Tie and shirt for a charcoal suit for a Baptism

[Alson]

Hi Lucan, What do you mean by I should consider the suit choice more carefully?

I already bought the suit.

But not the shirt and tie yet. So would you recommend double- or single-cuff? Always thought single-cuff was for black tie and very formal.

Although like the collar, sometimes you just need to take what they have. Spread is just much easier to find, specially in my size. It's hard enough to find shirts and suits in my size.

I want french cuffs but I will be lucky if I find one in my size and may have to just settle for normal cuffs.

 

[Alson]

As it happens I went around today looking for a yellow tie and only found a stripped one and a dotted one. Plus a very pale golden one. None of which I really liked. The best one was the dotted one. At least it was close to the right type of yellow and the dots were very small. But it still looked too business. But blue ties you had any shade and shape.

 

[Alson]

So since I couldn't find a suitable yellow tie I am going with a purple tie like this over a white shirt:




Doesn't scream business like blue.

But still thinking of a white pocket square instead of matching the purple of the tie.

 

[velomatt]

I think the comment about your shirt was a joke. As in, you're obsessing about the tie to such an extent that you should apply equal scrutiny to the rest of your outfit.

As for the purple tie, ok If it is going to make you happy, go with it. I'd go with a lavender color though, rather than a deep purple.

Honestly, you're not doing anything that daring with your outfit. Almost any tie is going to look acceptable. The single color/shiny ties above look a bit costume-y to me. Very high school prom.

It's going to come down to finding a tie that makes you feel good when you tie it on the morning of your son's baptism. I've proposed a series of ties that I'd be proud to wear to such an event. I think I'd look great and feel confident.

We cannot supply those feelings for you. You need to feel them organically from the clothes you select. If you like something, go with it. But you keep coming back asking for advice when you've received advice but been unwilling to accept it. I don't understand how you could post those blue ties after seeing that NMWA tie on the first page.

 

[white collar]

I too share your frustration about peoples lack of willingness to discuss what to wear. I'm on this forum because I love fashion and I love discussing it, sharing my thoughts and opinions on what someone should wear is why I'm here. I also don't think you're over thinking things, I've put more thought into smaller events, good for you for wanting to be well dressed, you and your family will see these photos for years to come and you want to look good. As for my opinion on the tie, I would consider a light blue dress shirt and a yellow tie. To give you an idea of what I mean look at Brooks Brothers shirts and Thomas Pink ties. I think you will like their ties, that's what I would wear anyway.

 

[velomatt]

I too share your frustration about peoples lack of willingness to discuss what to wear. I'm on this forum because I love fashion and I love discussing it, sharing my thoughts and opinions on what someone should wear is why I'm here. I also don't think you're over thinking things, I've put more thought into smaller events, good for you for wanting to be well dressed, you and your family will see these photos for years to come and you want to look good. As for my opinion on the tie, I would consider a light blue dress shirt and a yellow tie. To give you an idea of what I mean look at Brooks Brothers shirts and Thomas Pink ties. I think you will like their ties, that's what I would wear anyway.

I'll just add to this that the original poster hasn't given us much to work with. He's said he has a charcoal suit and a latin/italian complexion. No pictures of him in the suit with potential ties/pocket squares. He says he doesn't want it to be too businessy, but the charcoal suit is already tilting toward a more formal look. Which is fine, but let's remember that you're not just dealing with color, but also texture can have a big impact on how 'business' something looks. Adding a tie with more texture is going to move the look away from business.

Looking to James Bond for inspiration for a baptism outfit is perhaps not the best. But certainly better than looking to Michael Corleone.



Plenty of people made a genuine effort to help. But at the end of the day, we weren't given much to work with. If you're set on a purple tie, here's one that I would rock.

Drake's hand rolled wool

 

[Alson]

I think the comment about your shirt was a joke. As in, you're obsessing about the tie to such an extent that you should apply equal scrutiny to the rest of your outfit.

