Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we will be examining a style technique of various celebrities, that being
monochromatic outfits, and determine whether this is actually a stylish look for you or
not.
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A quick look at any celebrity tabloid magazine will show you that various celebrities like
Christian Bale and George Clooney frequently wear monochromatic looks on the red carpet
and elsewhere.
And lets not forget the tone on tone look popularized by Regis Philbin around the turn
of the millenium.
It even spawned a clothing line from Van Heusen.
But our question today is whether these sorts of looks have any place in the wardrobe of
a gentleman who follows the tenets of classic style and if there are other types of outfits
that could still be considered monochrome that are better looks.
To begin answering this question, let's examine our terminology.
The word "Monochrome" is derived from the Greek "Monokhromatos" meaning, of a single
color.
And actually, the word "of" is important to latch on to here.
It suggests that all of the elements of color may not be exactly the same but are just derived
from the same color.
More on that, later.
Another definition of monochrome is used more in fields like Photography, meaning something
that is rendered in black and white.
However, in the world of menswear, black and white looks correspond more to evening formal
wear like Black and White Tie so we won't be talking about them here.
However, if you are curious to learn more about the black tie and white tie dress codes,
you can do so using our comprehensive black tie guide, here.
So what are we then considering a monochromatic look to be?
Essentially, it's a look that is, again, derived from one color.
However, not all elements of the outfit have to be an exactly the same color like all black
or all navy, for example, and can use tints or shades of that color.
A tint is where white is added to the regular hue and a shade is where black is added.
By the way, if you would like to learn more about color terminology, you can find all
of that in our video on using the color wheel to assemble outfits, here.
In addition to it being a misconception that a monochromatic outfit must feature pieces
that are all in exactly the same shade, it's also a misconception that everything in the
outfit has to be a solid.
You can incorporate patterns and textures into different garments and we will be discussing
that more, later on.
So while there are some kinds of monochrome outfits that we would suggest you avoid, there
are other types that can look sophisticated and streamlined.
With that said, we will go over a few key dos and don'ts of monochromatic outfits in
the rest of the video.
Our first big point here, don't try to assemble an outfit using garments that are all of exactly
the same shade or tint.
Again, using an all black or all navy outfit, as an example, one of the reasons why you
should avoid attempting a look like this is that it is going to be extremely difficult
to match the blacks and navys in the same outfit between different garments.
This is because different garments are composed of different fabrics and are also dyed differently.
If they are not coming from the same manufacturer or are in the same fabric treated with the
same dye, color won't be exactly the same even if they are generally considered to be
black, navy, or other colors like that.
Therefore, the fact that you are going to be wearing various garments that are almost
the same color but not exactly, we'll leave viewers thinking something is just a bit off
about your outfit.
Another reason to avoid looks of this nature is because if your outfit is comprised of
all elements of one single color, your body is just going to recede in photographs.
You will look like one large mass and there won't be any definition to your form.
With exceptionally dark colors, like black and navy, pattens and textures aren't going
to stand out that much either so still trying to incorporate some visual interest using
these techniques won't help if your base color is exceptionally dark.
Trying to assemble a truly monochrome outfit like this can be seen as sort of an easy out
in the fashion world but even then, it isn't great for the reasons we have outlined above.
In other words, Christian Bale's all black Red Carpet look and Regis Philbin's Who wants
to be a millionaire?
wardrobe aren't really smart style choices.
No disrespect to either of these talented guys, though.
With that major don't out of the way, we would advocate that you do try to choose a color
that is not so bold as your base color for a more monochromatically inspired outfit.
So for example, instead of centering a monochromatic outfit around black, maybe you could think
about using grayscale more broadly.
More on that, in a moment.
By the way, you can find our video on why we think black is the most overrated color
in menswear, here and our video on whether or not you should wear a black suit, here.
So in addition to the grayscale, you could base a monochromatic outfit around staple
colors in menswear like blue, brown, or also go for something like green or even burgundy.
Phrased another way, it's easy to assemble monochromatically inspired outfits around
neutral tones or tones that occur in nature.
You can find our video on wearing and pairing neutrals, here.
Also, we recommend that you wear various shades and tints of your base color in a monochromatic
outfit.
