More on Blended Dressing

At one point during the 1930's it was said that to be considered "best dressed" a man had to be able to wear the loudest of checked suits without attracting attention. Men that could do so had mastered the art of the blend, combining elements of dress so that none of them stood out from the overall image.

For example, the late Duke of Windsor was able to wear tweed suits with very strong patterns, patterns that would be flashy on other men, and look well dressed at the same time. He was expert at blending.

The secret to the blend is that each element in an ensemble should relate to the other. The first illustration is a combination of the sort favored by the Duke, a black and white plaid suit with a red overcheck. The shirt has a gray body with a white collar, picking up two of the suit's tones, and the necktie's red ground picks up the overcheck. The combination works to reduce the strength of the suit's pattern.

In the second illustration, our man's black lord's hat and shoes relate to the black in his suit. He is wearing an odd vest that picks up the brown in his suit's overcheck. His shirt collar is the same as the white in the suit's weave, and the shirt body is similar in tone to the waistcoat. The look is subdued though the suit is anything but.

These are more extreme examples than may be appropriate in many work places but they are intended to make a point. You may not have a checked suit but you can still see the effect of blending for yourself.

The next time you're shopping for a suit, take out a navy solid and place it next to a white shirt and a maroon necktie. Then lay down a blue flannel with a white chalk stripe, a blue end on end shirt and a maroon necktie with white dots. The combination of the flannel's texture and the white in the suit, the shirt, and the necktie work together to create an effect that's considerably more sophisticated than that of the three solids.

Buy the flannel.