Moving toward Technicolor

[Senator Jack]

Funny how I'm geting bolder in my old age. As little as I cared about what others though of me at twenty, that lethargy seems to have exponentially grown at twice that age.

We've all wondered how Fred Astaire got away with such at-odds combinations as grey suit, red shirt, yellow, tie, red socks, brown and white spectators, but now I'm starting to go out like this. I can't figure out if or how it works when one isn't upon the screen. Today, for instance, I went out in brown suit, gold shirt, brown and yellow tie, GREEN polka-dot pocket square and black wingtips, and BLACK porkpie hat. Did the green silk match anything? No. Did I think it worked? Perhaps. This is perhaps the hardest thing to do in fashion - make Technicolor work in real life.

So how about it? What are the oddest combinations that you can get to work?

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Burma Shave]

Two of my favorites:

A cream, almost yellow, shantung silk double-breasted suit (high front) with a violet herringbone shirt that has a contrast white collar, and a vivid purple and bright yellow tie.

That outfit may not sound too crazy (it all coordinates rather well) but I usually wear jeans, motorcycle boots and either a leather jacket or a safari jacket, so any step outside my comfort zone makes me a tad nervous. Most of my wardrobe is black, naturals, and denim, and my suits and jackets are almost all greys, tans and black.

Another favorite: A grey-and-tan seersucker suit, which I usually wear with a white collarless dress shirt, a dark grey pullover sweater vest and my black engineer boots. I usually wear either a black beret or one of my four herringbone newsboy caps with it. It's certainly unusual -- but my lady friend tells me I'm the only person she's ever met who could pull off such a look. The best thing about it is that everything but the cap and the boots are cotton, so it's breezy enough for summertime.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The American author and essayist Tom Wolfe dresses like that. He also wears a white homburg hat with grosgrain black trim on the edge of the brim.

 

[geo]

I think it's better to wear too many colors or colors that do not match than to wear a grey suit with a grey shirt and a grey tie and black shoes.

 

[Senator Jack]

Worn by Burma Shave:
A cream, almost yellow, shantung silk double-breasted suit (high front) with a violet herringbone shirt that has a contrast white collar, and a vivid purple and bright yellow tie.

Now that's the kind of color contast I'm talking about. I can see what you're talking about.

I watched Robin and the 7 Hoods recently (first time in over twenty years) and though I was never a fan of the colored shirt/white collar & cuffs, the costumes they wore had me assessing it in a new light. I had always associated the white collar/cuffs with a)Italian mobsters that ran my old neighborhood, and b)wall street bankers, neither of whom I'd like to emulate. I guess it depends on what you're wearing around it. You can make it work - you just have to avoid pinky rings and power ties.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Marc Chevalier]

See GUYS AND DOLLS for further study.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

You can make it work - you just have to avoid pinky rings and power ties.Regards,Senator Jack

You should look up the Joe Pesci "pinky ring store" SNL sketch.lol

 

[John in Covina]

You should look up the Joe Pesci "pinky ring store" SNL sketch.lol

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Welcome to "The Pinky Ringery"!

Color matching and color opposing to highlight seems to be a refined sense and it seems to be also a confidence thing as to whether or not you can pullit off.

 

[Twitch]

Jack sometimes you just want to stand out a bit and color outside the lines some!