Formal Fridays

The combination of shirts and ties can be as important as the number of X and Y chromosomes found in DNA or even better peanut butter and jelly on a sandwich. Since my last post I've been stuck on GQ's site and its has become another grandiose achievable goal of mine to be on the cover of that magazine. With that being said 2010 will be an expansion of my overall style including my formal wear and since I'm still in the batter's box, I have to take it back to the basics and I've been scouting the site and plan to subscribe to the magazine to further improve upon my style. But back to the shirt and tie issue, I've always bought ties but didn't make a science out of putting the two together; matching shirts and ties gives one an opportunity to come up with vast combinations and come up with compatible pieces. Lisa Cohen of GQ says "The key to building a wardrobe is maximum compatibility" and these components consist of colors, patterns, and complimenting other items of clothing. Here are my favorite combinations from Lisa's winter list of best combos from various retailers.

This is a simple contrast of horizontal and vertical lines, with the vertical lines being subtler and simple and the horizontal being bold and darker. Meaning you can use this to dress up or down.

This is using a light blue as neutral without using the typical gray or white, meaning it can go with anything. (Still up in the air about the plaid but works with this shirt)

This combination of a bold color and a dark color is casual to the fullest and fits my simple style. I'm feeling the simplicity of it, it feels young and professional at the same time.