Welcome to my blog! Here’s this week’s menswear tips.

Today’s style post is a continuation on pocket square styling. During my time at The Tie Bar I noticed a lot of people do not know how to pair ties and pocket squares. It’s widely believed that you should match your tie to your pocket square. Everyone has their own style and these rules are not set in stone. On the other hand this is frowned upon in menswear. 

The reason for that is matching the two accessories can look generic. The trick is to compliment your entire look with a pocket square. What color is your suit, your shirt or your tie? It should all work in harmony. You can choose to compliment your socks, your tie bar or your shirt. A pocket square is a sure fire way to inject some creativity into your wardrobe. Keep in mind if you’re new to pocket squares a solid white cotton or linen is the way to go. White goes with everything. 

Consider it your starter pocket square. Designs and color can be a lot of fun but it’ small about balance. You never want to have a tie and pocket square that both have wild designs. They’ll conflict with each other and wreck the look. Rule of thumb is to start with a busier tie and a simple pocket square or the opposite. Remember to have fun and experiment! Below are accompanying illustrations for this post. Stay tuned for next week’s style post.

Charcoal Suit. This is an example of the tie and pocket square working together but not matching exactly.

Khaki Suit. The tie is simple while the pocket square has a pattern.

Brown Suit. The striped tie is patterned but the pocket square is mostly white with a green trim.

Blue Suit. The striped tie is colorful and compliments the suit. The pocket square picks up the red from the tie.

Grey suit. This is an example of what you shouldn’t do with your tie and pocket square.

Navy Suit. Both the tie and pocket square should not be the same shade or pattern. It flattens the whole look.

Green Suit. Both of these patterns are too busy.

Green Suit 2. Here’s an alternative to make this look work. The tie is simple and the pocket square is busier.

Green Suit 3. Here’s the opposite.