For no particular reason, I was idly counting patterned vs. solid suits the other day and found I had three solids for every pattern in my closet. Not exactly an earth-shaking revelation I suppose, but they say that every man's wardrobe comes to reflect his individual style and mine is fairly simple these days.
Solid and semi-solid colored suits of course should be the foundation of the starter wardrobe, since they are less likely to elicit "He's wearing that suit again" thoughts among those inclined to be unkind. As the closet fills, stripes and checks can come to occupy more and more of the space, particularly while the intermediate dresser is going through his experimental stage. Every man who thinks about his clothes has a period when four patterns become the norm, but that rarely lasts. He may not adopt Cary Grant's monochromatic look but with experience comes simplicity.
The simpler approach is one or two patterns above the waist, using texture and color so, taken as a whole, the effect is nonchalant. In the photo, a navy nailhead suit is paired with a gray on white striped shirt, a white linen pocket square and a pink and olive block striped necktie by Drake's London.
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6 comments:
The pairing of striped ties with striped shirts seems to have gained much more ground, and people are now willing to break the old rule of solid with stripes.
It's harder to make it work than people imagine and I've seen a lot of failures. I very rarely venture there myself, even with a solid suit - it leaves all the pattern/colour concentrated in one place.
Perhaps yours works because of the very bold pink against a muted grey.
Will, does the ratio mentioned in your first sentence hold across your suitings for the seasons?
Roger, two stripes are fine together so long as they are different scales.
JC, probably but my warm weather clothes are in storage so I can't be certain.
Great combo as usual Will. I generally love mixing patterns but I'm bound to say that with the solid or semi solid blue DB suit (which is only notch below evening dress in formality terms)it's hard to beat a white shirt and either solid or micro patterned tie (say blue and silver or blue and white). Whenever I'm going to wear such a suit I lay out a couple of shirts and ties but always rotate back to the less is more
For dressing up in the evening nothing beats a white shirt, dark tie and white linen pochette with a solid blue suit, but for my taste it's too formal and severe for daytime wear- the pictured combo is beautiful for the day. I always wear my solid dark blue peaked lapel suit with patterns during the day.
Will, You made a great point about the phases a man goes through as he builds his wardrobe...
I have several glen checks in country flannels, a few houndstooth of varying sizes for the city-country jumps, and many solid suits.
Every time I lay awake at night sleeplessly worrying about the state of my affairs or family, I force it out of my mind by thinking of solid suits paired with solid ties in grenadines, silk tricots, wool cashmere solid ties...invariably black or just that perfect shade of midnight blue...and all is right in the world.
Keeping it simple makes me sleep better at night as I near my 50's.
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