More Blank and Purple

Yes...It is supposed to say Blank and Purple, not Black and Purple. Thats because Yesterday I ended with this Attolini Tie and promised to start with it today and the suit choice was open for consideration. (we settled on charcoal because Blues and Browns didnt work here)  (pardon any typos I am rushing!)



As you can see its paired with the white shirt and black suit, and a white square. However we don't have to stay with that.

So I tried a bunch of different shirts that on principle might have worked but they didnt pass the eyeball test. First of all I swapped the black suit for a more versatile Charcoal. Then I was left to find acceptable shirts.

The pink fell short because it looked fruity even with the traces of pink in the tie. I wont even post the blue



I then tried this Hickey Freeman Hist First lilac striped which was perfect for both the suit (this suit has a lilac stripe in it.  Also a Hickey Freeman) and the tie.   I tried the pink trimmed pocket square because I wanted that pink in there.  It wasnt the best option.  Better still was the light blue pictured just below.



Swapping suits for a plain Charcoal Pin stripe but keeping the shirt and tie I added the blue trimmed square for a nice look.  The blue in the square pulls the  shirt which also has a blue stripe together and the traces of blue in the tie.  I like the look.



Have a great weekend!

Black and Purple - Together Forever!

Greetings all Amateur Economist Readers! Do stay a while and enjoy or just pop in when the need/desire arises, and feel free to comment or request at any time!

As promised last night, here is that purple tie against a black suit, white shirt.  For elegance sake I left the square as a white linen.

I think you will agree that it works best against this backdrop.



Here the lighter lilac dotted tie.



And here with a purple Attolini six fold.  Even tough this is a darker color purple and belongs bunched up with the first tie and not the lilac, I put this last as I will run with it tomorrow.



Have a great day!

Grey Pin Stripe Redux

FTWU, welcomes all NikeTalk readers, I hope you enjoy.  Feel free to stop by any time and feel free to request! (and thanks NiiDawg3 for the link. Much appreciated.)

Back to the matter of a matching purple tie to the charcoal grey that was requested a few days back.  I worked up a few purple or purple themed ties that went well with a charcoal grey pin stripe suit.  This first one was interesting because it used a dark navy satin based tie with mixes of lilac fuchsia (hot pink) and beige in it.  The shirt is a Hickey Freeman His First shirt (purple and light blue stripes) borrowed from the kids store and the square is white with a lilac trim to keep it simple.



Second up, the satin based tie with the black warp.



After seeing the photograph here I am thoroughly convinced that this tie is best at work against a white or white based shirt (like this)  for optimal contrast which is contrasted against a BLACK  or solid charcoal grey (really dark) suit.  Similar to this look (the flash photography makes the shirt look close to white.  In reality it's grey.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460" caption="Black Suit"][/caption]

Finally, here with a lavender colored dot tie.  Of the three I personally think that the last one is the best. (and to avoid the square trim matching the tie I swapped for a solid white.



Tomorrow a few more lighter color ties with this set and the black and white for the first tie.

Right Tie, Wrong Shirt

I have mentioned in the past but I cant say it enough that contrast is generally your friend. Colors of items can match yet if you group too many of the same color together invariably one or the other item will look wrong.

Here is an example of the colors being correct but the applications being wrong. Rust and orange, works with black and nicely so, yet the use of the rust tie here together with the rust colored check shirt will leave you wanting.



Better in the same pattern is the green shirt, which works well with the black jacket and the contrasting rust tie. The square has a little bit of everything in it so thats no problem.



You might feel that this square is too closely color related to the rust tie and I wont disagree, so to change that you have this square.



Finally, if you absolutely love that orange shirt, change the tie so that you gain your contrast in other ways as so:



Incidentaly, my first Orange Shirt writeup :-) at least the first tag created for an orange shirt that is. Kewl!

Double Header

Радушный прием всем читателям Gommeux.ru :-)

I had planned on this combo before the earlier request came in so here you go.  Again, most of the items are from the Hickey Freeman His First collection so dont expect to see links.  The only thing that is linkable is the square, from the Spring 10 Collection at FIH.

The jacket is black check with a slight brown thread running through it.  Green and the green families (olive etc.) work well with black and the shirt and tie combo are right at home here.  The detail of the square shown just below shows the dark olive green in the square that bring it all together.  The burgundy, black and green.



