Men's Thanksgiving Outfits, From the Turkey Trot to Meeting the Parents

Men's Thanksgiving outfits, in short: for most tables, wear a cashmere or merino knit over a collared shirt, trousers in flannel or corduroy with some give at the waist, and suede loafers or chukka boots you can stand in for hours. If the dinner is formal, add a soft jacket with little or no lining, and be ready to hang it on your chair once the oven has warmed the house. Keep to the colors of late fall, such as olive, burgundy, rust, gray and cream, and dress a half-step smarter than your host does on an ordinary Sunday. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, 2026.

Below: a table for the long weekend, then each outfit and the pieces we would buy for it.

Men's Thanksgiving outfits at a glance

How to dress for a day that starts at noon and ends after pie

1. Every layer must look finished on its own. The day runs from early afternoon to late evening in a house the oven has been heating since morning. The jacket will end up on a chair, so whatever sits underneath has to stand as the outfit.
2. Choose the waistband before the shirt. Pleats, side adjusters and drawstrings give room after the second helping; a belt you loosen by a notch at the table is a visible confession.
3. Warm colors, chosen as a set. Vêtir's stylists pair brown and tan with gray, olive, cream and burgundy. In their outfits, navy, denim and black go with each other and with gray and white.
4. Plan for the shoes coming off. In a shoes-off house your socks finish the outfit, so choose a loafer or a chukka you can step out of in a crowded hallway.
5. Nothing fragile near the stove. Pale suede, white cashmere and wide cuffs belong at the table, not at the roasting pan. Go light on fragrance too: you will be sitting close to people, and to food.

What to wear to Thanksgiving dinner as a guest at a formal family table

At a formal family table, the jacket makes the outfit, and the right one is soft: a flannel, tweed or check sport coat with natural shoulders, not the structured jacket from your work suit. A suit jacket worn without its trousers looks like half of something, while a sport coat is cut to be worn on its own.

Check the lining before you buy: a dining room with a dozen people and the oven on gets warm, and a fully lined jacket holds that heat. Zegna's check sport coats, in blends of wool, silk and cashmere, are unlined according to their listings, and Brunello Cucinelli's flannel Cavallo blazer is half-lined in cupro. Gabriela Hearst's Irving jacket, in olive flannel of 85% virgin wool and 15% cashmere, is the one we would buy first: olive sits with every trouser and knit in this guide and goes back to the office in January.

Button the jacket over a fine knit, not a chunky one: the front should lie flat, with no X of creases pulling from the button. The hem should cover the seat of your trousers, and with your arms at your sides about half an inch of shirt cuff or knit should show. Brioni's herringbone blazer arrives with unfinished sleeves, so order it early enough for a tailor to finish them before the holiday. A tie is optional at most family tables; if you wear one, choose wool or knitted silk rather than a shiny office tie.

• An olive flannel jacket, a burgundy ribbed rollneck, gray drawstring flannel trousers and tan suede chukkas.
• A charcoal houndstooth sport coat, a white shirt, mid-gray flannels and black suede loafers.
• A brown check jacket, an oatmeal cable crewneck, gray pleated trousers and brown suede loafers.
• A navy flannel blazer, a gray rollneck, charcoal trousers and black loafers.

The plain flannel jacket is the buy-once piece. A bold check, such as the Prince of Wales from Loewe or Canali, is the second jacket, for the man who already owns the first. Both are more structured (the Loewe has shoulder pads and a full lining, its listing says), so save them for a cooler room or a restaurant table. Browse more men's blazers and sport coats.

Meeting the parents at Thanksgiving: the outfit that says you made an effort

When you meet a partner's family over Thanksgiving dinner, the goal is to look like yourself on a very good day: no large logos, nothing ripped, nothing that needs explaining. A cashmere crewneck or a shawl cardigan over a collared shirt reads as considered without suggesting you came straight from a meeting. Ask your partner what the family usually wears, then aim a little above it. A suit is right only if that family wears suits to the holiday table.

Wearing a knit over a shirt takes two small checks. The collar should lie flat under the neckline, which a button-down or a soft spread collar does better than a stiff business collar. And the knit needs enough room through the chest that the shirt's buttons don't show through as a row of bumps. Gauge matters here, because a fine knit can go under a jacket later in the evening. According to their listings, Zegna's Oasi cashmere crewneck is a 14-gauge knit and its Cashseta turtleneck, in 70% cashmere and 30% silk, is 18-gauge. Gabriela Hearst's Daniel crewneck, in a speckled Bordeaux cashmere, is cut relaxed, while Tom Ford's ribbed wool shawl-collar cardigan is designed to be worn fitted, so size it over a shirt, not a sweater.

