Men often have a hard time with color. As we’ve mentioned before, guys aren’t trained to look at colors the way women are from their early teens into adulthood. This often puts us at a loss when getting dressed, which translates into armies of men wearing nothing more than their basic blues, greys, and whites. While there are many professions that adhere to conservative dress codes, there are many that don’t. Between those and the occasions when a shot of color(s) is called for, the boys at Henry Davidsen figured it’d be a good idea to give a little primer on fun ways to coordinate color.
How To Add That Bit Of Color
There are many ways to do this. Ties, pocket squares, socks, cufflinks, boutonnieres, and shirts are effective ways to tell a color story with your outfits. The other day, Mike had a whole pink/blue theme going on. Take a look at how he made it work:
The pink & blue theme is pretty obvious. We have a white shirt with pink stripes, a solid navy tie, and a pink/blue medallion pocket square. At an elementary level, you focus on coordinating your pocket square with your tie, but there’s no reason you can’t give your shirt a little love if it works this well. The light blue cotton sweater was a nice casual touch for a 60-degree day, and the light grey jacket anchors everything well while still being warm-weather appropriate.
One’s outfit, however, is never only from the waist up. The light tan khaki pants act as the anchor for the lower half, but the footwear is really what’s doing the talking here. Two-tone penny loafers are bold, for sure, but simple tan socks would have been enough here to make it work seamlessly. The choice to wear socks with thick pink/blue stripes allows the lower half to speak to the upper half in the same language.
When Called Upon, Don’t Shy Away
If the situation calls for it, don’t be afraid to have different elements of your outfit “speak” to each other. If you’re wearing a charcoal grey suit with a blue shirt and a red tie, why not throw on some medium-to-light blue socks? Throw on a blue pocket square with red trim, or perhaps a simple white square and a red boutonniere if you’re feeling dandy that day.
Embrace color, then sit back and let the compliments roll in.
