Paisley pocket square combination

CBRYDR · Jun 12, 2013

Event is formal banquet dinner (not black/white tie event). Common attire among guests are suits/ties for the men. What is a good shirt/tie (in terms of style/pattern for the shirt/tie) combination to match with paisley pocket square on a light grey (50% mohair / 50% wool) summer suit?

Suggestions would be great.

Thanks!

YRR92 · Jun 12, 2013

Plain white shirt, solid navy tie (some texture, like a grenadine or repp, would be nice, though satin could work), black shoes.

Could you wear a patterned tie? Of course, but if you're not confident in pairing patterns, then a solid tie will be the more elegant, safer choice. If the PS is predominately navy, then wear a solid tie in burgundy or perhaps a very dark green to avoid a near-match.

If it were day time, then you'd want to avoid the satin tie, possibly try for a patterned tie, and consider a blue shirt and brown shoes.

CBRYDR · Jun 12, 2013

YRR92 said:
Plain white shirt, solid navy tie (some texture, like a grenadine or repp, would be nice, though satin could work), black shoes.

Could you wear a patterned tie? Of course, but if you're not confident in pairing patterns, then a solid tie will be the more elegant, safer choice. If the PS is predominately navy, then wear a solid tie in burgundy or perhaps a very dark green to avoid a near-match.

If it were day time, then you'd want to avoid the satin tie, possibly try for a patterned tie, and consider a blue shirt and brown shoes.

Thanks for the feedback. Your recommendation is quite appealing, but since I posted this, I've actually been trying to pair combinations and came up with this mix:

Shifting things a bit and going with quad blue patterned subtle polka dotted pocket square (different shade of blue in each quadrant)
- Solid white shirt (we agreed on this)
- Solid light blue 7-fold tie
- Grey socks (with multi stripe shades of blue. Accent suit color/pants)
- Dark brown santoni Fatte de Mano oxfords (already own these)

Thoughts on the combination?

YRR92 · Jun 12, 2013

When I wear my squares that are printed like that, I generally pick one color to show, because I don't like how the hard line between different quadrants looks.

I'm not sure about the tie choice -- it can be tough to wear a light tie with a light suit, and if it's a very light blue, then the square would have to be darker. That wouldn't work well for me. If your tie was darker, and you arranged the square so the lightest part showed, then I'd be on board 100%. As it stands, I think the light tie/light suit would be best with a white linen square, though I like the idea of a light blue dotted square with a solid tie.

The socks sound like a nice choice, and a pair of brown shoes is perfectly acceptable -- particularly if they're more elegant than whatever black shoes you own. If you do have a particularly nice pair of black shoes, this is an excellent context for them.

CBRYDR · Jun 12, 2013

YRR92 said:
When I wear my squares that are printed like that, I generally pick one color to show, because I don't like how the hard line between different quadrants looks.

I'm not sure about the tie choice -- it can be tough to wear a light tie with a light suit, and if it's a very light blue, then the square would have to be darker. That wouldn't work well for me. If your tie was darker, and you arranged the square so the lightest part showed, then I'd be on board 100%. As it stands, I think the light tie/light suit would be best with a white linen square, though I like the idea of a light blue dotted square with a solid tie.

The socks sound like a nice choice, and a pair of brown shoes is perfectly acceptable -- particularly if they're more elegant than whatever black shoes you own. If you do have a particularly nice pair of black shoes, this is an excellent context for them.

Valid points and thanks for follow-up. The one thing I liked about this pocket square was the fact there were 4 shades of blue (from darkest to lightest w/subtle white polka dots) in each quadrant. The shades would serve as accents, but I do agree and would possibly be paired with a darker tie (royal/navy blue). I do have a white linen square and actually worn that combo in the past.

I wanted to switch things up a bit and move away from the white linen square and add a bit more color. I think one of the options (if I want to keep the square) is to show the lighter parts, as you suggested. The other option would be to get a darker tie (which I am warming up to)

CBRYDR · Jun 12, 2013

YRR92 said:
When I wear my squares that are printed like that, I generally pick one color to show, because I don't like how the hard line between different quadrants looks.

I'm not sure about the tie choice -- it can be tough to wear a light tie with a light suit, and if it's a very light blue, then the square would have to be darker. That wouldn't work well for me. If your tie was darker, and you arranged the square so the lightest part showed, then I'd be on board 100%. As it stands, I think the light tie/light suit would be best with a white linen square, though I like the idea of a light blue dotted square with a solid tie.

The socks sound like a nice choice, and a pair of brown shoes is perfectly acceptable -- particularly if they're more elegant than whatever black shoes you own. If you do have a particularly nice pair of black shoes, this is an excellent context for them.

To put things in perspective, I am attaching a pic of the pocket square.

YRR92 · Jun 12, 2013

Given how gray the lightest blue in that is, you might want the second lightest to show. The tough thing with pocket squares is that you don't want one that blends in with your coat too much, but you also don't want it to be the only dark thing in a rig (light tie, light shirt, light suit).

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