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The Right Suit Color - Black vs. Brown
United E-Commerce, LLC
There are basically two types of men's fashion, especially for standard corporate dress in suit and tie. These are the gray and black combinations or the beige and brown combinations. These two traditional color choices are very distinct and are not meant to be mixed together. Some examples of this are the traditional gray suit of the banker who would not be caught dead wearing anything, unless it was a shade of gray, with a white shirt, a dark tie, and black shoes.
The gray banking suit is so well-recognized as to almost be a uniform. Any banker wearing anything different than this standard seems to look out of place and not to be dressed properly. This does not mean a banker cannot wear a beige/brown combination for a suit. It only means that if they do, they should be aware they are sticking out like a sore thumb. Because of this, in most cases, bankers especially senior officials in banks, always follow tradition and wear a gray suit.
There is a little room for variation. The gray suit may be either pin-striped or sold gray. If pin-striped, the stripes should be rather sedate and not try to call too much attention to themselves. If the suit is solid gray, it should not be made of material like heavy wool that attracts lint like a link magnet. Better for it to be made out of a polyester/cotton or polyester/wool blend that looks sharp and yet does not attract lint.
As far as beige/brown combinations go, there are plenty of places where they are appropriate, outside of the stuffy, traditional, banking atmosphere. When you wear a nicely matched suit in the shades of brown and beige, with the appropriate shoes that are dark brown, tan, but never black, you can look sharp and casual at the same time. The beige/brown suit combinations are most effective when attending events where you want to dress up, but not be overly-dressed. If the event turns out to be more casual than you expected, they you can simply remove your tie.
This does not look bad at all if your jacket is beige, especially a nice tan cashmere. In fact, your idea to wear a beige jacket makes you look very nice in events that are less formal but for example considered business casual. If you are wearing a gray/black suit combination, then removing your tie will most likely result in looking like you are improperly dressed.
One other rule to be aware of, even if it most obvious, is that you never wear brown shoes with a gray/black suit that is either solid color or some combination. Gray or black suits require that you wear black shoes. Beige and brown suits in a solid color or in some combination require that you wear brown shoes, preferably dark brown. These two classic color combinations are so entrenched in the fashion memory that to do otherwise makes you look like you made a mistake.
Hendrik is a true tie aficionado. Besides collection mens ties he is the founder of necktie retailer that also has a huge selection of skinny ties
Article submitted Monday, October 25, 2010 & read 81 times.
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