Matching shirts and ties

[Great Zamfir]

Hello everybody, I am new and think I like the forum. I thought it best to start with a question.

At the moment I have sort of started to extend my wardrobe, I'm doing an internship in England and therefore have a bit more cash than my usual student style. Good to spend it on clothes, I thought.
However, with only a few dress shirts and ties, I have found matching them harder than I expected.
I just can't in the shop predict exactly how something is going to look with something I have at home. Not to mention from ebay pictures!

Of course, I could just buy shirts and ties together, from the same brand, but that feels a bit like cheating, and it halves the fun of finding something new.
I think the main problem is that I like ties with bright colors and flower designs, and deep inside, I like my shirts that way too. I can keep myself sort of in check when buying dress shirts, but I still dont want to spend my youth buying muted colours that go well with everything.

Any advice?

Also, I get the impression a lot of you are American. Any advice on online places where I can spend my overvalued pounds sterling? Might be worth the shipping costs.

 

[Will]

I expect that you won't like my advice but when you are building a wardrobe you should build a base of quality clothes that are not too memorable so you can wear them without people thinking you only own, for example, a couple neckties.

Start with solid neckties in different weaves such as twill and grenadine. Get navy, burgundy and gray to start.

Treat yourself to something flashy every half dozen neckties. I'll bet that in a year or two you'll still be wearing the solids and you'll be tired of the flashy ones.

EBay is a reasonable source for quality at discount prices.

 

[Great Zamfir]

Yeah, you are probably wise.
But I am not investing in the future, and for my work I do not have to pretend I own a lot of ties. ( I'm in engineering, and most engineers let their mothers pick their clothes). I might have to in the future, but then I will have a lot of ties, so that's not a problem.

My reasoning is that it is better to be too colourful while I am young and excusable, and be more respectable when I am older.

But for shirts and ties it might indeed be better to tone down a bit. Hopefully not too much!

 

[Will]

Many younger men think of establishing their individuality in terms of bright colors. With experience, the focus shifts to interesting textures.

 

[Great Zamfir]

Oh, I have no objection to good textures, but, well, good colours one can find by looking long, good textures usually cost good money.
Also, part of the appeal of good deep textures is that can make someone look experienced, or sophisticated. I am not really any of those, so it would be acting.
'Never let your clothes speak louder than yourself' can work in more than one way. The strong points of youth, for example being enthusiast and curious are not per se the same as for older people