Color Coordinating Your Wardrobe
By Katharine Swan

Dressing well is more than just having the right clothes – it’s being able to mix and match with style.  Rather than throwing on any old shirt and tie, choose every piece of your outfit carefully, so that your tie complements your shirt, your belt complements your shoes, and so on.  Don’t know the first thing about color coordinating?  Here’s a few basic principles to help you get started.

Choosing the Right Tie

Too many men fail to put any thought into which tie they put on each day, instead throwing on whichever one they grab first, or perhaps wearing one of the same three favorites every day.  Does this sound like you?  Next time you go to put on a tie, make your choice carefully.  A tie is the icing on the cake, so to speak – it puts the finishing touches on your outfit.

A tie should create a pleasing amount of contrast between it and the shirt.  To keep things simply, a dark-colored tie should typically be worn with a light-colored shirt, and vice versa.  Darks can be paired when the color combination is right, but too many lights will make you look like a pastel-colored Easter egg.  Red and blue go well together, but you should avoid garish color combinations such as red and orange, or red and pink.

When matching patterns, the key is to find a color, or a theme, to tie the outfit together.  For instance, when matching a patterned tie to a solid colored shirt, find one that contains the same color as your shirt.  In general, when matching two patterns, such as checkered shirts and ties, the larger pattern should be on your tie, with the smaller pattern on your shirt as background.

Some tie-wearers rave about “camouflage” ties.  A camouflage tie is one that is the same color and pattern as the shirt beneath, or perhaps just one shade darker or lighter than the shirt, creating a look where the tie appears to “blend in” to its background.  However, this look requires a careful eye and a knack for matching colors and patterns, so it is recommended for only the most style-savvy individuals.

Wearing Suit Separates

Now that you’ve put so much work into matching your tie to your shirt, you wouldn’t want to ruin it by tossing a mismatched blazer on over it, would you?  It is important that your pants and blazer complement your outfit, as well as each other.

Your slacks ought to be a neutral shade – black, grey, khaki, and beige are the usual suspects.  These colors make it easier to focus your artistic efforts on your shirt and tie.

Your blazer needs to complement your slacks.  Wearing a blazer that is the same color as your slacks is an option, but might appear boring in the long run.  In general, wear dark colored blazers with dark colored slacks.  Black and navy often make very striking color combinations, as do black and beige.

Your blazer should also complement your shirt and tie.  Again, remember to contrast, rather than trying to match too closely; for example, a dark blazer would look very striking next to a light shirt and a dark tie, but a darker skirt and tie might require a lighter-colored blazer.  If you want to wear a patterned blazer, tone the rest down with a solid shirt and tie.

Matching Your Belt to Your Shoes

A very old rule of men’s fashion dictates that the color of the belt must match the color of the shoes.  This means that if you wear dark brown shoes, you need a dark brown belt; and if you wear a black belt, you need black shoes.

However, this particular rule is not laid in stone, no matter how old it is.  Many fashion experts say that you don’t have to match your belt and shoes exactly – as long as they are in the same family of colors, you won’t detract from the overall look.

Coordinating Your Look

It’s not enough just to know how to match your tie to your shirt, or your belt to your shoes.  When people look at you, they will see an overall picture, so you must see that picture, too – and in order to do that, you need to understand how all of the elements in your outfit combine to create the overall look.