Robert was somewhat hesitant about wearing his new burgundy shoes with his grey suit to the commission meeting at work this week, even though I told him I thought they looked good. Person after person on the Internet agreed with this assessment (except one) but he wasn't really comfortable until he read this:
"Watch the movie North by Northwest and see Cary Grant wear some nice burgundy cap-toe shoes with his famous grey suit."
Although we did not actually watch the movie to verify the accuracy of this statement, it was funny how merely evoking Cary Grant in these situations works.
Robert eventually admitted that he couldn't reliably tell that the shoes were not black. I said I thought that few people would notice that they weren't black and those who did would like it.
See for yourself (note that the weird pale dots around the laces are an artifact of the photo and not the shoes):
Of course he then ruined the look by wearing a pair of Mork from Ork era rainbow suspenders, a bolo tie, a puffy pink ski jacket, a brown belt with BOBBY stamped on the back and a big buckle in the shape of Texas, a Rice University baseball cap, a tie-dyed bandanna headband, and a single white Michael Jackson style glove, but the shoes and grey pants worked together nicely and were totally appropriate for his presentation at work.
9 comments:
This is the kind of stuff I never know anything about. You'd be hard pressed to convince me, if I were Robert, that that color combination was acceptable. I can never figure this shit out in my own wardrobe.
That's why I absolutely refuse to buy anything if I can't figure out, out of things I already own, what I can wear with it. Do I have shoes that I know go with it? A top and/or bottom as needed? Can I at least picture what type of shoes/top/bottom might go with it? Are such items readily obtainable? Oh, to heck with it, I probably didn't need it anyway.
People who are not challenged this way (i.e., my mom) try to fight this policy, but I hate leaving the house feeling like a moron. And I hate owning clothing that I can never wear because obviously I'd need some kind of brown sandals for that baby blue skirt, and...argh. *brain explodes*
Tam, it sounds like you need to shop at the Men's Warehouse for women, where they will just sell you the entire outfit at once, matched and accessorized for your convenience. But the number of women who want such a thing are too small to support a nationwide chain of stores; women who want personal advice are going to get personal shoppers, I suppose.
I have had several burgundy/grey color combos in my wardrobe, so I can definitely see it working with the shoes. Both colors are actually neutrals and very classic.
Chicos usually has whole outfits set up nicely, if you're into that kind of clothing.
Tam, I know a guy who buys only blue pants and black pants (including jeans) and then buys only patterned shirts that go with blue and black, usually blue, black and white shirts.
Tam, I also don't buy things unless I either already have something at home to wear with them (that I remember) or I can find something in the store right there. I'm not afraid of color matching, but I have definitely had trouble finding anything particular, no matter how easy it seems like it should be.
Um, no one is commenting on the supposed upper half of that picture? I have tried wearing a bandana and baseball cap at the same time and I don't see how one can even do that. And Sally, you forgot to mention the gold chains, eye patch, extremely oversized gold class ring, and friendship braclet.
Debbie, the trick is to wear the bandanna across the forehead, like the Karate Kid. This is easier when you wear your cap backwards and somewhat tilted so the brim has an upward lift slightly.
He decided not to wear the eyepatch after he couldn't find the big gold loop earring.
BTW, when Jen and Cary Grant agree on something stylistically, that's definitely enough for me.
Sorry, I meant that the brim of the cap has a DOWNWARD tilt, as I am sure you are familiar with from kids at UT doing.
Sally, the women's version of The Men's Wearhouse is exactly what I need, so much so that it isn't even funny. In practice, the closest thing I have is My Mom, and that's touchy for me. And also she lives 800 miles away.
My work outfits basically consist of interchangeable black synthetic pants, and a variety of sweaters and (not-requiring-ironing) blouses that go with them. I have two pairs of flat black slightly dressy shoes that I can wear with them.
I was replenishing my black synthetic dress pants supply last week and Mosch persuaded me to pick up a pair of gray pants also, telling me, "They'll go with anything the black pants go with, and will give everything a different look."
Holding them up to the tops in my closet, though, they do not (to my eyes) go with everything the black pants go with. I'm just not sure about which ones are OK and which aren't.
I suck.
I also basically refuse to branch out into navy pants, since those are like a whole different color scheme that requires its own management.
Man, Tam, you make me feel quite the fashionista with my closet full of a variety of different colors (and patterns!) of pants. My main matching problem is that the light in my bedroom isn't great, so I sometimes don't realize until I leave the apartment that the olive greens I thought were similar in tone are actually kind of clashy. I also have marked the inside of my navy blue pants with an N on the tag so I can tell that they're not black even in poor light.
In my experience, grey goes exceptionally well with pink, burgundy, black (in a way that black does not), pale yellow, white, French blue, and light blue. If you gravitate toward primary colors in your tops, I can see how you are pondering the appropriateness with grey; those colors are a bit harder to tell.
Adding navy pants would require an entire set of supporting items to pull off, unlike grey pants which are totally black-compatible. Of course, for me, this was a feature rather than a bug. I like having brown pants for the same reason. Well, and the fact that a little variety is nice.
Post a Comment