The Perfect Gentleman Issue 1 - March 2016 | Page 8
STYLISH GENTLEMAN
Colour can be one of the hardest elements to get
right, and yet even simple changes can have
dramatic improvments. Most traditional
menswear uses two main colour palettes. Blues
and greys, or browns and tans. These can be
mixed and brighter colours added in, but these
form the basis. Putting them together is an art
but simple principles can help. To understand
these we need first to understand our own
colouring - that of our skin and hair.
The amount of contrast between these is what
guides the contrast in the colours we wear. Thus
someone with dark skin and dark hair should
wear colours of similar shade, whilst light skin
and dark hair allows for greater variation.
Adhering to this principle will allow our natural
colouring to be highlighted and prevent us from
looking washed out or muted.
The second principle is to wear similar colours
to your own natural colouring. This means
sandy tones for men with fair hair and dark
colours for men with dark complexions.
Combined with our first principle this carries
over to colour tone as well, with brighter shades
working best for men with more dramatic
colouring and more muted shades for those with
lower contrast. For men with very dark skin, this
also allows for great contrast and dramatic
colour choices.
Pattern and Texture can be considered
together, since they work in very similar ways.
For more formal clothing, both should be
down-played, which is why formal dinner wear
is smooth and plain. However for business or
casual wear we can be a little more playful.
Generally we should avoid having too great a
variation between textures within an outfit.
Rough denim jeans look great with tweed or
flannel jackets but not with the smooth worsted
used for most suits.
8
Likewise chunky knits go well with robust
brogues and cords, but not with smooth cotton
trousers or shirts.
Mixing patterns can also be difficult. We will go
into this in more detail later, but generally we
want to avoid putting too similar patterns
together. Mixing checks together, or wearing a
finely striped shirt with a pinstripe suit. We want
to help the eye of the observer towards our face,
and not cause them to get trapped in the clash
between a paisley tie and flowery shirt.
Simple principles, but allowing for a lot of
variation. We’ll explain these in more detail in
later issues, but moving away from fashion and
towards style will help you choose clothes that
best suit you, that you enjoy and that help you
achieve your goals. Much better than wearing
something just because a salesman wants to
reach his monthly target.