Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette.
In today's video, we'll teach you how to pair
colorful socks with suits to create a vibrant and beautiful rainbow and not a muddy mess.
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With relatively sedate color palette for suits, colorful accessories are one of the
best way to inject color into classic menswear ensembles, and socks are one of the simplest
and most fun ways to do so.
A colorful pair of socks can be a great addition to your suit
ensembles because the relative distance from your center of mass means that you can add
unique and unexpected colors without being visually overwhelming.
Colorful socks can also
pick out other colors in your outfit; that's why wearing colorful socks is actually a long-standing
tradition in classic menswear, and it's one of the ten keys to exceptional menswear that
was adapted by vintage men.
Because we already have an extensive library of content pertaining
to pairing your socks with your outfits, today's video will focus on pairing colorful socks
with suits.
This approach will allow us to emphasize ways that you can add color to
even relatively formal looks, all with the aid of colorful socks.
But, first, we should
be clear about what we mean by colorful socks.
Technically speaking, one could argue that
any sacks that have some kind of color to them are colorful socks; but practically speaking,
that definition doesn't hold when discussing menswear.
Therefore, we'll define colorful socks
as socks with patterns, or solids that feature a
variety of colors, or unusual, individual colors.
So, for example, a pair of solid, dark navy blue
socks are not colorful because dark navy blue
is a very commonplace, sedate color in menswear; while a pair of solid yellow socks are colorful
because yellow is a bright, bold color that is not as commonplace in menswear.
A dark navy
sock with orange stripes is colorful because it pairs a commonplace color with a more
unique color.
And finally, stripe socks that include navy blue and white are colorful because
they combine multiple colors together, even if they are all relatively commonplace.
Because
our channel is focused on classic menswear, it will not be discussed in the subcategory
of colorful socks that include novelty socks, crazy socks, or statement socks - which you
can
learn more about from Raphael in this video -
because they are extremely loud, excessively
bright, and vibrant.
They're simply too outlandish and whimsical for most of our looks, but if
you can pull them off, more power to you.
Raphael famously hates novelty socks.
I bet that's
only because he prefers novelty underwear.
Before starting, we should also make a quick
note about colorful socks and formality.
In most cases, the more formal the event is,
the
stricter the rule about colorful socks, so be mindful of the formality scale when determining
how colorful to make your socks.
Black evening socks, for example, will almost always be
mandatory
for Black Tie affairs, unless the invitation explicitly invites Festive Formal or creative
Black Tie.
Also, colorful socks don't belong at somber events like a funeral, and while
light blue and yellow is a lovely look for more casual summer suit, it'll be too casual
for many conservative offices or business meetings, even though colorful dress socks
and more conventional colors like blue and green are perfectly office-appropriate.
You
can use our dress code guides to determine what kinds and whether or not colorful stocks
can be worn with various dress codes.
With casual garments like jeans, denim, sport shirts,
shorts, and the like, you can get very wild with your socks - up to and including crazy
and novelty socks if desired.
But, for most suit ensembles, especially more formal examples,
you'll probably want to stick with a more classic colorful socks that we'll be discussing
in this video.
Of course, they're your feet, so if you feel like experimenting with wild
and crazy colors, your socks are a good place to do it because they're relatively discreet
and unobtrusive.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously enjoys novelty socks, even
for State occasions, so don't be afraid to have a little fun yourself.
Through those crazy
socks haven't set off any diplomatic incidents that we know of.
But, these important basics
out of the way let's roll up our sleeves or, should I say, hike up our socks, and get started.
Number one: capitalize on color theory.
Mastering the basics on how to coordinate and combine
colors is an essential skill in menswear and is especially important when styling accessories
like socks.
Understanding why certain colors like red and green or yellow and purple naturally
complement each other will create a starting point for you as you experiment with employing
colorful socks and will also help you avoid colors that clash and look unappealing.
Preston
will help you master this information.
