How formal the colour of a suit is

[avedwards]

I thought it would be interesting to have a comparison for the formality of different suit colours. This is how a think it would go (from most to least formal):

black pinstripe
navy pinstripe
plain black
plain navy or charcoal
light blue or grey
brown/chequed/tweed
beige/khaki/green (only in summer if you have any dignity)
suits you shouldn't be wearing (such as plaid or loud colours)

Of course this can vary depending on whether you are wearing a waistcoat (vest) and on on the shirt/tie combination.

Please correct me if any of this is wrong. I am only going by my opinion.

 

[Max Flash]

Navy (whether pinstripe or plain) is without a doubt less formal that either black (most formal) and charcoal. Pinstripe would be more formal than plain, IMO.

 

[Hat Head]

I would think solid black would be most formal (think tuxedo, or mortician).

 

[Rhabryn]

My 2 cents

For each statement I'm going to make, I'm going to say whether I'm going with the "what people seem to think" and what I believe as being the "traditional" concept. I'm only going to give the rule I tend to go with on each of the various decisions.

1) (Traditional Concept): Pinstripes are, almost invariably less formal than Plain. (Note: "what people seem to think" may go the other way, but I would bet it depends on how "loud" the stripes are: i.e. thickness (see "tread stripes", spacing, etc..))

2) Navys can vary from what we could call "blues" to "black-in-anything-other-than-direct-sunlight." That being said: (Traditional Concept) Navy is less formal than "Dark" Charcoals and Blacks; ("What people seem to think): Dark Navys will be more formal than Lighter charcoals.

3) You've left out textured materials. Herringbone textures will tend to lend a "shine" to material which, (traditional concept) would be less formal; but (People Think) Will seem more formal to many people. (Note: "ooh shiney, looks like the suit my boyfriend wore to prom 20 years ago" (see polyester)). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my herringbone fabrics, but they're relatively informal to me.

4) I agree that everything depends on shirt/tie combo, and all of these "fabric" statements are really just a baseline.

5) I wouldn't knock "plaids" until you've tried them successfully (yes, I said tried them successfully... meaning: they CAN work, so make it work, then think about how hard it was and see if its worth your trouble for you, but I wouldn't bemoan the entire "plaid" category) (That being said, both plaids and pinstripes can go too far... it's a facts-and-circumstances determination) (Final note on this one: I'd suggest "making it work" in a retail dressing room instead of buying it to "make it work).


Anyway, this is just my 2 cents, feel free to knock me off my meager pedestal

 

[Hat Head]

5) I wouldn't knock "plaids" until you've tried them successfully (yes, I said tried them successfully... meaning: they CAN work, so make it work, then think about how hard it was and see if its worth your trouble for you, but I wouldn't bemoan the entire "plaid" category) (That being said, both plaids and pinstripes can go too far... it's a facts-and-circumstances determination) (Final note on this one: I'd suggest "making it work" in a retail dressing room instead of buying it to "make it work).

Agreed. Plaids are what you purchase after you've built the "foundation" of your suit collection (solids and pinstripes). Once you have the basics covered, and you feel confident enough, you can start adding plaids.

I have a brown plaid and a navy plaid at the tailor now for alterations, and these will join my two others (black and white glenplaid, and grey/brown glenplaid). But, I already have the basics well covered beyond my plaid suits.

 

[avedwards]

Pinstripes over plain

The reason I put pinstripes over plain was because in "The Big Sleep" (1946) Bogart's character wears many different shades of plain suits but when he wears a pinstripe suit to look more formal (at a formal cafe and a casino). I didn't just get this from a film but also what I personally think.

 

[avedwards]

Plaids

I didn' mean to specifically knock plaids. What I meant when I said "suits you shouldn't be wearing" was things like pink or orange. I personally believe that these suits should never ever be worn, unless the idea is to be amusing.

 

[DerMann]

Pin stripes, and for that matter chalk stripes, are less formal than suits without them.

Remember, formal also means simple. The simpler something is, usually the more formal it is.

That being said, black is almost always the most formal colour. Navy and charcoal can go either way. Some military dress uniforms are navy and look quite amazing (the Navy, for example).

 

[Max Flash]

On the pinstripe vs plain debate, I would say (and develop my previous argument, which was too simplistic) that it depends on the cloth colour. I think a plain black (for formal wear) and plain charcoal come at the most formal end of the spectrum. I would then place a charcoal pin or chalkstripe at the next level, followed by a pin/chalkstripe navy suit and a plain navy suit.

Thus I would deem a pin/chalkstripe navy suit to be more formal than a plain navy suit, and a plain charcoal suit more formal than a pin/chalkstripe charcoal suit (and any type of navy suit). When it comes to patterned materials (e.g. herringbone weave), I would categorise these in with their plain material counterparts (provided the pattern was pretty subtle) for ease of reference.

I don't think these things can be categorised too clearly, as many other things will count, such as the cloth, the cut of the suit, whether there is a waistcoat, what colour and pattern shoes, shirt and tie one wears with it, and so on. However, as a rule of thumb, I would go by the above. Most of my suit-wearing occurs in the business world context and so my views are derived mainly from that. I'm sure in the fashion world, differing rules apply.