are patterns/colors fighting here?

An unpatterned shirt would work better with this waistcoat and tie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mensimageconsultant 

Yes, sir?

A dark green wool (or wool-blend) tie would be better. Something that has color (to give the look life) and is compatible with a country look but isn't brownish. See, it's hard to make suggestions without knowing what is in the wardrobe.

The collar ought to be shorter (cover less of the neck) and have longer points, to not highlight the short neck.

Good advice. Well done!

The immediate fix is to dramatically increase the contrast of the tie by making it much darker since this is not a pattern failure, but a contrast failure.

The same idea of a tie,  brown and grey repp, works better if the at least one of the colors is much darker; e.g., charcoal not grey, espresso, not brown. Better still, the tone of all colors in the tie would be much darker.

Your suggestion of a dark green tie, say bottle green, is good advice, but then navy, espresso, charcoal, purple, and the tie you seem to least like, black, would all work. I know you have some prejudice against black, but some day you'll realize that a black tie of the right texture is the master stroke for pulling together elements that would otherwise appear to clash.

The shirt patterns and vest patterns are a tricky and clever match, and not a huge clash,especially from a distance greater than an arm's length. But up close they need a bolder element such as a darker or more color saturated tie to make the outfit more harmonious. In fact, it is quite likely that a bright burnt orange tie or even a bright red one might combine successfully with the shirt and vest for a bolder, yet coordinated look.  A bright blue,  green, or yellow tie might work as well but be a bit more tricky. They could not be pale in the least, but highly color saturated.

This combo is a perfect illustration of  how a composition that appears to be a pattern failure, can be "fixed" by improving the contrast of just one element, since the three elements are all too close together in tone and lack the contrast needed to work together.