In our video on how to use the color wheel to assemble
superior outfits.
Now, if you haven't seen this video, we highly recommend it, because it
will
serve you well in nearly every aspect of assembling beautiful colorful classic ensembles.
Number
two: practice and progress with pigment perspicacity.
Once you've learned the basics of color theory,
it's time to start practicing on how to employ that knowledge as it pertains to colorful
socks.
You'll want to practice the basics before moving on to more advanced and unusual colorful
sock combinations.
If you spend most of your life wearing black or navy socks with your
black shoes, you probably don't want to skip directly to wearing technicolor, rainbow socks.
It would be like learning how to drive and then immediately entering a Formula One race.
[banjo music, clips from a Formula One race]
Instead, we suggest starting with colors that are rich and appealing, but also relatively
sedate and fairly common in menswear.
This will make it easier to harmonize your colorful
socks with your current suit ensembles without the risk of seeming excessive or unintentionally
clashing.
Exceptional beginner rules include blue, dark reds, brown and similar earth tones,
and greens, especially olive green.
After you've experimented with socks and these more foundational
colors and seeing how they interact with your suit selection, you can determine what more
vibrant colors you can add, which will complement your existing wardrobe, such as socks in pinks,
oranges, yellow, and purples.
This approach will allow you to learn which colorful socks do
and don't complement your suits as you practice with an ever-widening rainbow of colors.
Number
three: cleverly combined colors.
After you've learned the basics of color theory and how
those colors interact with your own suit selection, you can apply the cardinal rule of classic
sock matching: match your socks to your trousers, not your shoes.
Because the interaction between
your socks and trousers is more noticeable as a part of your entire outfit.
There are
many ways for you to pleasingly harmonize your sock color and your trouser color, which
in a true suit, will also be the color of your
jacket.
You can match the Colors by employing
colors from the same family like shades of blue.
This approach is relatively easy to do
and produces generally more conservative, formal
looks.
You can also use complementary colors
and naturally set each off in a pleasing way, like orange and blue.
These pairings are a
good option for regular wear because they are visually interesting but not too loud.
Finally, you can make a statement with socks and trousers that contrast and, therefore,
make
all the colors stand out even more like red and buff.
By harmonizing your socks with your
trousers, you can make the most of the colors you're employing in all aspects of your outfit,
while still looking refined and stately.
Number four: classic patterns offer awesome color
opportunities.
When it comes to bringing more color into your colorful socks, patterns offer
a wide range of opportunities.
Classic patterns, in particular, can support many colors, while
maintaining a good sense of balance and subtle dignity.
Some of our favorite colorful sock
patterns include two-tones, stripes, argyle, and understated, repeating patterns like paisley,
clocks, geometrics, and polka dots.
To maintain a more formal atmosphere but through colorful
patterned socks, keep the sock body in more conservative color, with more vibrant colors
in the detailing.
These classic patterns will allow you to introduce many colors into your
socks that will harmonize well with your suit.
But, don't forget that your suit could have
a pattern as well, so let's cover that point.
Number five: pair patterns perfectly.
While
the patterns of your socks are a great way to introduce color, how those patterns or
lack
of a pattern interact with your suit are also important.
In general, suits with solid colors
look best with patterned socks because the obvious contrast prevents the division between
socks and trousers from becoming muddied.
Conversely, patterned suits look best with solid color
socks
because the juncture of the two is less likely to appear visually overwhelming; to the extent
that yellow socks with green shoes and checked trousers can be considered less visually overwhelming.
Of course, you can also match solids with solids
and patterns with patterns, like pairing pattern
socks with a patterned suit with more subtle matching colors to unite the two patterns.
Unless you want a very bold look, be sure the
patterns you've selected don't clash.
When pairing
solid suits with solid socks, ensuring a higher contrast between the two will avoid dull combinations;
while more proximate colors will appear more formal.
By taking both your sock and suit patterns
into consideration, you can make sure that your look appears holistic and well put together
from top to bottom.