• A dark olive cashmere crewneck over a white oxford shirt, gray flannel trousers and brown suede loafers.
• A navy shawl-collar cardigan over a white shirt, charcoal trousers and black suede loafers.
• A rust turtleneck, cream corduroys and dark brown chukkas.

A host gift will be remembered longer than the sweater; see our guide to luxury hostess gifts. For gauge, ply and how to spot good cashmere, see the best cashmere sweaters for men, or browse men's sweaters.

Trousers with room for a second helping

No other dinner asks as much of a waistband. Three constructions give room without looking like loungewear:

• Side adjusters. Buckles or tabs at the hips let you open the waist by an inch without a belt. Brunello Cucinelli's side-tab trousers have waistband adjusters, according to their listing, and they look like any well-cut pair of wool trousers.
• The tailored drawstring. Brunello Cucinelli's virgin wool flannel trousers combine an elastic waistband and drawstring with double pleats and a zip fly with hooks, so from across the room they read as tailoring. Tom Ford's herringbone pair and Dolce & Gabbana's Sartoriale trousers work the same way. Tuck the cord inside, or let your knit cover it.
• Pleats. A forward pleat opens when you sit, which is why pleated trousers stay comfortable through a three-hour meal. Zegna cuts its gray wool trousers with front pleats for room at the top before a neat taper.

Hem for the shoe: a slight break over chukkas, none over loafers. Valentino Garavani's pleated herringbone trousers come with unfinished hems, so order them weeks ahead, not days. If you own one pair, make it gray flannel, which goes with every color in this guide. See all men's trousers.

Hosting Thanksgiving: what to wear while you cook and carve

The host's day starts at breakfast and ends after midnight, so plan one outfit with an upgrade. Cook in a base layer you don't mind marking: a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled above the elbow, drawstring flannel trousers and shoes with a rubber sole for a wet kitchen floor. Wear an apron until the bird is out. Then, ten minutes before the first guests, roll the sleeves down and add an overshirt or a chore jacket, which turns a work shirt into something you would answer the door in.

• Keep cuffs close to the wrist. Rolled flannel or a ribbed knit cuff stays clear of the gas flame and the gravy; a wide French cuff does not.
• Carve in a dark shirt. Burgundy, olive or a busy check hides a splash; a white shirt will show every one.
• Know the care label. Many luxury flannel shirts, Brunello Cucinelli's burgundy check and Burberry's Robert button-down among them, list dry cleaning as their care. That makes the apron essential.

The Brunello Cucinelli shirt closes with snaps, which are easier than buttons with flour on your hands. Gabriela Hearst's Abbe shirt in olive cashmere-blend flannel has a hidden placket that looks neat under a jacket later. For the second layer, Zegna's Il Conte chore jacket in Oasi cashmere, with a stand collar and patch pockets, is the host's blazer; the house's tan cashmere overshirt, with reinforced elbow patches and vented sides, is the softer alternative. Moncler's zip-and-snap flannel shirt jacket is the one for fetching firewood between courses.

• A burgundy check flannel shirt, gray drawstring flannels and shearling-lined suede slippers.
• An olive flannel shirt under a charcoal cashmere chore jacket, charcoal trousers and black suede loafers.
• A tan cashmere overshirt over a cream crewneck, gray flannels and brown suede loafers.

Friendsgiving outfits for men

Friendsgiving is usually an evening: a dinner party in someone's apartment or a long table at a restaurant, with fewer grandparents and more room for texture. This is the place for corduroy. A corduroy jacket or overshirt replaces the blazer, and corduroy trousers in burgundy, green or brown replace gray flannel. The finer the wale, the ridge in the cloth, the dressier it reads: Canali's padded blouson and Dries Van Noten's straight-leg trousers are both cut from fine-wale cotton corduroy, according to their listings.

