Solid black tie with navy or charcoal pinstripe suits?

[thinman]

Originally Posted by whoopee

Change the tie to a black grenadine. With the white-black striped and contrast collar/cuff shirt, dark grey chalkstripe, it looks great. Also, when you tone down the patterns and colours, fit, cut and quality become even more apparent and important. There's no razzle dazzle to steal the show and disguise deficiencies.

Great combination, IMO. Whenever I want to emphasize the cut and quality of my clothing, I do exactly this--wear minimal pattern and color.

 

[Kid609]

It'll work if you're a secret service agent, at a funeral, or bassist for the Hives.

 

[kdsvs]

I tried the (textured) black tie again with a solid white shirt and 1. charcoal beaded-stripe suit, 2. dark navy shadow-stripe suit. Both looked much better than before, when I was wearing a white shirt w/ thin blue stripes and a lighter navy suit. As long as there's no rule about pairing navy & black, I think the look is fine.

Maybe it's just me, but I find that putting together 3 or more colours just doesn't look right. An exception would be with a colourful tie, but otherwise, 3 solid colours or a random colour accent just look weird. ie. the blue stripes on the aforementioned shirt ruined the look. Another example: blue blazer + blue shirt + grey trousers looks great, but looks off with a pink shirt. White shirt in the outfit is so-so. Anyone else agree?

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by kdsvs

Maybe it's just me, but I find that putting together 3 or more colours just doesn't look right. An exception would be with a colourful tie, but otherwise, 3 solid colours or a random colour accent just look weird. ie. the blue stripes on the aforementioned shirt ruined the look. Another example: blue blazer + blue shirt + grey trousers looks great, but looks off with a pink shirt. White shirt in the outfit is so-so. Anyone else agree?


Nope. I frequently wear blue blazer + charcoal or gray trousers + pink shirt. Usually my tie and/or pocket square has a blue base with some pink to tie everything together. I would also not rule out a white shirt, though I haven't done it because it seems, well, boring. I _have_ worn a shirt with a white base and gray/black checks.

 

[AlanC]

The blue blazer and the gray trousers really don't have colors, but are neutrals--a blank canvas you can play with.