Dress Like a Man: A Style Guide for Practical Men Wanting to Improve Their Professional Personal Appearance by Antonio Centeno & Geoffrey Cubbage & Anthony Tan & Ted Slampyak

Author:Antonio Centeno & Geoffrey Cubbage & Anthony Tan & Ted Slampyak
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Beauty, Beauty & Fashion, Style & Clothing, Fitness & Dieting, Health, Grooming, Men's Grooming & Style, & Style
Publisher: Real Men Real Style
Published: 2014-01-17T14:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 22: UNDERSTANDING PATTERN

Big blocks of solid color aren't necessarily the most flattering look out there.

Some guys can pull it off (especially high-contrast men -- see the previous chapter for more discussion about contrast), but most of us look better with varied lines and shapes in there to break up the colors.

Patterns are not as challenging as they might seem to fashion novices. You can mix and match them pretty freely, following one basic rule:

Never put two different patterns of the same scale directly adjacent to one another.

That means if you're wearing a jacket with thin, wide-spaced pinstripes, don't wear a shirt with broad, thin-lined checks underneath. The patterns are different, but there isn't enough difference between their physical scales.

The same pinstriped jacket would work just fine with a small-scale microcheck shirt, or even with thick vertical stripes. It's about varying the scale up more than it is the specific patterns.

Most available patterns break down into stripes (lines going a single way), checks (lines intersecting at right angles), and figures (repeating arrangements of a small design or shape). Those three basic approaches lend themselves to a startling array of options; here we list the most common in menswear, along with their dimensions.

Pin Stripe

The most restrained pattern a man can get short of a solid color, pinstripes are often seen on business suits, jackets, and trousers. White stripes against a dark background is the most traditional approach.

One of the defining features of a pinstripe pattern is that the stripes are spaced substantially further apart than their own width. That leaves a lot of "empty" space in the base color of the fabric, relative to larger, busier patterns.

Dimensions: Stripes of less than 1/16", separated by gaps of at least 1/4".

Chalk Stripe/Pencil Stripe

Wider than pinstripes, chalk stripes are still designed so that the stripe is narrower than the gaps between stripes. This is another popular suit and jacket pattern, slightly less formal than pinstripes, but it is also used (usually in brighter colors) for casual dress shirts.

The term "pencil stripe" is sometimes used to describe the same basic pattern. The two are functionally interchangeable; the only major difference is that people are more likely to call a light-colored stripe on a dark background a "chalk stripe" (due to its similarity to lines on a chalkboard), while brighter colors and lighter backgrounds are usually called "pencil stripes."

Dimensions: Stripes typically run between 1/16" and 1/8" in width, separated by spaces of at least 1/4".

Candy Stripe

A symmetrical pattern made of two alternating colors, each one in stripes of the same width. This is very widely used in shirts, and occasionally in casual suits and jackets (especially seersucker).

Most candystripe patterns use a single color, alternated with white stripes. Blue and oxblood red are the most common for dress shirts, but any color will work. The white stripes make the other color read from a distance as slightly lighter than it actually is.

Dimensions: Each stripe is about 1/8" - 1/4" wide.

Bengal Stripe

A wider version of the candystripe, Bengal stripes are bolder and less common.

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