2.1 How to dress guide: MIXING PATTERNS

Problem with combining similar patterns or different patterns is that there is always a chance of ending with a crowded or discord look. This happens when the patterns looks congested on the man.

Naturalness about the mens personality should be reflective by mixing patterns with style. It is exactly these stylish matching of patterns that catches people’s eyes. There is a clear representation the man knows what he is doing and what he wants.

This polishing helps to clean up any difficult spots.


MIXING TWO SIMILAR PATTERNS

Ever wondered how to get the best dress style when mixing two similar patterns? The main objective is to prevent an optical illusion of discord and extensive vibration between the patterns. We want to have a natural and smooth transition between the two similar patterns. The art of doing so is to have different scales for the two same design patterns. Let us begin by looking at mixing stripe patterns first.

Mixing two similar patterns like stripes boils down to the size of the stripes as well as the spacing between the stripes. Make sure these two factors be as different as possible between the stripes.

If two small size stripes are put together, the effect can create quite a bit of tension between them. When having two different stripes yet with similar spacing makes it difficult to put the attention on either stripe.

When different stripe shirts are matched with pink stripe tie, the transition between the pink stripe tie and stripe shirt varies.

 

The pink stripe tie against the pink hairline dress shirt does not give our eye the illusion of tension.

Because of the two types of stripes are differently scaled giving us a compatible transition between them.

Instead this other combination of the same pink stripe tie with a closely scaled and spaced dress shirt creates a lot more vibration.

Another example is coordinating a stripe suit and stripe dress shirts have come up with various results as well when the spacing between the stripes differs. One combination involves stripes with very similar spacing for both the suit and dress shirt. The other combination is where the suit has a much different scaled stripe spacing compared to the dress shirt.

From this, there is a higher preference for the combination that has different scaled stripes. It allows a more distinguished transition for the dress shirt from the suit. Choose a plain brown tie to give an easing finish from the two stripes.

Mixing two similar patterns like checks applies the same theory as the stripes. But checks have more intense pattern compared to stripes, so it can be more difficult in coordinating especially for plaids.

Some examples by combining dress shirts and check ties:
If you use medium sized check dress shirt matched with a similar sized check tie, the look will turn weird because of the similarity in size of the checks that sets a tension for the viewer.

However, if you match it against a smaller check tie (like houndstooth) the overall look allows a smoother transition between the two similar patterns even though with more contrast.

Yet when we use small check ties to put it against a tightly scaled check dress shirt, we are creating a lot of disorientation. This is because of its intense and vibrating effect on the eye that is confusing and blurry to the viewer.

So always avoid using two similar sized checks together but use contrasting scaled checks.

For the overall best effect on mens fashion dress style, mixing two similar patterns boils down to the concept of using two designs with different scales and different spacing.

This applies for suit against shirt, shirt against tie, or even suit against tie.


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MATCHING TWO DIFFERENT PATTERNS

To create harmony by matching two different patterns continues to involve scales of the patterns and size of the patterns. However, the concept of this matching differs from that of two similar patterns. Some examples of matching two different patterns are check suits and stripe ties or dress shirts, stripe dress shirts and polka-dot ties, as well as plaid suits and foulard ties.

The focus when doing such combination is to understand which one is the first pattern and which is the second.

Naturally, the first pattern is usually the one that takes up most of your body and the second should be the one creating the accent.

Avoid having the second pattern overwhelming the first. And also maintain good color coordination between the second pattern against the first pattern.

When in doubt, it is safe to have colors of the same hue or similar hue from both patterns.

The art of achieving a soothing effect matching two different patterns involves getting the scales of the two patterns as close as possible and this applies mainly to those with bigger and medium-sized scaled patterns.

This is to prevent having one pattern overwhelming the other especially the one with the more complicated or smaller scaled design.

 

When this chalk stripe suit is placed with the two types of ties we notice that the small geometric patterned pink tie overwhelms the suit more than the other wide spaced square patterned tie.

The impact that the square patterned tie makes is more soothing and in-balance because the scale of the pattern on the tie against the stripes on the suit are closely matched.

The blending color of dark blue and gray creates a nice flow between the two apparels.

Instead the tie placed on the suit has a lesser blend as well as taking the focus away from the suit.

We would want to remember that the tie is an accent and should avoid taking too much attention from the suit.

We would not say that it is not a nice play of contrast for this way of matching two different patterns, rather it would take men with a great savvy attitude and character to carry this dressing style well.

So for men who are not sure what to wear, choosing a bigger scale pattern would always be a safer choice.



This tattersall check dress shirt and this polka dot tie is another good example on matching two different patterns. Even though the polka dot is small but the spacing between the dots and the tattersall size are well-matched. Then the pink polka dots reflected against the pink dress shirt gives it an even smarter combination.

