Someone on Style Forum asked how many solid navy suits other people have and when I went through my closet in my head I was surprised at how few there are. That's partly because I prefer patterns that will blend over solids (see More On Blended Dressing), but it is principally because I wear a lot more gray than blue. Indeed, I tend to reserve navy for the evening, sticking to gray (and tan to a lesser extent) for day wear. In this I am unlike most of the men I know who pay attention to their clothes and wear a lot of blue.
Now that I think about it, I wear gray instinctively, light to mid-gray in particular, because it complements my coloring. There is a bit of gray in what remains of my hair these days, unlike those same clothing friends who tend to have shocks of dark hair that complements navy. And that is how clothing should be. Every man should have a little gray and a little navy in his wardrobe, for there are occasions when only one or the other will be ideal, but once that is accomplished he should acquire the things that work for him rather than heedlessly following recommendations that he needs so much of this and so much of that.
In the photo, a lot of gray, livened up to a very small extent with burgundy monkstraps.
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4 comments:
Perfect Will, love the glasses :o)
I think you may have forgotten "relatively" in front of "few" - I bet you have over two dozen :-)
Not solids. Not even close.
Will, I think you have an exceptionally good understanding of what colors complement you. It's clear by looking at the palette you choose from that you are what is called, in some circles, a Spring: your best colors are clear, warm, energetic ones, often with yellow or golden tones, with a preference for medium-dark to light shades.
The navy that suits you best is a light, bright one--not a common shade, so it's no wonder that you don't favor navy.
In contrast, those of us who are Summers (the most common coloration for Caucasians) look best in cool, light, blue-toned pastels; the darker colors need to be heather (i.e., grayed) in order not to overpower.
Summer's best navy has gray tones in it, but Summers can get away with a broader range of dark blues than Springs, which may explain, in part, why so many men have so many navy suits and blazers.
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