Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
Today's video is all about how to layer clothes in menswear.
I should say this is about layering in classic menswear.
Not how to dress when you're on the ski slopes.
So we talk about layering with knitwear, vests, scarves, ties, overcoats, jackets, and so
forth.
Whether you have noticed that or not you've probably layered a lot of garments.
Every time you put on a sweater, a shirt, a t-shirt, and something on top, you're actively
layering.
Now layering not only keeps you warm but it's also an opportunity to create different outfits
and looks.
Basically there are two types of layering, visible and invisible layering.
Let's start with the invisible layering.
If insulation is your main goal and you want to keep the look the same we're talking basically
about under shirts and long underwear.
It helps you to stay warmer sometimes it can also prevent sweat stains on your dress shirts.
And when you invest in undershirt make sure it's as close to your skin color as possible
if you can't find that get maybe something in heather gray.
Ideally you want a deep cut v-neck that doesn't show when you wear your dress shirt.
I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it's not unusual to have negative 39 degrees weather
in the winter and so long underwear become a necessity.
To learn everything you need to know about undershirts, please check out this video here.
Now let's talk about the fun part, visible layering.
First of all what is it?
When I say layering I mean every layer be it the shirt, the tie, the vest, even a pocket
square or a boutonniere simply because there are visual layers and they don't cover your
entire body but it's still a layer in the sense that it helps you aesthetically create
a different look.
Basically there are six types of layering.
The first is monochromatic layering which means use the same color over and over again
in your outfit.
No, it doesn't mean you should wear a black suit with a black shirt and a black tie because
there's no contrast and it just looks like a dress in the dark.
What I mean by that is that you stick to one color.
Let's say navy or blue so your suit is blue your shoes are dark maybe you would take a
white shirt but likewise a tie that matches the suit in the same solid color.
The advantage of monochronic layering is that it's quite easy to accomplish at the same
time you may run into the issue that you have maybe a tie that is just slightly darker or
slightly lighter in a shade than your suit and when they're right next to each other
it just looks off.
Also in my experience, it's easier to pull off that look if you go with lighter shades
of grey or blue rather than darker shades.
Otherwise it makes you look like an evening outfit such as a tuxedo or white tie.
And you can learn more about those formal dress codes here.
Don't forget our free ebook Black Tie and White Tie Guides which are extremely helpful.
The second step would be layering with contrasting color.
Think about a chocolate cake with maybe a white cream and a mocha or hazelnut cream
in between.
It works because it creates more visual interest.
So for your clothes that would mean maybe you start with a white dress shirt then you
wear a blue tie and then you can have maybe a cardigan or a vest in a different color,
maybe a brown or a green or maybe burgundy and then on top of it you add another color.
Ideally maybe the same blue as you had before with a blue suit and that way you have blue,
brown, blue, white.
Now that's three colors.
If you wanted to you can also increase it to four colors which is a little more daring
and can be a little more difficult to pull off but what matters is that you don't have
two items next to each other that are very similar in color.
Intersperse them with something that's quite contrasting and you're layering efforts will
look good.
I suggest you take a look at the color wheel and take complementary colors which are opposite
from one another because those work quite well together.
You don't have to get an extreme color like an extreme orange or an extreme blue but you
can get subdued colors and maybe go for a rust orange rather than a bright orange.
Also there are some combinations in menswear that just go very well together such as an
orange tie with a brown jacket or a green or a blue tie with a gray jacket or maybe
a yellow tie with a greenish brownish jacket.
The third way to layer is to alternate solids and patterns.
Now it's very similar to colors but instead of the color you just use a pattern.
It can either be the same pattern for example you have a Glen check suit, then maybe a white
shirt, then a maybe a blue vest and then another Glen check tie.
Or it could be for example, a patterned or striped shirt, a solid tie, a patterned waistcoat
and a solid jacket.
Of course, it also works the other way around with a solid shirt, pattern tie, solid vest
and pattern jacket.
The fourth way to layer is to have two or three patterns in a row.
This is much more intricate and difficult and by doing it the wrong way the overall
result can look awful very easily.
So I suggest you only look into layering this way once you've mastered the other ways.
In order to get a great look you want the patterns to be distinctly different.
For example, a striped shirt with a geometric tie.
You then decide you want a patterned jacket as well.
You want to add a calming solid layer as a vest because it tones the outfit down and
ties everything better together.
Another way to deal with several patterns is to stick with one pattern such as a stripe.
So let's say you have a rope striped suit maybe a really wide thick striped tie and
a medium striped shirt.
What's essential to remember is that patterns next to each other need to be different in
scale.
Having a striped shirt that is very similar to my striped seersucker without any layer
in between simply looks odd.
The same is true for a striped shirt that has about the same spacing and width as the
suit.
It just looks odd.
People don't know where to look and get easily confused.
The fifth way to layer is to create a bridge between layers with coordinating colors.
What I mean by that is if you wear an orange tie maybe add a pocket square that has some
orange elements in it and maybe socks that have some orange in it because that ties the
outfit together quite well.
For example, if you have a blue jacket a red tie and a tan vest if you then get a pocket
square that picks up all those colors it just looks very harmonious.
Another good way to tie your outfit together is to change the color of your socks.
It's particularly easy with two-tone socks because they don't have to exactly match and
if you pick out a color at the top part of your outfit that's reflected in your socks
it looks very complete.
To learn more about how to combine shoes with dress socks and slacks, please check out this
video here and don't forget the free ebook.
Six, pay attention to how layers interact.
If I wear a blue tie on a white shirt it looks very different than if I wear a dark blue
shirt with a dark blue tie.
