Friday, February 4, 2011

Color is Hard: Color Is Easy


Navy herringbone JAB suit. White French-cuff shirt from Paul Fredrick. Bubble-level cufflinks with blue liquid. Bow tie from Filene's.  Navy suit picks up blue in the cufflinks and tiny teardrops on the necktie. White shirt picks up white accents on the necktie.  Gold coordinates well with navy suit. Clean, conservative colors with fun details.

Why the bow tie? I got stuck in a rut wearing a red tie with this suit. Then, this morning, I badly wanted to wear those cufflinks. I already had the pants on. So I laid the red tie aside and chose my neckwear based on the colors already present in what I knew I wanted to wear.

Let your whims guide you.

4 comments:

  1. I like the idea of a bow tie, but wearing it can be tricky. Unless it is worn with a very hip outfit, a classic bow-tie (like the one shown in this picture) may look very grandfatherly on guys.

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  2. I think a lot depends on the viewer's personal context. If your primary experience with bow ties was on your grandfather, they'll seem grandfatherly. On the other hand, when I'm at the Fairfax County courthouse, I see bow ties on men young and old, stylish and conservative, so I think of them as more versatile.

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  3. As a lawyer, if you wear a bowtie it conveys a sense of academic legal knowledge. Ie. "Look at me, I'm an appellate attorney and I am trying to convey I will know the applicable caselaw cold." If you appear in court on an oral arguemnt and handle your arguments with mediocrity, a bowtie just makes you look like a phony."

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  4. Anon--I think your point reinforces mine about context-based perception. Regardless, I do usually tone it down for court--gray or navy suit, white shirt, small (or even white) cufflinks, straight tie without a lot of pattern.

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Questions, comments, and style ideas welcome, provided they are expressed respectfully.