We continue our trip through the world of striped shirts, and if we have proved without any doubt that this men’s wardrobe classic can of course be worn on any occasion and we explored the main types of stripes used for men’s shirts, we now move on to the next step, to give advice about possible outfits.
With striped shirts it goes without saying that we need to ask some questions about the best items to match with them, so that we don’t fall into gross stylistic errors. Let’s look at some of the most common choices and how to act in order to display some impeccable matching combinations.
But first of all: which stripes shall we choose?
Plain colour on stripes
When you go out in a striped shirt, wearing a plain-colour tie may be the simplest choice. Attention should be given to the colour matching: colour contrasts go down well as long as the tie is in darker shades. So, for example, mid-blue or dark-blue colours are fine on a classic pale-blue and white striped shirt.
Matching different patterns
In this case, good sense and a feeling for balance are the only rules to follow: neither of the two patterns must predominate over the other. To create compatibility, the motifs on the garments must always be very different from each other, while as for the colours, you’ll choose similar colour tones to avoid contrasts that are too stark. Generally, however, it’s preferable for the tie colour-tone to be darker compared with the shirt.
And if the tie has micro-dots?
All striped shirts are fine in this case. A tie with invisible dots is, in fact, considered as a plain-colour tie and can therefore be combined with the great majority of men’s shirts. Try matching a light grey tie with pink micro-dots on a blue-and-white striped shirt. The combination can be really striking.
It must be said that, generally, there are no absolute rules in the fashion world; in some cases it is actually the exceptions that set the trend. But when we talk of style, the dictates of elegance are untouchable. This is why, when we decide to combine a striped shirt with other garments or accessories, it’s important to know how to balance the various colour-shades and patterns so that we don’t look overdressed. A good rule of thumb is to create the right combination by looking at the dominant colour: whether this is on the suit or the jacket, both of them must echo the main colour-shade of the striped shirt.