But when the first pattern involves a small pattern, matching two different patterns needs another perspective of things. As explained before, smaller patterns are more intense and can capture more significant attention. Imagine two small patterns put together? It will be a very intense and vibrating transition between the patterns that might not be too pleasing to the viewers.

To avoid such a discord between the patterns, choosing a wider second pattern over a smaller first pattern can definitely relief the intensity emitted by the small pattern.



This suit is a prime example of how three different types of stripe ties placed against it will look. The first example is a closely scaled stripe tie with a nice shade of brown stripe that matches against the suit nicely. It is this repetition of color on the stripe tie against the houndstooth suit that is relieving the tension between the two patterns.

Too closely matched in their scales are creating a very uncomfortable vibration to the viewers’ eyes.

Instead the other two would not create such problems for the viewer. The second pattern though has a similarly scaled stripe tie but it is the wide spacing between the stripes that counteracts against the houndstooth.

The third stripe tie has big and wide scaled stripes and offers an even nicer counter-balancing from the small patterned.

Further enhancing the excellent style in the two stripe ties combination is the use of similar hues like gold and brown to match the light brown color of the suit.

 

To further illustrate the concept on matching two different patterns, let us look at the stripe dress shirt which is going to be matched by two differently sized polka dot ties.

The small scaled stripes on the shirt and the small dotted tie created too much discord for great appreciation.

The bigger polka-dots did not create this problem but instead gave it smooth transition on the small stripes on the suits.

If it dark blue instead of black color tie, the overall look will definitely be enhanced to another level of sophistication.


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MIXING THREE DIFFERENT PATTERNS

When coordinating three different patterns, most men would consider it the most difficult. But it is also the most sartorial style to achieve if successfully done. Scaling between the patterns is very important when involving mixing three patterns where all are different.

Whenever there is involvement of larger patterns starting out from the suit, the choice of the other patterns should naturally be preferred to be of the same scale.

Keeping the scaling consistent between the patterns gives any man a safe choice when mixing three different patterns.


Notice that the sizes of patterns are all large and their spacing against one another is consistent. This gives an overall nice sartorial balance for the wearer. None of the patterns overwhelm the other and looks very natural in coordination.

Further using similar hues color coordination between the three patterns makes the blend well-balanced and enhances the classiness of the overall combination without making it look too trying.

Below is another example where the scaling and spacing of the patterns are tighter. The coordination would involve balancing between spacing and the scales of the patterns.


The checks on the dress shirt being smaller scaled and when paired against the medium-scaled stripe suit, the coordination easily balances out. The tie brings accent to both the check and stripe.

Even though the floral spacing is tight but its large scaled floral print avoids possible discord between the tie and the small check dress shirt.

For simplicity in mixing three patterns where all are different, it is always good to play around with different scales between the patterns when one of them is smaller scaled or spaced.

Using wider scaling or wider spacing for the other two patterns helps to make the patterns visually compatible.


THREE PATTERNS COORDINATION

We will step into another method of three patterns coordination where two are similar patterns. This is slightly less difficult in coordinating compared to three different patterns from my personal experience.

It is important to continue the concept of balancing between the patterns. So we should segregate the two similar patterns in terms of their scale and space while having the third pattern to match with the two similar patterns.

For an easy start, it is advisable to focus the third pattern on the tie. This makes coordination a lot easier and avoids any possible clashes between the patterns on other different apparel.



For example, we work on the scale of two similar patterns like the stripes between the suits and the dress shirts to ensure they are different. Generally, suits have larger scaled stripes and so it is better to use a smaller spaced stripe for the dress shirts.

For the tie, it is advisable to use of larger spaced patterns like polka-dots or large dotted floral prints to give a good balance on the finer stripes found on dress shirts. Ties with larger patterns or wider spacing are safe choices to create a more soothing effect for the eye.



We show another example of three patterns coordination using two checks and one stripe. This combination is made up of windowpane suit and 2-button wide check with a stripe tie.

Again we choose the smaller checks on the dress shirts to harmonize the bigger check pattern on the suit. Then the large scaled stripes provide an accent to the whole combination that blends easily to both check patterns.

The use of similar blue hues between the suit, dress shirt, and tie enhances the sartorial effect for such coordination. Remember that the proper use of color coordination is important here as well because of the many patterns used.

Without blending colors will make any pattern combination confusing especially when it involves small and big similar patterns.

A safe method for men without experience in mixing and matching is to have the patterns use similar hues coordination, same hues coordination, or achromatic hues coordination between the apparels.

Only when the experience picks up further in matching men’s fashion clothing, we would definitely recommend trying out the other arts of color coordination with contrasting hues and complementary hues.

Overall, the concept for three patterns coordination is always use one large scale pattern to balance out the other two similar patterns.

This is the reason why we can easily use ties with large scales or patterns or motifs is the easiest way to off-set the similar but different scaled patterns on the suit and dress shirt.


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