Style

The foolproof guide to matching your shirt and tie

You might think that matching your suit and tie is a fairly simple principle to get right, however we’ve seen enough examples of gentlemen getting this so wrong that we decided to put some hard and fast rules down on paper. Getting onto the tube in the morning can be a painful experience, not only because it feels like half of London are trying to get on exact same Northern Line train as you, but because it also brings out – in the harsh first light of the day – the sheer number of terribly dressed men there are out there.

While we’d like to politely suggest a complete wardrobe revamp to some men, we sadly haven’t got all day. What we’ll start with, though, is the simple matter of matching your shirt and tie together and matching it well. We appreciate that getting into the same suit and shoes every single day of the week for the next 40 (at least) working years of your life can seem like a hellish curse sent from the sartorial gods, but there are ways to vamp it up – particularly if you have the slightest bit of interest in fashion.

The idea is to get creative, and to start attempting to be a little bolder with your style choices. If the shirt and tie you wear is the only chance you get to be experimental, use it to your advantage. There’s no need for you to have three shirts and two ties in rotation; there’s more room than that.

Colour matching

Colour matching is a tricky one to get right, we’ll say that off the bat. But it’s something that every gentleman has the capability to get right. Before you get excited and think that this is a very simple task, colour matching does not mean that you literally match your shirt to your tie, absolutely not. Instead, it’s the art of getting the colour of your tie the right shade to match your shirt. Basic colours that go together are: white and navy; black and white; navy and black (although this is something people tend to disagree on); burgundy and dark green; burgundy and white… The list goes on – but you get the gist. If you remember one thing, remember this: always make sure that your tie is at least a shade darker than your shirt, and never, ever the other way around.

Drake’s cashmere tie, £135, Drake’s shirt, £175

Avoid patterned shirts

Unless they are very subtle, patterned shirts are a big no-no. Most of the time they can look gimmicky, very uncool and very dad-fashion (not in a good way). So if you want to wear patterns – go nuts with your tie, just not too nuts. A patterned tie and a plain shirt may seem like a very simple and easy combination, but there’s a reason for that, and that’s because it looks great. One thing we would say is to be sure to avoid anything that’s novelty – Christmas ties are not for a gentleman.

Emma Willis tie, £95, Ami shirt, £110

Keep it simple

The main thing to remember is that this doesn’t need to be complicated (or expensive) business. It’s very simple, you just need to take your time to consider it. Colours are easy to match, as are patterns, it just seems that most men are treading on thin ice and dangerous sartorial territory. Here are some options to get you started…