How I Wear Knit Ties.

I love wearing knit ties. The texture and surface interest is just amazing. I avoid solid colors unless they are different. Everyone has them in black or navy so, be a little different; I say go with a striped combination. I like some yellow in them to remind me spring and summer will return. I also go for bigger scaled stripes because It just isn't that typical. These images show how I would wear them save the button down shirts;I reserve those for bow ties. These contrast well with medium spread collars. The mixture of formal collar and informal tie work well. Plus, the ties are informal enough to be worn with a California tuxedo; jeans, dress shirt, jacket, and tie.

For an illustration see the images below:

Knit tie in I Zingari colors of red gold and black.

This one is on my wish list. Too bad I can never find it.

Horizontal striped knit tie in red, yellow, and navy blue.

Horizontal stripes are common in knit ties especially the flat-ended ones. American professors are famous for this pattern. The preppy ivy league professors wear this particular style.

Photo Credit: Ebay various sellers.

Inspiration from a friend!

If you've been following my blog, you know I love Bottega Venetta and their signature woven pattern. So, after reading a friends blog I decided to see if AE made a loafer in a woven pattern. Just my luck they do. I picked up this pair. Bonus! It came with wooden shoe trees. Sweet!








My next loafer purchase is going to be a Prince Albert slipper with tassels; I wonder if I can get it in persimmon orange velvet.

Alan thanks for the inspiration.

Layering Right

Sweater Vest

Odd Tweed Waistcoat

Ribbed Cardigan

V-neck Sweater

Wool Tartan Waistcoat

In my opinion you should have 3 basic colors and then work your way to other colors.

Basics:

1. Navy
2. Gray/Charcoal
3. White/Cream

You can wear the basics with virtually anything. A few other colors to have are reds(bright tomato, maroon, etc), a bottle green, and maybe lighter shades of blue. Tartans should be kept minimal and make sure you know how to tone it down if it is loud. As far as tweed, whatever you like. I personally like grays and orange browns. Occasionally, I'll get a salt and pepper tweed; kidding I have 3 in my closet.

If you are layering similar colors make sure the first layer is lighter than the subsequent layer and darker than your tie. In other words, if you are wearing a charcoal suit a medium grey makes the best layer. Otherwise, just go the other way. I like to wear bright layers under dark jackets and dark layers under light jackets. The contrast is awesome!

Photo Credit: Paul Stuart, Jcrew, Everyday Elegance Blog, & a Japanese blog I can't remember.

The Sweater as Jacket

Enjoy!

Photo credit: J.Crew

Of Sweaters

I'm back from from my hiatus. Hope everything has been well with you all in blogland.

Moving on; sweaters are the go to item in fall and winter. I'm partial to cardigans and sleeveless sweaters, or vests. The cardigans if thick enough can be worn as a jacket of sorts and if not can be worn under a jacket as another layer to keep you warm. When I used to ride a train to University it really came in handy to have that extra layer. Sleeveless sweaters are really nice for days that aren't really cold but are breezy. The wind in Atlanta cuts through bones and you really need that extra layer over your solar plexus. Plus they don't get too warm since your arms are exposed. V-neck sweaters are the last kind I wear regularly; don't get me wrong I wear crew necks and toggled button sweaters too just not as much as the former three. V-necks are excellent with bow ties and are at home with wool and knitted ties. The textures really work well when you vary them like that. I avoid the professor look by not wearing jeans and opting for checked pants or corduroys.

So, lets proceed to some photo analysis to give you some ideas my friends.

This is a Ralph Lauren image from 2 years ago. This entire look is something I'd wear with some minor changes; pink OCBD, orange-brown tie, brightly colored watch strap, and a real expression not a ridiculous model look. What do I like about this look? Well, the herringbone tweed is something I'm fond of. The Fair Isle patterned sleeveless sweater and corduroys add textural differences that are really nice. The corduroys could go one of two ways, they should be darker or lighter the color is too close to the vest and it is my preference to break up colors. All in all very nice!

Winston, a fellow blogger and free lance writer, wears the sweater as jacket. He wears a very English look with the bright striped, contrast collar, french-cuffed shirt and an even brighter bow tie. Winston follows this with an olive corduroy pant. Again I would wear this entire look except I would wear different pants. I dislike olive, it doesn't work very well with dark skin tones. I think a brown or navy would work well. Maybe even a moleskin pant in persimmon orange. A minor gripe is I don't wear very much red so, I would wear a navy or charcoal grey tie. This is almost identical to what I would wear out during winter. In fact I'm wearing a V-necked light weight navy cardigan with a pink striped shirt, cuff-linked of course. I'm pairing that with cream corduroys and a Churchill dotted bow tie. Very close right?Photo coming very soon.