menswear – Page 9

Contrast via Pattern

23 August, 2012

By now you should have read my post about the basics of color and developed an understanding of how your complexion requires a certain degree of contrast. This helps draw attention to your face and also keeps you looking healthy. If you get the contrast wrong it can wash you out and make you look nearly dead, or just make it so no one bothers to look at your face because they’re too focused on your clothes.

The easiest way to achieve a good contrast in your clothing is through multiple colors. Colors all have certain relationships with each other and can be tweaked and worn to either complement a man or to distract from him.

However, even with a fairly monochrome palette, you can still achieve a fair amount of contrast through things like pattern.

Pattern Contrast — Jacket: LL Bean, Shirt: H&M, Tie: J Crew, Square: Target, Tie Clip: Vintage

That’s a picture of me from this morning. Based on the blue in my eyes and the pinkish base of my skin, blue is my best color. I have a moderate complexion so I need some contrast without going overboard.

Now obviously the white in my shirt and my tie is going to provide some contrast against the blue. That’s good but think about if I had on a white shirt and white tie. Or a solid navy shirt and white tie, or a white shirt and navy tie; none of those combinations alone would provide enough contrast. It would draw people’s eyes towards my chest instead of my face.

By having different patterns thrown in there it provides the right contrast to keep my face framed. The key is to make sure the patterns are different and the sizes are different as well. If I had a checked tie and the checks were the same size as my shirt there wouldn’t be any contrast. But, by going with stripes and having the stripe pattern be smaller than the checks, it gives the right effect.

PS. The month is more than halfway over so take advantage of the reduced price on Basic Consultations before they go back up.

Wednesday Weigh In: Green Plaid

22 August, 2012

PS. Don’t forget I’m running a deal on Basic Consultations all month this month as a back-to-school special.

Late-Summer Layering

22 August, 2012

As the weather starts to get cooler, it can be easy to throw on something too heavy too soon. A get way to avoid this is just adding another layer of something you already have on.

A long sleeve henley over another will give some extra warmth without overheating you and can add some contrast to help frame your face better. This also provides some good seasonal contrast when worn with a pair of shorts.

PS. The month is more than halfway over so take advantage of the reduced price on Basic Consultations before they go back up.

Readers

21 August, 2012

The guidelines from yesterday’s post about sunglasses apply to your prescription glasses and readers as well. This pair would be great for a man with either a square or oval face.

PS. The month is more than halfway over so take advantage of the reduced price on Basic Consultations before they go back up.

Casual Friday: Marooned

17 August, 2012

Like:

The color balance – Loud pants need a muted shirt to avoid looking clownish. Balance here is perfect.
The seasonal transition – Maroon is an Autumn color but the rest of his outfit is still very summer appropriate. One of the most difficult things about transition from Summer to Fall is the tendency to put on clothes that are too warm too quickly.
The belt – That’s a perfect walnut color.
The fit of the pants – These are neither too skinny nor too baggy. They look like he can still move in them but they follow the shape of his body.

Fence:

He has three different shades of brown between the belt, the watch, and his shoes. If they were all the same it would be too uniform for a casual look but three might be pushing it. Two would have been better.
The small collar – It comes across as more casual and dresses his shirt down, but it’s too small for his neck.

Don’t Like:

The rise – Pay attention to the visual proportions on this guy. Because he wears his pants so low and his shirt is tucked in, it makes it look like his torso is too long for his legs. This is balanced out a bit by having the pants rolled but it still looks sloppy overall.
The sleeve roll – Sleeves should be rolled past your elbows.
The button – The beach is arguably the best place to undo even a third button so the fact that he only has one undone makes this look more stuffy than it needs to.

PS. The month is more than halfway over so take advantage of the reduced price on Basic Consultations before they go back up.

Tag: menswear