I only have brown khakis and blue jeans after coming off a stint of khakis only. What color shirts could I wear with them and not look stupid?
What colors go well together? Or is the color wheel a good judge of what colors to mix together?
More comprehensive guide about using the color wheel to dress (crosspost from FFA)
Color schemes in clothing do not match up with pigment or light based color schemes well at all. The color wheel is a light based color scheme. I highly recommend against complementary color schemes (they clash, that's the whole point - red and green looks terrible together) and triadic color schemes (they don't clash as badly but they certainly look busy and like you're trying too hard). Matching is so much less about color schemes than it is about matching hue, saturation, and brightness. Light Color schemes for clothing rarely work - it's for art.
I think I said this in another thread, but the basic men's color palette is navy, white, brown, burgundy, and grey. They all work with one another and although it looks safe, it will look good. You can add and subtract from it for an outfit, but if you build from this base you will look fine.
More on reddit.comCare to explain the color wheel?
Basically colors do one of three things with each other. They contrast, they complement, or they clash.
Colors across from each other contrast. More contrast in an outfit typically means more visibility, and with regards to black and white, more formality. less is typically more business and sedated. You want some, but not too much.
Complements are colors close to each other. A Yellow shirt and an orange tie would complement each other. Doesnt draw the eye as much as contrast, but its not displeasing either.
Colors that are close to each other, but not close enough to complement will clash. essentially they are kind of a nether zone between colors that contrast and colors that complement. Bold, but not bold enough to stand out. Avoid.
When constructing an outfit, you want to draw the eyes to certain areas, and away from certain areas. The chest, neck, and face are where the viewer should be focusing. In these areas, contrast is better. Charcoal jacket with white pocket square draws the eyes to the contrast around the pocket square and by extension to the muscular structured chest of the person in question. White shirt with dark tie draws attention to the tie and then up the tie to the face. which is good.
In general, directly contrasting (Blue shirt/red tie) is seen as newbish. Its best to pick a complement of one of the colors. For instance, light blue and red. Or blue and burgundy. Or light blue and burgundy. The less direct contrast, the less "in your face"-ness. You want this(lots of contrast) sometimes, like when you are dressed as a clown for a childrens party. (Excluding tuxedos of course). For every other time, aim for something a little more sedate.
Once you figure out the aesthetics and ratios and all that, mens suits are actually quite formulaic with what works and what looks good. Its a science more than an art.
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