What tie to wear with what shirt???

As you grow your shirt wardrobe, you will need the appropriate collection of ties to combine with this wardrobe if these shirts are to be worn for work or formal occasions. In this article we cover what tie to wear with what shirt, and then how to match that combination with a suit.

If you want to be cost effective and efficient with your wardrobe, you will want to ensure that you have ties that can be worn in combination with multiple shirts in your wardrobe so that you’re not blowing your budget on ties.

Here are some rules of thumb when picking out ties to add to your collection:

• If you buy a solid tie, ensure that it picks up one of the colours in the shirt.

• Solid colour or textured ties are particularly versatile as they can be worn on striped, chequered and plain shirts.

Blue Striped Business Shirt with Textured Blue Tie

• Avoid wearing a striped tie with a chequered or striped shirt as this makes your whole appearance too busy. Instead have a solid or textured tie. (Textured ties are a single colour but have a design running through of the same colour – just like herringbone on a shirt).

Black & White striped Business Shirt with Black Textured Tie

• The only exception to the rule is if you have a shirt with narrow stripes or subtle stripes, you may wear a diagonally striped tie – as long as the stripes on the tie are bolder than those on the shirt.

Blue Subtle Striped Business Shirt with Bold Diagonal Red Stripe Blue Tie

• Similarly, if you have a chequered shirt with the checks being relatively subtle, you can combine it with a patterned tie as long as the colour or pattern on the tie is bolder than the colour or pattern on the shirt. A good combination is a chequered shirt with dot-pattern tie.

Checked Pink Shirt with Pink Tie with Blue Dots

• Try and avoid combining the above shirt and tie combination with a pinstriped or window-pane suit – now you’re treading the fine line between ‘trendy’ and ‘busy’. Wear a plain dark coloured suit if possible to tone down the overall look.

• Be adventurous and try wearing patterned ties on plain shirts. Patterned ties such as jacquard, paisley, dot, etc. can be worn successfully with solid colour shirts – particularly plain, oxford or herringbone cloths.

Blue Business Shirt with White Collar and Cuffs with Blue Paisley Patterned Tie

Pink Business Shirt with Pink and Blue Diagonal Stripe Tie

• Plaid and some chequered shirts look great with or without ties – and can be worn casually as well as in the workplace depending on the individual pattern.

• Some versatile colours for shirts are of course plain white, light blue, and grey – with which you can match any number of ties. These colours can be suitable for all occasions be it an interview, business meeting, or formal occasion.

• Try contrasting the colour of your tie to the colour of your shirt, and even contrasting the shade or tone of your tie to the shade of your shirt.

Blue Business Shirt with White Collar and Cuffs with Yellow Tie with Blue Dots

Black Formal Shirt with Silver Floral Tie

• If the colour of your tie is the same as your shirt – particularly when it comes to solid shirts and ties – ensure that the shade is different. E.g. dark blue tie with light blue shirt and navy blue or black suit.

Blue Subtle Stripe Shirt with Darker Blue Floral Pattern Tie

• A Final rule – when it comes to matching a suit with your shirt and tie, if you are wearing a fairly ‘busy’ shirt such as bold stripes or chequered, then wear either a solid coloured suit or even a textured suit in herringbone or shadow-stripe patterns. If you want to wear a pinstripe suit with a busier shirt, ensure that the pinstripes are very subtle. If you are wearing a plain shirt, then you are free to wear a bolder pinstripe suit or a suit with either Prince of Wales or Window-Pane patterns.