So for all of you out there in reading land who wondered where I went for 4 days, I was working on the next batch of rakish articles. Fresh off the press we have an article about the dress shirt. Strike that, the dress shirt actually has a very minimal role to play in this post. I am more concerned with pairing it with its eternal mate: the tie. Personally, I really don't understand why this is such a hard concept, but what I have noticed over the last 5 years or so is that men (and even about 50% of women) seem to have difficulty blending the two. Of course, I'm not talking about pairing a basic tie with a solid shirt. I am referring to matching patterned shirts with patterned ties. This can be anything from stripes on stripes to matching a wide checked shirt with a smaller checked tie. In general, the main concept that you have to consider when matching is the rule of 3. This simply refers to the fact that 2 out of 3 things that you are wearing can be the same pattern. For example: if you are wearing a pinstriped suit. then either your tie or your shirt can be striped, but not both. When it comes to patterns, you want to watch that the patterns aren't too similar in size. This goes with stripes as well. The stripe widths need to be different or it looks too much like you cut a piece of your tie/shirt/suit and made the other striped piece. For checks on checks, I often opt for a large box check for the shirt and use a smaller pattern for the tie. Sometimes it is nice to mix up the direction of the checks as well. A small diamond shape on the basic windowpane is a nice classic look.
If you really have a lot of trouble with the matching, pick up a magazine and cut out the pictures that you like and use them for shopping. In a 2008 interview with the CEO of Armani, one of the main things talked about was how he found it ridiculous that men refused to use their resources for shopping. There is nothing wrong with taking your favorite advertisements and trying to replicate them within your wardrobe. I know you love Michael Bay, but those Victoria's Secret ads aren't going to help you become better dressed... just put those back. Another helpful tip is to find a sales associate who seems to be very knowledgeable and take their advice... unless of course you hate what they are wearing. When worse comes to worse, just shop off the mannequins. They are probably "store set" which means that they were picked out by people with a degree in visuals or who at least seem to have "good taste."
Finally, what is the deal with men only knowing how to tie one knot? Are you kidding me? Every man should learn how to tie, at the bare minimum, the basic three knots. Each has a different time to be used. I've found that most men learned how to tie the only knot that they know from their father. There is nothing wrong with that, but one knot doesn't fit every situation. Oh, and if you are the kind of man that leaves your tie tied when you are not wearing it, please stop. For the love of all that is good in this world of fashion, please stop. All that does is press permanent wrinkles into the tie. So back to the knots...the first knot that we come to is the
four-in-hand. This is the simplest of options and leaves the smallest result. It is used with forward point and button down shirts. Next we come to the
half-windsor. This is the lazy brother of the Windsor knot but works well when the larger knot just doesn't seem to fit. Finally, the full
windsor knot (named after the Duke of Windsor) is the most elegant knot and, as consequence, the most formal. Regardless of what type of knot you tie, the dimple must be present in the tie just below the base of the knot. This "crease" should be centered and pulled tight.
Final Verdict: no excuses... master a couple knot variations. Once you have that down, try being more creative with your shirt/tie combinations. You may ask why, but I need go no further than the words of ZZ Top: every girl's crazy about a sharp-dressed man.
Whew, like many of you, I have been running around like crazy trying to complete my laundry list of holiday activities. In between writing cards, shopping, wrapping, working, attending parties, hosting guests, and a myriad of other time-occupiers, I've somehow come up with some more helpful tips. Attending all these parties has made me realize that perhaps some of you could use a little refresher on what to wear to a holiday-themed event.
The end goal of your festive ensemble should be to evoke holiday cheer without looking like a plastic lawn ornament. Unless your party tells you to come dressed with tacky reindeer horns attached to a velvet headband, please refrain. Instead, reflect the Christmas season with a little tartan. Now, I started to look around for reasons why tartans have become a winter wonderland staple, but I couldn't find a definitive answer. Instead of sharing the history, let's just focus on some various ways to work in these festive patterns.
There are quite a few holiday tartans, so you can find colors to work with just about anything that you have in your closet already. The most classic of checks usually focus on a green or red base, but don't feel limited by these constraints. For example, the Black Watch tartan is a very muted pattern that is often considered to be acceptable in some formal situations which makes it a great jumping off platform for the holiday season. You don't have to start with a plaid tux jacket, but you might work it in subtly, for instance with knee high socks (for females), a pocket square (for men), or a tie (for either).
For a little bit bolder of a choice you can start to mix in the rich reds of a Stuart Tartan or a Buffalo Check. These will certainly make you stand out, but if successfully executed will make you the buzz of the party. When going for a statement piece try to keep the rest of your ensemble understated.
Final Verdict: Remember to not overdo it. Be more like the Mona Lisa, in that people just like looking at you but they really can't put their finger on why.