As for the purple tie, ok If it is going to make you happy, go with it. I'd go with a lavender color though, rather than a deep purple.

Honestly, you're not doing anything that daring with your outfit. Almost any tie is going to look acceptable. The single color/shiny ties above look a bit costume-y to me. Very high school prom.

It's going to come down to finding a tie that makes you feel good when you tie it on the morning of your son's baptism. I've proposed a series of ties that I'd be proud to wear to such an event. I think I'd look great and feel confident.

We cannot supply those feelings for you. You need to feel them organically from the clothes you select. If you like something, go with it. But you keep coming back asking for advice when you've received advice but been unwilling to accept it. I don't understand how you could post those blue ties after seeing that NMWA tie on the first page.

The lavender suggestion is not bad. Although the one I'm considering is not really that shiny. It is an interesting weave. It's kind of purple or maroon, depending on how you hold it. But it is not shiny per say. It's hard to explain but it has some structure. It's almost like it was woven with both purple and maroon threads. Hard to explain. It's not completely smooth. I tried finding a picture of it online but couldn't. I saw it at the store.

I keep coming back for advice because I can't find the type of yellow I'm looking for and I'm not a fan of ordering things online. I really like to see it in the flesh. So since I couldn't find the type of yellow tie I want locally I came back for advice about another color. But if I had found the yellow I want I would have bought that already. Understand?

The difference between the blue ties I posted and the one in the first page is that the ones I posted are solid, no pattern. I didn't like the one in the first page. That's all.

 

[Alson]

I too share your frustration about peoples lack of willingness to discuss what to wear. I'm on this forum because I love fashion and I love discussing it, sharing my thoughts and opinions on what someone should wear is why I'm here. I also don't think you're over thinking things, I've put more thought into smaller events, good for you for wanting to be well dressed, you and your family will see these photos for years to come and you want to look good.

You totally get it White Collar.

 

[Alson]

I'll just add to this that the original poster hasn't given us much to work with. He's said he has a charcoal suit and a latin/italian complexion. No pictures of him in the suit with potential ties/pocket squares. He says he doesn't want it to be too businessy, but the charcoal suit is already tilting toward a more formal look. Which is fine, but let's remember that you're not just dealing with color, but also texture can have a big impact on how 'business' something looks. Adding a tie with more texture is going to move the look away from business.

Looking to James Bond for inspiration for a baptism outfit is perhaps not the best. But certainly better than looking to Michael Corleone.



Plenty of people made a genuine effort to help. But at the end of the day, we weren't given much to work with. If you're set on a purple tie, here's one that I would rock.

Drake's hand rolled wool

I think saying that I didn't give much for people to work with is unfair. Short of a picture of myself and the suit, I even described my build etc. I didn't post a picture of the suit because it was at the tailor for alterations and it still is. I will not post a picture of myself online, sorry.

But I gave lots of info about the event, time, and about myself. If people needed more info they could have always asked, if that was really the problem.

I'm not looking at Bond for inspiration. But if I type gray suit and blue tie or gray suit and purple tie, the best pictures that came up happened to be of Bond. I didn't specifically searched for Bond pictures. So please don't assume things.

Like I said my jacket is out for alterations. But here is a picture of the trousers texture, which is exactly the same material as the jacket:



About the charcoal suit being more formal or business, I didn't choose the suit it chose me. I wanted a lighter gray. But it's a pain to find suits for me because of the bodybuilder build. If it fits around the chest and shoulder it will normally be a fat man suit and will be huge around the waist. The slim fit stuff normally won't go up to my size. So this and a black suit was the only ones that fitted enough to have alterations done and look proper. Between this and black I took this. But my intention was a lighter grey suit.

 

[white collar]

In an effort to suggest better ties, what stores are around you? Where are you shopping so I can recommend things?

 

[Alson]

Thanks White Collar but I ended up buying a purple tie. So my outfit is now complete.

Thanks to all who tried to help.