that's speaking as one who used to turn up to work in an office full of suits wearing jeans and a tee shirt. Of course now that I feel no obligation to dress smartly, I want to buy a nice suit!