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Can a man dress suitably for work without owning a suit?

This was the challenge that drew us to Daryl Ross, a residential builder from Canmore, Alta., who turns 40 next year, doesn't own any formal office attire and wasn't looking to get all glammed up.

As the founder of Niche Design + Build, Mr. Ross writes the rules. As for a dress code? Well, there isn't one.

In fact, Mr. Ross is the perfect example of someone who must be wary of overdressing; potential clients are, in all likelihood, looking for someone who represents the local lifestyle.

Losing his identity concerned our Get Suitable winner. "I didn't want to be morphed into something I wasn't," he told me by phone the day after returning from his weekend in Toronto.

And we worried about selecting clothes for someone sight unseen. Consequently, Mr. Ross, Toronto-based men's image consultant Leah Morrigan and I exchanged countless e-mails. She sent him an exhaustive questionnaire, requesting that he list his music interests in addition to his measurements.

We soon discovered that his footwear of choice is a suede ankle boot and that he can't live without strong coffee. He spends his off-hours skiing, biking and climbing, and counts Radiohead and Metric among his favourite bands. Ms. Morrigan drew some early conclusions about the colours that he would wear best — greens and browns.

In the days leading up to the makeover, Ms. Morrigan and I went shopping, always remembering that we weren't in search of pinstripe suits and posh Italian shoes.

Instead, we wanted to elevate the basics Mr. Ross already had.

Sometimes together, sometimes apart, we sourced all the essentials that could give Mr. Ross a range of outfit ideas, from jeans and corduroys to pullovers and sport jackets. We had the feeling he would need new socks as badly as new footwear.

Full disclosure: Mr. Ross arrived at the Hugo Boss showroom, where we filmed the video segment, looking better than we expected. There was a small part of me that wondered how big a change we would be able to make without getting into trendy territory.

But then he started telling us that he's been guilty of wearing flip-flops to work and that he puts comfort above all else. His beat-up sneakers had seen better days. Although cute, his shaggy hair did not look professional enough. And he hadn't spent any money on his "personal wardrobe, let alone a work wardrobe" in more than three years.

In an unavoidable nod to What Not to Wear, Mr. Ross and I used mirrors to assess his existing look. We agreed that his clothes would have been perfectly acceptable for weekends or after work; but for a client meeting, he was hardly dressed to impress.

Being the centre of attention — his session with Toronto hairstylist Jie Matar was a highlight — while having to think about fit, fabric and colour could not have been easy for Mr. Ross. Ask a guy to discuss his skincare routine (our grooming artist, David Goveia, recommended moisturizer on Mr. Ross's cheekbones) and he's bound to clam up. "It was a little unsettling at first," he later admitted.

But as we made the transition from outfit 2 to outfit 3 — eight hours into the day — I got the sense that our winner had woken up to his potential.

"You guys must be psyched we're almost done," he said to me.

"You must be psyched we're almost done," I responded.

"Actually, I'm just starting to get comfortable."

Mr. Ross took home $1,000 worth of clothing, but I'd like to think he took home a lot more. For someone who works in construction, he can appreciate that we gave him the building blocks and the tools to dress and shop on his own.

"I never really knew what I was getting other than some clothes," Mr. Ross said after his makeover. "This pointed me in the right direction and got me tuned in to thinking about what works and what doesn't. I think it's even made me more conscious of how I present myself."

He also realized that feeling confident about his image could drive his motivation. "Regardless of how you look in them, clothes influence how you feel and interact with others. By putting effort and thought into them, it comes out as a different course of action."

I couldn't have said it better myself.