The London Lounge

I have decided that chalk and pin stripes should be no colour other than white or light grey. I am not talking about the reverse chalk stripe here but one sees stripes of various shades of blue and red, even green for heavens sake, on worsteds and flannels. I contemplated a light grey flannel with a blue chalk stripe but dismissed it on the grounds that one would be in a perpetual state of turmoil as to what to wear with it. It would lead to the kind of ensemble dressing that I so despise - this is the tie I always wear with this shirt and this is the shirt and tie combination I always wear with this suit, etc. Ghastly. Am I wrong?

I think you are perfectly right about those "default combinations". If a cloth, instead of inspiring you to variety in dress, makes you feel compelled to choose the same shirt and tie every time, you'll be better off without it. If the ingredients are simple, you can mix them in many ways.
That said, a friend of mine is having a suit made from a dark gray flannel that has a dark plum stripe to it. Very dashing!

Scot

Costi has given you great advice and I second it.

I happen to like stripes, especially in combination with a herringbone pattern that softens the color of the pin stripe. That color can be just about anything. Normally these stripes are so fine as to be hardly visible except at very close range. They can be worn with harmonious contrasts in shirt and tie color quite effectively and in doing so avoid the precious, coordinated look you describe. And these can be worn for business occasions and fun as well, for they are not as austere as their standard biz suit brethren.

Michael Alden

Don't you think this depends on the size of your wardrobe?

With enough in rotation, people aren't likely to think, "oh, there's that suit again."

With enough shirts and ties, there ought to be ample opportunity to mix it up.

I don't have colored stripes but look forward to the day my wardrobe's big enough to have them without this problem.

IMO, I do not see why cream or faint blue pinstripes are so objectionable, or so difficult to match, or 'memorable', for that matter.

They don't have to be, but one thing I've noticed about blues is that they can be rather particular about their stablemates. Royal with slate? Oog. Red-dolloped navy with a cool midnight tie? You get the idea.

I have a mid/dark grey with a blue windowpane (from Lesser 9/10 oz book) suit that I absolutely love. I dont find that I have any trouble wearing a variety of shirt and tie combinations with it at all and I get a lot of comments about how much people love the suit. I also think blue suits with light blue stripes often look great and will probbaly get a suit made up with something like that.

I like stripes as well.

I have always figured if there was a suit I really wanted wear, there was a way to wear it well. I just had to see the way.

Cheers

Michael Alden

There is more to it than shirt and tie combinations. It depends where you are and what you are doing. I agree that coloured windowpanes can look very dashing but these are informal suits. A classic chalkstripe in Britain would be considered the epitome of professional or business attire but, say, a grey suit with a red stripe would be considered a bit showy or "naff".

Scot:

You've overlooked some possibilities for the color of your stripes. Once you have the classic cream-colored chalk stripes, rope stripes, single or double pinhead stripes on dark blue, grey or charcoal backgrounds,
consider lavender stripes on navy blue, pink stripes on grey, platinum on charcoal, gold on dark brown, and and any rich jewel tone on dark unfinished worsted. There is absolutely no end to the choice of colors, and no reason to dismiss a swatch out of hand because it's 'too unusual'. Be a little adventuresome with your clothes and accessories.

JMB

Jordan Marc wrote:Scot:

You've overlooked some possibilities for the color of your stripes. Once you have the classic cream-colored chalk stripes, rope stripes, single or double pinhead stripes on dark blue, grey or charcoal backgrounds,
consider lavender stripes on navy blue, pink stripes on grey, platinum on charcoal, gold on dark brown, and and any rich jewel tone on dark unfinished worsted. There is absolutely no end to the choice of colors, and no reason to dismiss a swatch out of hand because it's 'too unusual'. Be a little adventuresome with your clothes and accessories.

JMB

I admit to a lack of adventure but some of those make me feel distinctly queasy

I have been looking for and dark or medium gray worsted with green stripes and i ve only seen it rtw for Jay Kos. where could i find such a cloth?

Jason:

You might give Scabal in London a try as well as Harrisons of Edinburgh. If nothing turns up in the UK, try
Zegna in Italy. While lighter in weight than the 15-16 oz worsteds favored by the members of the forum,
the Italian mills are second to none when it comes to creating gorgeous cloth with surprising color accents. It's a tonic to the staid chalk and pinhead stripes we all have in our wardrobes.

JMB