Navy on navy: Prime Minister Cameron

A line we often hear about a necktie is: "you need more contrast in that outfit." This can sometimes be valid, but it overlooks how tone-on-tone, especially navy-on-navy, can be beautiful. Compare Prime Minister Cameron's different ties and how they work better or worse.

Navy tie on navy suit:





Teal blue:



Green tie:



Bright purple:



I know which tie this gentleman would select:

The only one that I think really looks good is the navy on navy!

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Navy on navy is the only photo I actually like. The photo with the teal tie would look much better IMO if you replaced teal with a nice pale blue with less sheen. Same criticism for the purple tie. The green tie on blue shirt isn't bad but it's both not conservative and a bit boring.

There's lots of contrast in the navy on navy. He's wearing a white shirt.

Does he have his bottom button done in the first pic? What up with that?

I like the look and the same with grey suit and grey tie, for a work suit - simple look with a plain white, striped white or plain pale shirt.

where's the dimple....

Macallan said:

I like the look and the same with grey suit and grey tie, for a work suit - simple look with a plain white, striped white or plain pale shirt.

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That's a favorite of mine too, Macallan. Surprisingly, Grant is nearly 80 in this photo:



astrocyte said:

Does he have his bottom button done in the first pic? What up with that?

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Possibily trying to borrow some of the charisma of the late President Kennedy.

http://www.historyplace.com/kennedy/president-visits-father.htm



comrade said:

Possibily trying to borrow some of the charisma of the late President Kennedy.

http://www.historyplace.com/kennedy/president-visits-father.htm

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IIRC, Kennedy wore a style of jacket that was designed for both buttons to be buttoned, which is a relative rarity. I'm not sure Cameron is doing the same thing.

archibaldleach said:

IIRC, Kennedy wore a style of jacket that was designed for both buttons to be buttoned, which is a relative rarity. I'm not sure Cameron is doing the same thing.

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I think that's right. JFK used to wear a "paddock coat" that is meant to have its two front buttons fastened: http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/paddock-suit/

In Cameron's case, I'm not sure either what he's doing. His jacket doesn't appear to be a paddock coat. He might be fastening the bottom button because his jacket might be tight, if he's gained some weight. This causes the bottom button to swing away from the buttonhole, potentially exposing the tie, shirt, and trouser waistband. So to cover those up, he could have chosen to fasten the bottom button. Either that, or he's ignoring (or forgetting) the rule to button only the top button of a 2B.



CrimsonSox said:

I think that's right. JFK used to wear a "paddock coat" that is meant to have its two front buttons fastened: http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/paddock-suit/ In Cameron's case, I'm not sure either what he's doing. His jacket doesn't appear to be a paddock coat. He might be fastening the bottom button because his jacket might be tight, if he's gained some weight. This causes the bottom button to swing away from the buttonhole, potentially exposing the tie, shirt, and trouser waistband. So to cover those up, he could have chosen to fasten the bottom button. Either that, or he's ignoring (or forgetting) the rule to button only the top button of a 2B.

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The paddock coat thing is mostly an internet myth. It started as speculation with somebody trying to explain why, Kennedy, being generally a snappy dresser, was breaking such a basic rule. They couldn't find an explanation, so they dug up something obscure about the coat itself to explain it. But his coats don't look special to my eye (you'll notice that paddock suit link shows a suit that's essentially a 3 button without the bottom button, which Kennedy's decidedly is not), they just have the somewhat higher buttoning points popular in the 50s and 60's. Look at this picture, where his coat looks to be cut exactly the same as those his brothers are wearing: Truth is, it wasn't always a basic rule, and took longer to be accepted here in America than it did in Britain, where it started to flatter a King (forget which one) who got too fat to button the bottom button of his coats. Despite common perception, most coats are still cut to allow that bottom button to close, even though pretty much everybody adopted the current practice in the 60's. Well, in the US/Britain. You still see bottom buttons buttoned in other countries. Of course, it has been standard to leave the bottom button undone for a while now in both Britain and North America, so I have no explanation for why Cameron isn't following the rule.

cptjeff said:

Of course, it has been standard to leave the bottom button undone for a while now in both Britain and North America for a while now, so I have no explanation for why Cameron isn't following the rule.

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Thanks for the informative post. I have a hard time buying the "he forgot" explanation. Presumably he has been wearing a suit every day for the last two decades and someone would have corrected him on his habit early on if he was unintentionally doing it wrong!



cptjeff said:

it started to flatter a King (forget which one) who got too fat to button the bottom button of his coats.

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I believe this was for the waistcoats of Edward VII.

Here is a true paddock coat:

http://www.keikari.com/english/wp-content/pictures/2013/03/Paddock_jacket_cut_at_Keikari_dot_com.jpg

Supposedly JFK buttoned the bottom button to hide his back brace. I've heard it from a couple of sources but can't provide original evidence that this is the case.