If you work in an office with any kind of corporate dress code, you’ve by now no doubt built up a wardrobe filled with a variety of shirts and ties in different colors, patterns, and textures. But do you know how to pair them? Can checks go with plaid? Stripes with stripes? Purple with…a lighter shade of purple?
Paying close attention to the basic Do’s and Don’ts of how best to pair a shirt and tie will simplify the process of getting dressed, and take the guess work out of your look.
Editor’s note: this list is not exhaustive and, of course, not limited to the following …
A basic list of shirt and tie pairing do’s and don’ts:
PATTERNS & PATTERNS
Shirt 1: Nordstrom | Tie 1: Brooks Brothers | Shirt 2: David Donahue
Tie 2: Brooks Brothers | Shirt 3: Nordstrom
Do: Pair a patterned shirt with a patterned tie as long as the patterns are not the same or similar sizes – i.e. a small check on the shirt with a large stripe or check on the tie or a small stripe on the shirt with a large stripe or check on the tie.
Don’t: Pair a shirt and tie with the same pattern, i.e. if the shirt is a vertical stripe pattern (large or small) the tie should not also be a vertical stripe pattern. Horizontal stripes or slanted stripes can work as long as they are of a different size.
Do: Pair solids with patterns, i.e. solid shirt, patterned tie, solid tie, patterned shirt.
Shirt 1: Hugo Boss | Tie 1: Austin Reed | Shirt 2: John Varvatos
Tie 2: Banana Republic | Shirt 3: Elie Tahari | Tie 3: Sean John
Don’t: Pair solid shirts with a tie of predominantly the same colour, even if it is a pattern, unless there is minimal of the same colour in the tie.
Don’t: Resort to layering solids on solids unless you’re pairing a solid white shirt with a solid black tie (or are aping Regis Philbin’s style from his “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” days)
Do: Feel free to branch out and try a pattern (like repeating bicycles or floral) instead of the go-to plaid, stripes, polka dots…then prepare for a copious amount of compliments.
COLOURS
Shirt 1: Hugo Boss |Tie 1: Kiton | Shirt 2: Tommy Hilfiger
Tie 2: Target | Shirt 3: Hugo Boss | Tie 3: Vineyard Vines
Don’t: Let your shirt and tie bleed together. Keep it in the realm of light tie / dark shirt or light shirt / dark tie.
Do: Play pastels off one another. Just be sure one “pops” more than the other.
Shirt: Hugo Boss | Tie 1: Vivienne Westwood | Tie 2: Original Penguin
Tie 3: Original Penguin
Don’t: Wear primary colors together if you don’t want to look like a kindergartener’s art project.
Do: Wear a black tie with a white shirt; it’s always a classic. But don’t turn it the other way around with a black shirt and white tie (unless you are attending a throwback party of sorts).
Do: Get creative when it comes to color. Look for shirt and tie pairings that bring out the small accent color(s) in each piece. Drawing attention to an accent color is always a sure-fire win.
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