Every man should know how to do three things: change a tire, tie a tie, and match their tie to their outfit. There’s probably more than that, but we don’t have that much time. Unfortunately, a lot of men don’t know how to match their tie, and in some cases, they don’t even know how to tie it. Gentlemen, we’re here to help you fix that. By the end of this blog, you’ll know exactly how to choose a tie to match your outfit.
Solid vs. Patterned Shirts
If you want your tie to look good with the rest of your outfit—which is probably why you’re here—your shirt’s really what decides your tie for you. For instance, sticking to solid neutral-colored shirts, such as white and light blue, makes choosing a tie much easier because just about any tie will work.
If you’re living more on the wild side with a striped shirt, the tie gods change the guidelines. So if you’re working with a patterned shirt, you could choose a tie with a similar pattern but make sure the pattern is different in proportions. For example, if your shirt has thin stripes, you could wear a tie with thick stripes but not thin stripes. Don’t believe us? Go try it; we’ll wait. Told you it’s bad.
If you like to live life dangerously, you could begin mixing patterns. Now, mixing your shirt pattern with a different-patterned tie can get really awkward really quick, so be careful here. Keeping proportions in mind, you could try a polka dot or a paisley tie with a patterned shirt.
Deciding Between Colors
In general, you want your tie to complement and contrast with the shirt and suit jacket (if applicable). Unfortunately, there’s no perfect formula (thank goodness, we don’t want to do math) for figuring out which colors work best together. Some people will argue color wheels are the best way, while others say do it the old-fashioned way and eyeball it.
We’re not going to take a side here because everyone’s got their own methods, but we do suggest trial and error. Even with the perfect outfit and having contrast between your shirt and tie, some color combinations just won’t look good on you even if they look great on others. For example, people with lighter skin complexions can appear washed out with lighter pastel colors, while those with darker skin complexions will look great in pastels.
Skinny vs. Standard
Here’s a bonus tip—ties come in different widths: skinny and standard. Skinny ties are better suited for thin and taller guys, while standard ties are great for our husky friends. Ultimately, once you learn the basics of how to choose a tie to match your outfit, you’ll have to spend some time trying different combinations and colors.
Here at Tough Apparel, we want to help guys grow their style and make their lives easier. Most guys don’t want to deal with getting their clothes dry-cleaned and we don’t either, which is why we created washable ties. Check out all our awesome Tough Ties, ratchet belts, and socks to boost your style!
