My rule of 4

As much as we would all like it to, the right look doesn't always happen. The right combination of edginess and style is difficult and combines aspects that have to be put together very carefully. Today I saw a man wearing a navy pinstriped suit, white and blue checkered shirt and a fuchsia tie and hanker chief. The suit was traditional, with very thin grey pinstripes and the shirt, a basic navy and white check. With a plain tie it would have looked nice, but bland. The fuchsia tie and hanker chief brought the combination to an entirely different level of style. The look worked because the colors and patterns were limited and carefully put together. If another color or pattern was added, the result would be overwhelming and messy (shoes don't count, men don't have as many options as women).

Unfortunately other attempts don't work nearly as well. A few minutes after getting out of the subway I noticed a girl wearing what should have been a trendy and basic outfit. Dark skirt, jacket, tights and boots. Simple right? And yet, it just didn't work. After a few seconds I realized what was off - there were too many colors. One color less would have been perfect but with 5, it was too much. Thinking about it, I figured out the the ideal color strategy - no more then 4. If you have more, change something. So basically, white shirt, navy jacket, black skirt, green tights and brown boots = too much. On the other hand, a white shirt, navy jacket, black skirt, black tights and brown boots = street style hot. And yes black, brown, and grey count for colors. After all girls' shoes are part of the outfit, not a necessity.


Check out these color combinations from shopbop.com: