does this go with that ( style guide )

8/12/2019 Does This Go With That ( Style guide )

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IIGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM

1.) IT DOESNT MATTER AS MUCH AS YOU THINKSeriously! It really, truly, honestly doesnt

matter.

Theres no way youd put together a basic,

everyday outfit that would look so grotesque

youd be laughed or cursed at, so stop worrying

so much.

Is your closet filled with kooky, crazy, hard-to-

match colors? Do you have a bunch of fuchsia,

lime green, and electric blue in your drawers?

No? Well stop worrying so much.

2.) REPLACE THE WORD MATCH WITH

COMPLEMENT AND PAIRIm tired of guys worrying about matching

everything they wear.

Matching always reminds me of those dress

shirt boxed sets you find in discount stores

like Marshalls, Ross, or TJ Maxxxx that come

with a matching tie and pocket square.

(By the way if you own

these, please discard them

immediately.)

You dont want to match,ever. You want everything

thats on your body at one

time to COMPLEMENT each

other.

Have you heard the word complement but

were unsure of how to apply that to your

finished ensemble?

Stay tuned for more specific ideas a bit further

down. Lets keep going.

DOES THIS GO WITH THAT?A SHORT PRIMER ON MATCHING COLOR
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IIIGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM

3.) UNDERSTAND THE CLASH, AND KNOW HOWTO USE IT WISELYBrown with black. Navy with black. These

are two examples most average men would

consider taboo color combinations.

The more advanced dude would know how

to work these colors together. Be that dude

eventually. Or at least aspire to be him.

Colors that you think clash can actually look

really awesome together.

On the flip side, here are a few color

combinations I suggest you avoid:Red and

black. White and black (youre not the

King of Pop). All black everything

(youre not Jay-Z).

And listen, Im not saying these combos

are wrong, Im just saying theyre

predictable. Theyve been done.

Step away from whats easy and start

wearing color combinations with more

character.

Assemble outfits that make it look like

you put some thought and effort into

your appearance.



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IVGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM

DOES THIS GO WITH THAT?

4.) START WITH ONE ITEM, AND BUILD YOUROUTFIT AROUND ITLets say you want to wear a sweet pair of dark

denim1tomorrow. Great! Step one: Done.

What shirt goes with dark denim? Practically

any shirt ever made2, ever. So now you have two

pieces that look great together. Step two: finito.

What shoes will you wear? Find something

that looks great with the denim. A pair of

beeswax leather Clarks desert boots3? Bam.

Step three: donezo!

Youre safe because the denim goes with

practically anything, and your leather Clarks

will go with both the denim and whatever you

have going on up top. Unless youre wearing a

tube top. Or just a bra.

Anyway.

Did you catch that? First start with one item,

and figure out what looks good paired with

that.Then work your way to the next item you

have to put on.

If youre trying to put together an outfitconsisting of 5 different pieces all at once, yourhead may spin uncontrollably which will causeyou to give up before you even get out of bed.

It always helps to start with one piece you

KNOW you want to wear (in this case, the

denim), and work your way through the outfit.

A SHORT PRIMER ON MATCHING COLOR

1 2 3


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VGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM


5.) HAVING A NEUTRAL OR DARK BASEMAKES THINGS EASIERIn the previous example, your dark base was

your denim. Maybe you have a great pair of

gray chinos, or a navy linen sport shirt to use

as your base.

When you have a neutral or dark base asyour starting point, its a lot easier to put anoutfit together.

Your chances of finding complementary

colors that go well with your neutral or dark

base piece are much higher than, say, your

magenta trousers.

Wait, what?You dont have magenta trousers?

Youre missing out, bro.

6.) LIMIT YOURSELF TO ONE GO-TO-HELLARTICLE OF CLOTHING PER OUTFITLets say you DO have magenta trousersand

you want to know what to wear with them.

Take a cue from this Bonobos product

shot and keep everything else in your

outfit muted.The minute you put on

a second loud color, you instantly

cross the threshold into clown status

a status you want to avoid.

One brightly colored item, everything

else muted down. When I say muted,

I mean neutral colors: taupe, khaki, tan,

white, dusty light blue, light gray, etc.

