Wardrobe Color Coordination from Conservative to Wild!

Conservative Styling:
Dress Clothing

An often hotly debated topic on many clothing and fashion forums & blogs, what to match? Here the discussion centers upon whether socks should match shoes or suit/skirt/dress. A few simple caveats cover it. For black shoes, there are two equally vehement - and equally justifiable - schools of thought:
One school ordains: When wearing black shoes, wear black socks. In most cases, any other color combined with black can be jarring due to black's harsh aura. The other mandates, with equal fervor: When wearing black shoes, match the socks to your trousers, skirt, or dress. Neither is wrong. Go with whichever you feel more comfortable.

With brown, cordovan, or other non-black shoes you have more freedom. Here the most acceptable conservative course is, again, to match your sock color to your trousers. For example, brown suit with brown socks, charcoal shirt with charcoal socks, or navy suit with navy socks. Even in more contemporary firms, one can never go wrong with these basic color combinations.

| Click Here to See the Socks

However, it is a worse "sin" to fail to match your shoes, trousers, shirt, or dress by selecting a color which, though the color name might be the same, is an obviously divergent shade. If you can't pretty much exactly match the color, it's time for a few new pairs.

Some of the more staid, old-line firms may frown upon any but black shoes ... in which case observe either black socks rule religiously.

Conservative Styling:
Casual Clothing

Widely accepted myth is that traditional casual dressing equates with the "anything-goes-casual-Fridays" outlook. Nothing could be further from reality. From the top down:

The Blazer: A navy blazer is most often seen accompanied by grey or khaki trousers or skirt. The best course to follow is to match your socks and accessories colors as closely as possible. However, better than a non-matching relative from a grey or khaki family member is to wear navy socks as close as possible to the shade of the blazer.

On the next rung down the ladder comes the "odd jacket" or "sport coat" paired with a woven, collared shirt. Again, the safest course is to match socks to trousers or socks to shoes. The truly conservative dresser will not want a divergent third color playing peek-a-boo at the juncture of trousers and shoes.

| Click Here to See the Socks

Note: Lest this cause confusion, matching your socks to a white polo shirt is not acceptable unless playing active sports or sailing. In this instance, match socks to trousers.

Fashion-Aware Styling:
Dress Clothing

Color can be beautifully coordinated and stylish without observance of the "match socks to shoes/trousers/skirt" maxim. Though barristers best not read on ... and members-of-the-boards of old-line banking or investment firms ought do likewise ... sock and accessories color coordination is one of those areas which can let personality shine through.

Add a bit of panache to an otherwise traditional "uniform" and stand out with flair while keeping within the bounds of elegance. Sporting less conservatively colored accessories doesn't mean wearing an orange suit to the weekly vice presidents' strategy session. Granted, it is a bit more "work" and best done either the previous evening or after that morning shower has had its waking effect.

Where to begin? Begin by relegating the color of your suit or skirt to the back of your mind. Don't completely ignore it - blue suit with Kelly green accompaniments can wake the dead. Instead, concentrate on shirt/blouse/tie/scarf/pocket square ... your more colorful items of apparel.

The easier two are shirt/blouse and tie/scarf. Locate a particular color - one which stands out such as the blue of your shirt or the base color of your tie. Now to your sock collection. Find one which matches ... or is close enough to coordinate with - that base color of your shirt, tie, or scarf. Here are a couple of examples:

Pink Pima cotton socks with a pink shirt/grey tie accompanied by a flannel grey pocket square sporting a pink Swiss dot around the border to accompany a charcoal or grey suit.

Atlantis or Ocean blue cotton socks, light blue blouse with Atlantis pinstripes, plain blue scarf with light blue ribbon edge coordinated with a navy suit.

Think your way through your own top and accessories wardrobe and you'll undoubtedly come up with at least a few pleasing combinations.

Absolutely Wild:
For The Bravest Among Us!

It would be somewhat ridiculous to show you the self-evident black socks with black shoes or charcoal socks with a charcoal suit. Even I can figure that out without pictures! Following are a few wilder color coordination examples which you may find new and useful.

The World of Orange

For the truly self-confident, I'll take a quick stab at the World of Orange:

Orange works fabulously with greens or browns in the suit realm. Shirts and blouses include yellows, a range of greens - especially musk, and even some bolder blues.

If you've got the moxie to sport orange, don't "chicken out". You've already decided to Be Bold. Strut your stuff with confidence and elan. One thing of which you can always be certain with orange accessories which, by the way, have been all the rage for the past few seasons, is that you will be Noticed!

And its more subdued cousin, Brown

Don't want to be Noticed with a capital "N"? Browns will work in most places where Orange might dare to go. Brown will offer a much softer appearance - less noticeable, less of a "conversation starter", more acceptable in less fashionable environments.

Venturing Beyond Color

Paisleys and patterns such as agyles or tartans are distinctive. While paying attention to colors is paramount, you can also coordinate within your color schemes by playing with patterns.

To the right are two stunning RVR ties with two of our time-tested Alexander Kabbaz designs of paisley socks. Although the colors of each item are not exactly the same, there are sufficient color matches in each sock to make them obvious color coordinates with their accompanying tie.

A word to the wise: When you start to play with pattern coordination, limit yourself to two patterns at most.

For example, if you're going with a paisley as your base for socks, tie, and pocket square ... and perhaps a muted plaid jacket such as a basically brown cashmere-silk number, stay away from a striped shirt. Wear a plain solid color.

Similarly, if you find a patterned shirt which works well with your paisley combination, go with a solid color suit, blazer, or sport coat and trousers.

Warning: Once you start coordinating patterns as well as colors it may become a full-time avocation. You may want to hire a valet.

| Click Here to See Light Scarves | Dark Scarves

| Click Here to See the Ties