Three Rules for Wearing Plaid Patterned Neckties
2013 is all about patterns, and checks as well as plaids are certainly among the most popular designs. It is not a surprise then, that plaid patterned ties are among our best-sellers this year. If you are a fan of these pieces yourself, then you may want to familiarize yourself with a few dress rules that come along with wearing plaid patterned ties.
#1: Plaids on Solids
Certainly the easiest way to wear a plaid patterned tie is with a solid colored shirt. Choose a shirt that with a medium to strong contrast to the tie (light/dark contrast). A charcoal gingham check tie would look great with a light gray of white dress shirt for instance. Wearing shirt and ties that are too similar in color will cause the pattern to get lost – something you don’t want to do with plaid.
#2: Plaid on Stripes
Want something a bit more challenging than a solid shirt? Then pairing your plaid tie with a striped shirt is perfect. To avoid pattern-clash however, you do want to make sure that stripes and checks are different in size. A finely striped dress shirt paired with a smaller scale gingham check tie would be good example of what NOT to do. Instead pair this shirt with a larger plaid or window-pane checkered tie.
#3: Plaid on Plaid
Most people would cringe when thinking about the idea of wearing multiple plaid patterns in one outfit. While a plaid shirt paired with plaid necktie is certainly one of the most challenging ways to wear a tie, it does in fact work. Not only does it work, but it can be a very stylish way to show off your sartorial skills. The art in doing this correctly lies in finding the right scale – meaning the play of large plaids with smaller checks. A larger scale window-pance check shirt paired with houndstooth or small gingham check necktie would be a the perfect example that plaid-on-plaid does in fact look great.
Other Suggested Articles:
Men’s Guide to Pattern Matching
The Art of Matching Ties to Dress Codes
Your Mens-Ties.com Team