In this example of magenta pants, a dark navy

sport shirt would look great as well. Sometimes

going dark gives the outfit a whole different

look. Test these ideas out and see what you

like best... its different for everyone.

http://effortlessgent.com/http://www.effortlessgent.com/quick-tip-inject-more-color-into-your-everyday-outfits/http://www.effortlessgent.com/quick-tip-inject-more-color-into-your-everyday-outfits/http://www.bonobos.com/po-8754-washed-chinos-pinkhttp://www.bonobos.com/po-8754-washed-chinos-pinkhttp://www.effortlessgent.com/quick-tip-inject-more-color-into-your-everyday-outfits/http://www.effortlessgent.com/quick-tip-inject-more-color-into-your-everyday-outfits/http://effortlessgent.com/


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VIGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM


7.) AVOID TONE-ON-TONE IN ONE OUTFIT...unless you really know what youre doing.

Tone-on-tone is, for example, wearing red

pants, a red shirt, and red shoes, but in

different hues and vibrancies.

Ive only seen this done well on certain

people, and theyre usually really stylishgents (and ladies), or on the runway. You

also risk being washed out if you choose

the wrong color to go tone-on-tone.

However, if youre interested in this

concept, take it one step in a different

direction. Dan of The Style Blogger has

a good exampleof this.

LETS TALK A BIT MORE ABOUT COMPLEMENTINGYOUR COLORSWhat does complementary mean, exactly?

complementary acting as or providinga complement; something that completesthe whole

Or, when referring to color theory:

complementary a color directly oppositeanother on a color wheel and providingthe greatest chromatic contrast to it

This is a siteI love referring people to when it

comes to pairing colors.

Im not going to give you a color theory lesson

here, but if you look, complementary colors

have the most contrast. Theyre opposites.

http://effortlessgent.com/http://www.thestyleblogger.com/1129/tip-of-the-day-watch-your-tone/http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htmhttp://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htmhttp://www.thestyleblogger.com/1129/tip-of-the-day-watch-your-tone/http://effortlessgent.com/


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VIIGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM


But, B, this is an article on matching. How can

I match (ed note:blehh, stop trying to match)

if the colors are opposite each other?

Thats the whole point. Stop matching, start

finding colors that play nicely together.

If you look at the different types of color

relationships on this page, youll notice that

every color has some relationship to another.

Use that to your advantage.

Check out the analogous, triadic, and split

complementary relationships to the right. Do

these colors match? Not necessarily, but

they play nicely together. Work with that.

Definitely refer to this site to learn more

about color relationships. Trust me, its super

important and will open your mind up when it

comes to the subject of pairing colors.

http://effortlessgent.com/http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htmhttp://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htmhttp://effortlessgent.com/


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VIIIGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM


SOME EXAMPLES TO GET YOU STARTEDIts not always easy incorporating bold colors,

but if you go the minimal route, youll have

an easier time. This means start with your

accessories.

Go with bright bold socks in crazy ass

patterns. Take a look at one of my favorite

(relatively affordable) brands, Happy Socks,

and read up more on colorful socks here.

Try colorful watch straps, bracelets, pocket

squares, or silk knots for your french cuff

shirts.

There are plenty of opportunities to introduce

bold color without doing it wrong. Its really,

really hard to F up when injecting color in

small doses like Im suggesting.

http://effortlessgent.com/http://happysocks.effortlessgent.com/http://www.effortlessgent.com/back-to-basics-which-socks-do-i-wear-with-these/http://www.effortlessgent.com/the-endorsement-the-inexpensive-no-frills-timepiece/http://www.effortlessgent.com/how-to-wear-a-pocket-square/http://www.effortlessgent.com/how-to-wear-a-pocket-square/http://www.effortlessgent.com/how-to-wear-a-pocket-square/http://www.effortlessgent.com/how-to-wear-a-pocket-square/http://www.effortlessgent.com/the-endorsement-the-inexpensive-no-frills-timepiece/http://www.effortlessgent.com/back-to-basics-which-socks-do-i-wear-with-these/http://happysocks.effortlessgent.com/http://effortlessgent.com/


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IXGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM

Heres another easy tip when youre dressed

up and want to incorporate color.

