Mismatched Accessories

     


Contrary to some unwritten rule book on fashion to which most men seem to subscribe, accessories aren’t required to match. At most, they should coordinate, and in many cases they can even contrast. Try brown shoes, an orange belt and a blue watch or a rep-striped tie with a gingham pocket square.

Mismatched is not generally a term one would associate with bespoke tailoring; clean lines, pinstripes and well fitted jackets are more ‘well’-matched than ‘miss’-matched.

But in the world of men’s fashion and tailoring, we simply don’t have the luxury of the wealth of patterns, colours and styles that women have, so, as men, we must make the most of our accessories in order to stand out and make a statement.

If your braces are all leather, which I haven’t seen much of since the First World War, then they should definitely match your shoes. If it’s just that little trim on the loop ends and yoke, I probably wouldn’t stickle over it. I confess, however, that I used to be strict on the watchband issue. But then one day I had a hip epiphany in which I realized that as the Style Guy, I could do whatever I thought right. Since then I’ve occasionally worn a black leather watch strap with brown shoes and belt. People haven’t called me on this mismatch—probably since they have families, jobs and concerns about global warming—and I’m fine with it. But even if I weren’t the Style Guy, I’d have come to a transcendental state where I could occasionally breach the traditional dictum with joy and serenity. Last year, the day after Labor Day, I wore a new seersucker suit. (But I didn’t wear white shoes.) It was well over eighty-five degrees, and suddenly I was the fashion dictator, applying reason to cultural heritage and aesthetics. Somebody called me on it, and I informed him that (1) I knew it was the day after Labor Day, (2) he was wearing a T-shirt and quite agricultural-looking jeans at the office of a major fashion house, and (3) I am a law unto myself. Shouldn’t you be, too?

There’s something about a matching tie and handkerchief that is almost ‘over-coordinated’ but have you ever considered mismatching? A mismatched tie and handkerchief does something to an outfit – it gives it a bit of fizz, a quirky twist – it becomes a talking point.

At Hemingway Tailors we have a vast range of colours, materials and patterns to select from, why not try a paisley blue and red handkerchief with a navy and red spot patterened tie, or try mixing and matching colours and even textures.