• A navy corduroy jacket, a cream rollneck, gray flannel trousers and black Chelsea boots.
• Burgundy corduroy trousers, a gray cashmere crewneck and black suede loafers.
• A brown corduroy blouson, an olive turtleneck, gray flannel trousers and dark brown chukkas.
• Dark jeans, a burgundy rollneck, a charcoal overshirt and black suede loafers.

The common mistake is corduroy head to toe in one color, which reads as a suit that lost its way; if you wear a cord jacket with cord trousers, change the color and ideally the wale. Brunello Cucinelli's burgundy corduroy trousers, in cotton and cashmere with double pleats and waist tabs, are the Friendsgiving pair with the most room at the waist. Gabriela Hearst's Irving jacket in electric-navy Sea Island cotton corduroy, the same tailored cut as the olive flannel above, is the piece to keep for years; Tom Ford's shearling-collar corduroy jacket is the statement, worth it only if you will wear it all winter.

The Turkey Trot and the touch-football game

The YMCA in Buffalo, New York, traces its Turkey Trot to 1896, when six runners took on a five-mile cross-country course, and it calls the race the oldest continuously run footrace in the world; in 2020 it was recognized with a World Athletics Heritage Plaque.

If you are running, dress for the second mile, not the start line. You should feel slightly cold while you wait, because you will warm up quickly. Wear technical fabric next to the skin rather than cotton, which holds sweat and chills you once you stop, and add a light half-zip you can open as you warm. Gloves and a thin hat go in a pocket when you no longer need them. Never race in new shoes; if you buy Loewe's running shoes made with On, note that the listing suggests sizing up because the style runs small.

If you are watching, you will stand still for an hour in the coldest part of the day, so wear a half-zip knit under a down vest to keep your core warm and your arms free. Moncler describes the Airsoft fabric of its Treompan vest as light, with a water-repellent finish, and Prada's quilted Re-Nylon vest has a drawstring waist you can pull in against the wind.

For the backyard game, leave your dinner clothes indoors, because grass and mud are hard to shift from cashmere. Moncler Grenoble's fleece half-zip turtleneck is designed, its listing says, to be worn under heavier pieces on the slopes or a mountain trail. Wear sneakers with grip, never suede, and change before you eat.

• A black fleece half-zip, an olive down vest, gray track pants and running shoes.
• A dark brown wool-cashmere half-zip under a charcoal down vest, gray trousers and white sneakers, for the sidelines.

Browse more men's vests and gilets.

Watching the game: a sofa uniform that can still answer the door

This year's Thanksgiving slate, according to the NFL, opens with the Bears at the Lions at 1 p.m. ET on CBS, the same pairing as Detroit's first Thanksgiving game in 1934, followed by the Eagles at the Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the Chiefs at the Bills at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. The league has also added its first Thanksgiving Eve game, the Packers at the Rams on Netflix on Wednesday, November 25.

For ten hours of television, our test is simple: if the doorbell rings, you should be able to answer it without an apology. A cashmere hoodie or a fine crewneck sweatshirt with knit joggers passes; a stretched fleece or a team jersey usually does not. Choose joggers that taper to a ribbed hem and sit at the waist, such as Brunello Cucinelli's English-rib cashmere pair, and keep logos small. Canali's wool-and-cashmere sweatshirt is listed as machine washable, which counts for something on a day of wings and gravy.

Cashmere joggers are a pleasure rather than an investment: knit cashmere pills where it rubs, at the seat and inner thigh, so expect to comb them often and replace them sooner than a sweater.

The travel day: what to wear on the plane or the drive home

Last year, for Thanksgiving 2025, the TSA said it expected to screen more than 17.8 million people between Tuesday, November 25, and Tuesday, December 2, with over 3 million on the Sunday after the holiday alone. Dress for a line of that length and a cabin that swings between cold and stuffy.

• Wear the bulk, pack the rest. The coat, the boots and the chunkiest knit travel on you; the dinner trousers and shirt go in your carry-on.
• Carry the dinner outfit on board. A delayed suitcase on Wednesday night is a problem you can't fix on Thursday, when most stores are closed.
• Choose a half-zip. Zip it up on a cold jet bridge, open it in a warm cabin.
• Shoes are about comfort now. Since July 2025, passengers at domestic airports have been able to keep their shoes on at TSA checkpoints, so pick loafers or sneakers for the walk to the gate, not for security.
• Wool forgives the overhead bin. Wool flannel and knitwear shake out after an hour on a hanger; cotton chinos arrive looking like they made the trip.