Lets say you have a colored, patterned dress

shirt (i.e. a purple gingham) and you want to

know what tie to wear.

Striped ties are pretty colorful, right? Find

a striped tie whose non-dominant color is

similar to the purple in your shirt.Who gives

a crap about the other colors; Im sure it will

look just fine.

And note I said similar. If its a shade or two

off, dont flip out. Itll be okay, really. Noones gonna notice.

Pairing the non-dominant (thinnest) stripescolor to the dominant color in your shirt is agreat example of how to appropriately pairup your colors.

There are multiple tie options for this particular

shirt, and pretty much every shirt you own.

Are you catching my drift here? It doesnt

really matterwhat you put on.

Take a look at the following page for two

basic options for this shirt (and remember,

you have countless options, but these are two

easy ones).



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XGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM


a.

detailed view

b.

Option A probably looks like a basic navy tiefrom afar, but the detailed view shows that its

actually a navy and purple stripe.

Color pairing doesnt have to be blatantly

obvious for it to look good.

Note that the striped option isnt evencarrying any purple. Its a navy, red, and teal

combination.

From the little information you learned about

color relationships earlier, can you see why

this still works?



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XIGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM


SO, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?One statement that can sum all this up: Leave

the predictability behind.

Matching is no fun. Thinking too hard when

trying to complement colors isnt that exciting.

Then again, Im not saying you shouldnt master

it. Master your color pairing skillz to the point

where you dont even have to think about it

anymore, and then try clashing a little once in

a while. Break the rules that you know exist.

Speaking of clashing, Im not talking about themain pieces in your outfit (like your pants and

your shirt), but clash a little everywhere else,

starting with your accessories.

Wear socks that dont necessarily go with

anything. Find a brightly-colored watch strap

that stands apart from everything else youre

wearing. Buy a pair of brightly-colored boat

shoes or bucks.

Dont be scared. Experiment, and eventually,

youll figure out which colors look good with

each other.

Be a little unpredictable in your color choices

and have some fun with what you wear.

NOW GO FORTH, AND BE COLORFUL!



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XIIGRADUATING YOUR STYLE | EFFORTLESS GENT | EFFORTLESSGENT.COM

PHOTO CREDITS

II Paul Malone via ebay.com

III brown and black - lesseffort.effortlessgent.com

black and red - facepunch.com

black and white - George Rose, Getty Images

IV Fifth&Brannan

Clarks desert boots

V Bonobos Hidden Magentas

VI Versace for H&M

VII Tiger Color

IX Rugby.com

Barneys Co-op

J.Crew
http://effortlessgent.com/http://lesseffort.effortlessgent.com/http://shop.fifthandbrannan.com/jack-trouser-denim.htmlhttp://shop.nordstrom.com/s/clarks-originals-desert-boot/3215202http://www.bonobos.com/po-8754-washed-chinos-pinkhttp://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/style/2011/10/24/dont-judge-versace-for-hm-by-the-lookbook/http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htmhttp://www.rugby.com/shop/item.aspx?productId=12786465&categoryId=3372180&cp=3138868http://www.barneys.com/Dot-Stripe-Tie/00505013679477,default,pd.htmlhttp://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/tiesandpocketsquares/silkties/PRDOVR~75453/75453.jsphttp://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/tiesandpocketsquares/silkties/PRDOVR~75453/75453.jsphttp://www.barneys.com/Dot-Stripe-Tie/00505013679477,default,pd.htmlhttp://www.rugby.com/shop/item.aspx?productId=12786465&categoryId=3372180&cp=3138868http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htmhttp://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/style/2011/10/24/dont-judge-versace-for-hm-by-the-lookbook/http://www.bonobos.com/po-8754-washed-chinos-pinkhttp://shop.nordstrom.com/s/clarks-originals-desert-boot/3215202http://shop.fifthandbrannan.com/jack-trouser-denim.htmlhttp://lesseffort.effortlessgent.com/http://effortlessgent.com/


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does this go with that ( style guide )

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