The London Lounge

I have always been led to believe that that you should never pair a striped shirt and tie.

Is this a hard and fast rule, or just an erroneous prejudice?

I think your belief is accurate if we were in Victorian times. I also think, however, that wearing different kinds of stripes (thicker/wider stripes on the tie and pencil stripes on shirt, for instance, or vice versa) is acceptable nowadays. But others with more knowldge should be able to enlighten us.

This image:



from a 2007 post by manton on AAAC, scanned from Chapter 4 of Flusser's Dressing the Man, shows one very traditional way of doing this, along the lines BespokeMex indicated.

If this is new territory for you, that chapter and manton's posts on the topic (which include scans of Apparel Arts charts and illustrations) are worth a look. Manton takes issue with some of Flusser's prescriptions, and the debate is fruitful.

Striped shirts and striped ties work well together, as long as the scale of the stripes differ from one another. For example, if the shirt is made of bright-blue and white butcher stripes, the diagonal scale of the stripes in the tie have to be smaller or larger than the vertical stripes of the shirt. Combinations of this kind are often enhanced by plain white collars and foldback cuffs punctuated by double-sided
cufflinks. Whether the links are keyed to the dominant color of the tie or the shirt depends upon the whims of the wearer. It's also possible to let the shirt and tie comingle as the dominant pattern-on-
pattern motif, while the cufflinks and patterned silk pocket square comingle as a secondary pattern-on-pattern theme.

Does this mean the suit has to be a plain navy blue or mid-grey woollen flannel or worsted? Not at all. There is nothing wrong with a subdued pattern in the cloth. If pattern there be, it too must be of a different scale from the various accessories. Getting all the patterns to co-mingle and complement one another is actually less difficult than you might imagine. It's all about understanding mixing different scales, juxtaposing complementary colors, and varying textures.

JMB

Many thanks for all your insightful comments. I will certainly read the aforementioned article.

As discussed, I've found that scale is important. You get into trouble when two or more patterns, whatever they may be, are roughly the same size. I really enjoy experimenting with patterns. Of course some of my experiments are more successful than others . . . .

As discussed, I've found that scale is important. You get into trouble when two or more patterns, whatever they may be, are roughly the same size. I really enjoy experimenting with patterns. Of course some of my experiments are more successful than others . . . .

As shown above,this can wok. However,it is tricky and for that reason,I leave it to others who have a keener sense of style than I. Much safer,easier to get right and more pleasing to me is the striped tie with checked shirt. This satisfys the desire to combine patterns with far less risk,especially if the check is small and the stripe broad.