Color Coordination In Menswear: Colors are like friends

Usually the not so popular, not so loud and entertaining people make the best friends. They are reliable and dependable and don't often hog the room by demanding the most attention when they enter the room. Heck, they might sometimes be boring. And that's exactly why they can be counted on. They don't have their own agenda and they always have your back covered.

The same can be said for outerwear.

The question of what color should one get for a first coat often comes up on ask Andy and Style forum and my feelings on the matter is that the correct answer is grey. From medium greys to dark charcoals grey is the trusted friend. So many colors go with grey because grey is boring. It doesn't have it's own agenda. It doesn't demand attention when it enters the room and much like a quiet friend unless paired with the right accessory it will go unnoticed. In the case the search for a versatile coat that's a good thing.

I have said this before in matching and coordinating with suits but the concepts are the same and bear repeating.

You can wear a grey coat with...

Black, Navy, Grey, Brown (Grey goes rather well with Brown and I am pretty sure that I have shown that here already in many different posts, most recently in this picture.), Purple, Lilac, Pink, Green, Burgundy, Rust, Orange, Camel and Tan to name a few. Greys disadvantage in not being the center of attraction make it the ideal team player.

Here are some pics that I snapped with scarves that were immediately at hand, to give you a feel for color. Take the colors and apply them to suits. It works. Bear in mind that the lighter and truer the grey (less black, more grey) the better these colors will go.

Here a dark charcoal Prandina Raglan Coat with the Colombo Cashmere double sided scarf. Here you get to see the almost black-like Charcoal and Purple working with the charcoal coat..