The detail of the square.  Patterns and colors all well played out here.



If the monochromes of the shirt and tie were not what you wanted to see or if the green tie wasnt to your liking we can also do well with a charcoal grey colored tie in the same family.  No harm done.  Interesting is that the flowers in the tie come back to the paisleys in the square.  That same orange color, showing successfully that there are no colors here that simply don't belong.

Faster than a speeding Train!

In response to a request, posted in this thread, I suggested the following few options. As he posted I was already gathering options.  Indeed faster than a speeding train :-)

Here is a tie that is a little misleading.  When looked at it with the PC you dont get the true colors in it.  Due to its Plum warp (catena) you get a shimmering purple color in there.  Well matched with this suit and shirt combo. I used this square as its a flash of color that works.



This tie is too dark I fear for this suit and darkish shirt.  Not my favorite.



Just like Goldilocks, I think that this color in this tie is just right.  It livens up the darker shirt by giving contrast.  reverse contrast perhaps but contrast nonetheless.



And this tie gives a pop with the pink and lavender stripes against the black.



Finally, when linking posts, I was reminded of the ties in this post will work well as well.

Not Giving Up My Day Job

If you got a chance to read the about me page to the right you would have noticed that I dont just do this for fun, although I enjoy this part of the business immensely. I actually do this for a living in our kids shop. The men's ties/accessories etc. is not yet a self sustaining (read, cant support a family on it just yet). And thats where you people step in :-).

Below are a few looks that I put together yesterday, mostly from our Hickey Freeman His First line. I'll spare the links as most of it is only available in our kids store, but if you have a need of anything from the kids line, please feel free to reach out to us either here or at www.TuesdaysChild.com

Dissenting Opinion

Last Night Almurtadza, commented that he preferred the rust tie combo with the jacket since it complemented the jacket, shirt and pocket square.

Here is the pic in discussion:



While I cannot argue a personal preference, my own personal preference is to avoid a jacket of this hue with a tie of that color for the simple reason that the tie brings out the orange in the jacket and really highlights it.

Other options that can tolerate a tie of that nature might be something like this, which uses a cream shirt, Hickey Freeman brown plaid jacket, the orange tie and the orangeish square.



If the orange square appears too matchy to the tie (I cant say you are way off there, ) here is a multicolor square that uses the earth tones of the jacket and adds some other colors to the mix (burgundy, blue etc.)

Here is the square detail:



And your complete ensemble look.

Springier Spring Looks

Keeping the jacket (since almurtadza liked it so much :-) ) we get a brighter look by swapping out the shirt for a yellowish one and brightening up the tie a bit. Here we can afford this color blue tie which works well against the yellow but might not have worked as well against the blue shirt as the tie has a bit of aqua green blue in it.

For squares I give three options before changing the tie for an rust orange one which makes the ensemble all that more serious and somber.

Yellow Shirt, Blue Textured Tie, orange Square and Hickey Freeman Jacket:





Switching square for Square:





And for a little more color in the square we try this multicolor baby:





Finally, with the same square in place I moved over to the rust tie.  Not at all bad, but a different less bright look.

Spring Looks

Here is a Hickey Freeman Silk and Wool Jacket with a light blue shirt, shown first with a rose pink linen square and then with a light blue square. In all cases the shirt is the same as is the tie, this satin based tri stripe number from the Spring 10 collection.





In this case I introduced some more color and pattern with this vintage floral paisley square.  I thought it gave a nice shock of color and being green with burgundy highlights blended well with the other elements of the ensemble.



With the square detail here:

Equal Time For Her

We are coming up on a years worth of posting here and I realize that we haven't spent much time for that accessory that money can't buy. The "She" of our lives.  Maybe not equal time here but at least a favorable mention and something for her.

Here is something that she can wear from her waist up. All from Alex Begg and soon to be on the site. This is the stuff that they were promised the emperor in the Emperor's New Clothes

The chiffon silk collection of still life patterns. A first for Begg as they normally don't do silks being a cashmere company.  Personally I usually skip the spring season from Alex Begg but when I received the catalog from them I thought the colors were wonderful and was hard pressed to pass.









The Wispy Cashmere collection (I recently received another two I havent photographed yet)





And the cotton silk collection:



Available in these three colors: