Fear and Fashion Are The Only Patterns You Shouldn’t Mix
To all the problem-solvers and over-analytic thinkers reading,
Riddle me this… why are people so afraid of meshing patterns? Is it because there is a chance you can get it wrong?
You’ve got to be willing to push the limits. Too often, we settle for the safe option: simple suit, simple shirt.
Be Bold! Be Bold, I say! Step out on a limb and get it wrong. Yes, that sounds crazy. I’m telling you to fail unabashedly; the complete opposite feeling of you settling for safe. Join me in crazy-topia because you have to fail your way to success! This applies to both being a successful CEO and your sense of fashion!
The Window Pane Suit
This pattern has grown in popularity in recent years as men have looked to broaden their horizons and extend the functionality of suits from boardroom to beyond. It’s truly a classy look, and it definitely adds a flare to your closet. What’s interesting is to see the varying degrees of pronunciation or prominence of the panes in the suit.
For this look, I went very middle of the road with regard to pronunciation. The panes are visible but not exceptionally hard lines. Additionally, they are blended with multiple colors. Each section of the pane includes 3 stripes (word to Adidas) white, blue, and brown.
Some may see multiple colors as daunting or overwhelming, but on the contrary, these 3 stripes are your concierge on the way to a new fashion experience. The color scheme makes life so simple when it comes to pairing. Literally, pick a color, any color, that’s in the suit of course lol.
The Pairings
If you’ve been following our posts, I talked you through my process in Merlot for the Culture. However, this was more of a puzzle than matching a solid suit. The question is this, do I want the suit to be the only focal point or do I give you flavor in every way possible? If I choose option 2, how do I do so without making this look too busy?
Then, like a baguette hitting me in the head, I had an epiphany, the French collar shirt!
The French collar shirt is the perfect subtle accent, a french accent if you will. The shirt has a pattern but it’s not too busy, the stripes and panes aren’t too much, and the collar and cuffs give the mind and eyes a break from whatever else you have going on. Oh, and the stripes are brown (insert tongue out emoji)!
The icing on the cake: shoes, belt, pocket square. As I was piecing this together, the thing that immediately popped to mind as a consideration is: with all the patterns that are floating, I have to find a way to continue to tie this together and mute it at the same time. (no more patterns!!!) I went solid for everything else and was sure to consider hue regardless of texture. Why is this important?
It’s great if you know that you need your accents to be brown, but your look overall can be disrupted by your pairings. An easy win and a great finish to a look involves pairings that are complementary. I decided they all needed to be chocolate. I recognize that it’s hard to mess up chocolate, but I still hope you consider hue as you put together your looks.
This look is as simple as solids, but I would not call it safe. It’s a stretch in the best possible way, and I hope that you are inspired to recreate it in your own way.
As always…
To a Life Worth Living,
The Wkender.