Varying the brightness of your source hue in an outfit is going to keep everything in
the same harmonious overall mode of color but it will also provide some definition and
visual interest between the various elements in your outfit.
For example, the outfit that I am wearing in today's video uses blue as its base hue
but there is variance in the shades and tints of blue in the different garments.
More on that in a more detailed breakdown later on.
And as we said before, do try to experiment with textures and patterns in your monochromatically
inspired outfits.
Again, using my outfit today as an example, the texture of my cardigan sweater adds some
visual interest and my shirt has a striped pattern.
Something else to avoid, don't wear too many layers in a monochrome look.
As you're trying to maintain harmony between the different pieces but also stay centered
around the base hue, the more pieces you add, the more difficult it is going to be to do
this.
Also, if you are incorporating patterns and/or textures, again, the more garments you add,
the more difficult it is going to be to keep everything harmonious.
While assembling my outfit for today's video, I looked for a suitable tie to wear, however,
all of the different textures, patterns, and shades of blue that I found in the studio
did not quite keep this outfit tied together so I decided to go without a tie.
Similarly, if I had tried to a blue jacket over the top of my sweater, that would have
probably complicated things, as well.
Sometimes, if you are going for a monochromatically inspired look, it's better to keep things
simpler.
With all that said though, our final don't today is don't feel like you have to stick
the rules we've outlined, rigidly.
While we do think that the guidelines we've put forward will help you to successfully
build monochromatic outfits that look good, at the end of the day, you can still wear
whatever you think will make you look best.
After all, if what you are wearing is making you feel confident and more like yourself,
that is the main objective.
To round out today's video then, here are a few different examples of monochromatic
looks to give you a better idea of how to pull them off well.
The first one is, of course, the outfit that I am wearing here today.
My trousers today are in a shade of medium blue that you could consider as sort of central
or base tone of blue color that sets the standard for the outfit.
Meanwhile, my shirt incorporates a pattern of a lighter blue and white stripe.
As I said before, my cardigan is on the dark side of the blue spectrum and it does also
incorporate some elements of gray in its weave.
The main color of my socks is actually lighter gray but they feature light blue as their
shadow stripe so they still work within the blue color family.
I do not happen to own a pair of blue shoes, at least, not yet so I have rounded out the
look today with a pair of gray suede Derbys.
They harmonize with the socks and with the gray elements in my sweater and the suede
does provide a bit of a textural element as well.
So I suppose you could technically say that my outfit today isn't truly monochromatic
because it's incorporating a good deal of gray but it still gets the point across.
By the way, we do have a video on specifically pairing gray and blue together and you can
find it here.
The second example outfit uses brown as its central or base color.
Again, the trousers are sort of in the middle here with their chocolate brown shade being
darker than some elements and lighter than others.
The camel hair sport coat, of course, reads as tan and its buttons are also in a darker
brown.
Underneath it is my off-white shirt which, taken with all of the other elements of the
outfit, reads as if it's in the brown family.
My brogued derby shoes and my belt are both in medium brown leather and my pocket square
is in a very dark brown, it's the darkest element of the outfit.
My bow tie from Fort Belvedere is woven in a houndstooth pattern and it incorporates
off-white and dark brown.
Also reading within the brown family are the edelweiss boutonniere and the cufflinks in
an eagle claw design that feature a tiger's eye as the stone with gold metal.
You can find those cufflinks and the boutonniere in the Fort Belvedere shop, as well.
Our third example outfit again uses blue but it is a bit more complex.
The boldest element is the rowing blazer which features broad stripes in blue and black.
The light blue shirt is solid to ground things a bit and the mottled blue knit tie provides
a textural element.
The pocket square is in a lighter blue and it also features some paisleys in a pattern
for another visual element of contrast.
The belt is in a blue fabric accented with some brown leather and the gold buckle which
also harmonizes with the gold monkey's fist knot cuff links, also available in our shop.
Rounding out the outfit are the trousers which are light blue chinos and some blue suede
chukka boots.
As you can see, there are a few non-blue elements here and there around the outfit but the main
pieces of the ensemble are definitely blue and everything harmonizes together despite
the fact that this outfit is more complex than the one I wore here today.
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