For the coat, see our guide to the best men's winter coats; for snow at the other end, the best men's winter boots. Our women's guide to Thanksgiving outfit ideas has a city-by-city table of normal Thanksgiving Day temperatures to check before you pack.

The right shoe for Thanksgiving

Suede is the Thanksgiving leather: it looks warm next to flannel and corduroy, and dark suede hides the scuffs of a long day. Its weakness is water. Spray a new pair with a suede protector before the first wear; Zegna's care note for its Corso loafers says to avoid contact with water and to let the shoes dry completely before cleaning. On a wet day, choose rubber.

• Chukkas or Venetians for the guest. Tod's moc-toe desert chukka sits on a grooved rubber sole for a damp lawn; Bottega Veneta's Silenzio, a Venetian loafer in woven intrecciato suede on a leather sole, is the dressiest pair here and belongs at the table.
• Loafers for the host. Ferragamo's Andover loafers, Prada's suede pair and Christian Louboutin's Cavavin all sit on lug soles, the sensible choice for a kitchen floor.
• A slipper for the house. John Lobb's Kingston slipper takes a smoking-loafer shape in suede and is lined with shearling. Wear it at home, or pack it for a shoes-off house where you are staying the weekend.

Check the size chart before you order: John Lobb's Kingston is sold in UK sizes, and the Loewe and Christian Louboutin pairs in European ones. For every style, construction and fit, see our guide to the best loafers for men, or browse men's loafers.

Most of these pieces carry men's fall outfits well past the holiday; our men's fall wardrobe guide builds a 12-piece capsule from the same fabrics, and for December's parties, see men's holiday party outfits by dress code. Or tell our AI stylist whose table you are sitting at, whether you are cooking and what is already in your closet, and it will put the outfit together.

How we chose

• A warm room. A full house with the oven on runs warmer than a restaurant, so we looked for light linings: four of the eight sport coats are unlined or half-lined, according to their listings.
• A forgiving waist. Every trouser in the waistband edit has pleats, side adjusters, a backstrap or a drawstring, checked against its listing.
• Knits by job. Fine crewnecks and turtlenecks that fit under a jacket, a couple of heavier cables for a table without jackets, and wool half-zips for the sidelines.
• Soles for a long day. Most of the shoes sit on rubber or lug soles, according to their listings; the others are for the table, not the lawn.
• Colors from the photograph. We judged each piece by its picture rather than its listed color, and dropped a corduroy trouser and a cable sweater whose photographs did not match the color named on the listing.
• Houses and sizes. Top luxury houses only, nothing pre-owned, no more than three pieces from one house in any edit, and at least three sizes available on every piece when we checked.

Frequently asked questions

What should a man wear to Thanksgiving dinner?

A cashmere or merino knit over a collared shirt, flannel or corduroy trousers with pleats or an adjustable waist, and suede loafers or chukka boots. For a formal table, add an unlined or half-lined sport coat in flannel or tweed.

Can men wear jeans to Thanksgiving?

At a relaxed family table or at Friendsgiving, dark jeans with a good knit and black suede loafers look right. For a formal dinner or a first visit to a partner's family, wear wool or corduroy trousers instead; they look more considered and are more comfortable through a long meal.

What should I wear to meet my partner's parents at Thanksgiving?

A cashmere crewneck or shawl cardigan over a white shirt, pressed wool trousers and clean suede loafers. Avoid large logos, rips and anything that needs explaining, and ask your partner how formally the family dresses.

What is a good Friendsgiving outfit for men?

Corduroy: a cord jacket or overshirt over a turtleneck, with corduroy, flannel or ecru jeans and suede chukkas. Change the color if you wear corduroy on top and below.

Should a man wear a blazer to Thanksgiving?

If the table is set formally, yes, but choose a soft sport coat in flannel, tweed or check rather than a suit jacket, and expect to take it off once the house warms up.

What shoes should men wear to Thanksgiving?

Suede loafers or chukka boots for dinner, rubber soles if you are hosting, and running shoes with grip for the morning race or the backyard game. In a shoes-off house, your socks should be plain, dark and without holes.

Keep reading

• Thanksgiving outfit ideas for women
• Men's fall outfits and a 12-piece capsule
• The best cashmere sweaters for men
• Men's holiday party outfits by dress code
• Luxury hostess gifts