Tie/Shirt advice?

desmoface · Mar 4, 2015

Hello everyone. I'm a total knucklehead when it comes to matching my tie and shirt as can be seen from my prior post about this subject, LOL. I was hoping someone could provide some advice as to which, if any, of these ties would match this shirt:

dots1 by desmoface, on Flickr

or maybe one of these?

dots by desmoface, on Flickr

The shirt is Navy Blue with white pin dots. I'm hoping one of these ties will work, if not, any recommendations on a tie that would? Thanks so much in advance.

Steve

Parjay · Mar 4, 2015

I am no expert, but the purple tie actually caught my eye more than any of the others.

desmoface · Mar 4, 2015

Hi RJ, I really like that tie, also. It has white in it which would tie it into the shirt. I've read that you shouldn't match geometric patters (striped tie and striped shirt, etc), but I don't know what looks good and don't want to look like a knothead, LOL. Thanks for the reply.

Steve

FoolishMortal · Mar 4, 2015

Unless the shades of navy match exactly, I would avoid the ones with navy - they are really bold patterns. This is where a solid white shirt comes in handy, because any of those ties would look good with it. Any chance that you have a red tie with paisley? That's usually a winner (for me).

If you're set on sticking with the white-dot shirt, the purple is your best bet, but a white shirt will be much more versatile.

desmoface · Mar 4, 2015

Hi there foolish mortal, I don't have any red paisley ties, unfortunately, do you think the solid navy tie would be a safe bet? Thanks for the advice.

Steve

patten1969 · Mar 4, 2015

None. IMHO your best bet would be to head over to a Marshalls, TJ Maxx or Macy's (do you have Belk or Dillards in Ohio?) and pick yourself up a white and/or light blue dress shirt on the cheap. All of your ties would go with them. You are matching ties to shirts that aren't made for ties. Buy dress shirts according to your size, i.e. 16 x 32/33, not XL. If you want patterned shirt and tie matches, use Google Images. I don't know what you are dressing for, but if you are wearing ties, buy dress shirts. Good luck!

RP Owens · Mar 4, 2015

patten1969 said:
None. IMHO your best bet would be to head over to a Marshalls, TJ Maxx or Macy's (do you have Belk or Dillards in Ohio?) and pick yourself up a white and/or light blue dress shirt on the cheap. All of your ties would go with them. You are matching ties to shirts that aren't made for ties. Buy dress shirts according to your size, i.e. 16 x 32/33, not XL. If you want patterned shirt and tie matches, use Google Images. I don't know what you are dressing for, but if you are wearing ties, buy dress shirts. Good luck!

+1 A light blue dress shirt would be your best option. Depending on your body type, a slim, modern or classic fit. I always recommend going with a spread or semi-spread collar (images below) as those are a very nice looking option and allow you to be fun playing with tie knots.

Above is a semi-spread collar.

And this is a spread collar.

Doc4 · Mar 4, 2015

That's a tough shirt to 'tie' ... Very dark and 'sporty'. I'd go with a tie the in the first photo ... the farther to the right the better.

desmoface · Mar 5, 2015

Hi everyone, thanks for the advice. I was thinking maybe the navy/grey striped or solid navy, but agree that there is a lot going on with that shirt. I may have to wear that shirt without a tie. Thanks again.

steve

BSAGuy · Mar 5, 2015

Amen! A tie needs a dress shirt. Also, easy rule is to just get white or light blue dress shirts. They will go with a lot of ties.

patten1969 said:
None. IMHO your best bet would be to head over to a Marshalls, TJ Maxx or Macy's (do you have Belk or Dillards in Ohio?) and pick yourself up a white and/or light blue dress shirt on the cheap. All of your ties would go with them. You are matching ties to shirts that aren't made for ties. Buy dress shirts according to your size, i.e. 16 x 32/33, not XL. If you want patterned shirt and tie matches, use Google Images. I don't know what you are dressing for, but if you are wearing ties, buy dress shirts. Good luck!

benzology · Mar 5, 2015

Going to be tough matching that shirt - nice shirt but not ideal for wearing with a tie.

Take the advice above and get yourself a nice white shirt - every man should have one!

tsimmns · Mar 5, 2015

I agree with what's been stated above, but both a white shirt and a blue solid or checkered one. You will be set for life.

Eeyore · Mar 5, 2015

Agreed; that shirt should go tie-less.

As stated above; buy a white and a light blue dress shirt (fit depends on your body type), and a small selection of matching ties. How many combinations you need, depends on how often you'll wear a tie.

benzology · Mar 5, 2015

Oh - forgot to mention, those ties are stylish and will all look sweet with the white shirt.

IDvsEGO · Mar 5, 2015

I am not afraid of mixing patterns and own a shirt like that. I do not wear a tie with it. The shirt pattern is too much for anything I have found. If you want to dress that on up wear it with gray slacks and maybe highly contrasted gray blazer. Like a light pants, charcoal blazer combo. There is enough white on the shirt to get away with a navy blazer too.

Doc4 · Mar 5, 2015

As a general rule of thumb, your tie should be darker than your shirt.

Parjay · Mar 5, 2015

What's the occasion? I think that the white/light blue dress shirt advice is spot on if you're looking to be formal, but I think you can take some liberties if you are going to a young wedding our something more along those lines.

patten1969 · Mar 5, 2015

I might add that if the shirt and tie draw attention to the shirt and tie, you are wearing the wrong outfit.

paintflinger · Mar 5, 2015

For me it would depend on what the coat I'd be wearing over it looked like. If the coat is patterned, then a nice solid tie, maybe play with the texture.

If the coat is a nice solid, a patterned tie would work, but out of the ones above, I really only like the one on the right in the first picture.

If it was me, for that shirt, I'd go with a knit tie of some sort, probably a solid color.

Jarick · Mar 5, 2015

I don't think I'd wear that shirt. It looks really busy. Maybe under a suit with a white tie?

I like the blue tie in the first picture on the right and would wear with a white shirt. I like the purple tie in the second and would probably wear with a very light gray. And I like the red and blue tie on the right with either white or a light blue.

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Tie/Shirt advice?

desmoface

Parjay

desmoface

FoolishMortal

desmoface

patten1969

RP Owens

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather

desmoface

BSAGuy

benzology

tsimmns

Eeyore

benzology

IDvsEGO

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather

Parjay

patten1969

paintflinger

Jarick

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