Number six: offset the sensational with a sedate.
As you play around with colorful
socks, you'll quickly find that some colors are simply much bolder than others, and therefore,
somewhat less versatile in the classic style.
You can still utilize these colors in your
outfits; however, by pairing brighter or Bolder colors with more common neutral colors, this
allows you to introduce a fun, vibrant color without going overboard, while the more understated
colors allow for wider versatility and visually calms everything down.
Dual color pairings -
like those found in striped or two-tone socks -
are one of the easiest ways to apply this
principle.
Common color pairings and classic menswear include blue and yellow, charcoal
and orange, red and gray, blue and orange, and
pink and gray.
Pairings like these make it
much easier to introduce unexpected colors.
Although, some colors will simply be too bold
or loud for a classic palette.
Usually, any color with electric or neon before its name
will be a strong indicator.
Number seven use texture to tone down titanic tints.
Speaking
of loud colors, when dealing with a vibrant solid sock, you can use texture to tone down
what might otherwise be an excessively brash, bold color.
The satin-like weave of this plum
sock is just a little too reminiscent of a cheap, synthetic silk necktie; conversely,
the
slightly stubbier, ribbed texture on these plum socks looks less synthetic and more natural,
and therefore, generally more appealing.
Sock texture is generally the result of how the
socks are woven or from what material they are made.
So, if the color is just a little too
out there for you in one texture, try a different texture to see if the greater visual interest
of the weave or material take some attention off how vibrant the color actually is.
Number
eight: sample seasonality.
Another way to rock wilder colors is to keep them seasonally appropriate
and savor seasonal sock sensations according to the Italian sartorial tradition of scorpacciata,
which Preston explains here.
Rotating your socks based on season colors will give you
more leeway in selecting colors and more opportunities for expanding your sock color horizons.
Oftentimes,
colors that are in season can be worn with relative ease, even if they are relatively
bold.
Pink socks would be strongly out of place in a winter wonderland, but are perfect with
the pastels of spring.
Inversely, while a dark navy and orange sock might appear a little
heavy and plotting in summer, it's ideal on a crisp, fall day.
As they say, to everything
there is a season, and that applies to socks as well.
Number nine: suits can offset socks and
vice versa.
While socks can have a big impact on your overall look, they offer a relatively
small portion of the outfit itself.
Therefore, you can always tone down the overall impact
of a pair of colorful socks by pairing them with a more conventional suit.
Because the
greater bulk of the suit compensates for and somewhat obscures the socks.
Obviously, the
socks will still be noticeable, but the more conservative suit will make the entire look
less overwhelming.
Accordingly, a colorful suit, paired with colorful bold socks can appear
exponentially more dramatic, but more subtle colorful socks can also go a long way to toning
down a more outlandish suit.
Ultimately, socks are a small portion of your outfit and how
they interact with your suit can sometimes have a bigger impact than just the socks themselves.
Number 10: don't forget your shoes.
We'll close this video by noting that, while we have been
focused on pairing socks with suits today, your shoes also have an important role to
play in crafting an elegant, refined look.
To help you cover this topic, we recommend that
you acquire our guide to combining socks, shoes,
and pants, which you can download for free
as a PDF guide.
That's a pretty hard price to beat as we hope that we've illustrated
in today's video.
Colorful socks can be integrated into most suit ensembles without sacrificing
the fun that colorful socks entail or compromising on the formality of a suit.
Although with apologies
to Prime Minister Trudeau, it would feel a little out of place addressing the World Economic
Forum while wearing rubber duckies on our socks.
Let us know in the comments how you
like wearing colorful socks as I explain how I've utilized them in today's outfit today.
I'm wearing a navy suit with a gray turtleneck and a dark blue-and-purple-infused pocket
square, along with some shadow-striped Fort Belvedere
socks.
Check out the Fort Belvedere shop here
for socks like these.
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