In these uncertain times, menswear can count on mix-and-match classics.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

The fashion in men's clothing shifts gears at a turtle pace. Changes are comparable to "turning an ocean liner," says David Wolfe, the fashion director of Doneger Group, New York retail consultants.

So after men found themselves enveloped by the so-called perk of casual corporate dress a decade ago, they've spent much of the time since then trying to figure out what that means. (Dockers? Denims? A polo shirt with a bowling team logo? Probably not anymore.)

But now that the idea of a dressier professional look is re-emerging as a just-barely, freshly planted seed, and a new fall season is on the horizon, what do men need to know about wardrobes?

We asked some menswear retailers and consultants about fall apparel. Not surprising, considering an uncertain economic season, traditional ...