Because of the lack of contrast it now looks wrong and out of place.
Instead if I want a darker shirt I have to switch to a lighter tie to create a nice contrast.
Some people say they've never worn a tie that is lighter than a shirt.
Personally, I think it can work quite well but it's always easier to combine a darker
tie with a lighter shirt.
Also consider the texture of fabrics.
For example if you wear tweed, it's not advisable to have a coarse knit cardigan right next
to it as well as a knit tie because otherwise there's too much texture.
Instead use one item that is textured such as a knit tie, take a cloth that's maybe a
flannel that is not as loud, not as textured right next to it and then you can go with
a tweed coat because it ties it together better.
Also avoid bringing two very similar colors next to each other and always add a different
layer in between.
For example if I wear seersucker pants and a white shirt there's very little contrast.
However if I add a jacket maybe in navy blue it breaks up the barrier between the pants
and the shirt and everything is pulled together and looks very neat.
So what garments can you layer with?
In classic menswear I think the best item is the waistcoat or the vest.
It should be an odd vest oftentimes because it's contrasting that you can wear with suits
or you can wear the vest you get from a three-piece suit and combine them with other items such
as a sport coat or a blazer.
The second garment is a cardigan which is basically like a sweater with buttons but
I prefer it over a regular sweater because it doesn't mess up my hair.
Unlike a vest or a sweater vest it has sleeves for insulation so when you layer it let's
say with a jacket or an overcoat it keeps you even warmer.
In terms of fit I suggests you always go with a fitted cardigan simply because a knit is
much more flexible than a woven fabric and so a knit will adapt to your body shape.
If you get it larger to begin with it makes you look like a potato sack that maybe your
grandpa would wear.
Because a cardigan is a little more casual you should always leave the bottom button
undone.
And to learn more about why a vest should have the bottom button undone, please check
out this guide on our website here.
The third time to layer is a sweater.
If you want something more casual maybe for apres ski, you could even get like a zippered
sweater and that's just something that works better with a bomber jacket for example or
a pea coat rather than with a suit and a Paletot overcoat for example.
Fourth item to layer are scarves.
You can wear them on top with your overcoat or just hung around your shoulders.
You can also just have a loose wrap and it keeps you warmer than without it but it really
adds a layer of textured interest.
You can go with solid cashmere scarves which are likewise warm.
You can go with thinner ones.
I like the printed ones especially double sided scarves because if you have them on
your neck you see both sides and it just creates a visual interest that is different than like
a solid scarf could provide.
The fifth item I personally like to layer is an ascot.
Some people call it a cravat.
I think it's an ideal item because it's more casual than a regular necktie or a bow tie
yet it's much more sophisticated than just going with an open dress shirt collar.
It's also easy to really change the entire look of your outfit.
And to learn more about how to wear ascots, how to tie them, and where to buy them, please
check out our guides here.
Six, one my favorite items to layer is a pocket square.
It sits at the outermost visual plane and it can really make or break an outfit in a
matter of 10 seconds.
Never wear a pocket square that matches your neck wear exactly because that would be a
faux pas.
Instead try to use colors from the rest of your outfit that are reflected in the pocket
square.
To learn more about pocket squares including how to fold them the proper way, and how to
combine them with your shirt, your tie and your jacket, please check out these guides
here.
The seventh item to layer over your jacket is an overcoat.
When it's really cold outside you wear it closed and it's warm and it's nice, it's elegant,
it drapes well.
If it's a little warmer you can wear it unbuttoned specifically if it's single breasted.
If it's double-breasted, I suggest you don't wear them unbuttoned unless you're truly overheating
but for style reasons if you want to wear your overcoat unbuttoned go with single breasted
it will look better.
To learn more about overcoats, please check out our overcoat series here.
Last but not the least, the eighth layering item is the boutonniere.
So how can such a small flower constitute a layer?
Basically it's really at the outside of your lapel.
It's very visible and it changes the look of an outfit.
It can calm it down in an otherwise busy outfit for example using an Edelweiss or you can
go louder by adding maybe a purple or red carnation to something if it's very monochromatic
looking like a black tie or white tie outfit.
In today's video I'm obviously wearing a layered outfit consisting of a tweed coat that I have
found vintage.
It's a very coarse weave that overall looks dark brown but it has lighter browns and mid
brown tones in it which makes it very easy to combine with other brown tones.
My vest is a doe skin fabric in a tan color.
I combined it with a striped shirt.
It's a very faint stripe in yellow and blue so it's not in your face stripey but it has
a pattern.
Because my tie and my jacket are textured, the shirt and the vest are not.
I chose to go with a rust orange because it provides enough contrast without being out
there and overall the rust orange tones work well with the brown tones.
My pants are winter white off-white flannel slacks that definitely stand out and make
a statement.
But with the rest of my outfit which is more in brown tones and subdued, it works quite
well.
My shoes are suede chukka boots that are Goodyear welted.
They work well with the outfit in terms of texture and the color of the shoes is picked
up in the jacket.
For the socks, I chose a caramel burgundy pair of shadow striped socks that tie together
all the brown tones in the outfit and they contrast the shoe slightly as well as the
pants.
Last but not the least, the pocket square picks up the orange color of the tie as well
as purple of the boutonniere and that way it ties it all together.
At the same time it's a distinct pattern that is not too loud and not too bold.
If you think about it in this outfit I'm wearing three patterns - the pocket square, the coat
as well as the shirt.
But I also have different textures and so overall it doesn't look like I'm combining
too much.
Of course the boutonniere is optional and without it, it would still be very harmonious
combination but you'll see it definitely has a different look.
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