I'm going to a wedding this weekend and want to wear my charcoal (darker gray) suit with black belt/shoes. The suit has very light pinstripes. What do you suggest as the best shirt/tie combo?
I just had a wedding and wore sthg similar so trust me on this: Wear a light pink shirt (http://blog.cleveland.com/andone/2009/01/original.jpg) so that the light pinstripes on your suit barely come out and when they do, they look light pink. And wear a gray striped (better if its diagonal striped) tie to go with it. This tie should be variations of 2 grays ONLY so light gray/medium gray is perfect. Dont go with different color stripes etc etc.
The only thing you might want to do is go with brown shoes and a brown belt. It'll make a HUGE difference.
6 Answers
I just had a wedding and wore sthg similar so trust me on this: Wear a light pink shirt (http://blog.cleveland.com/andone/2009/01/original.jpg) so that the light pinstripes on your suit barely come out and when they do, they look light pink. And wear a gray striped (better if its diagonal striped) tie to go with it. This tie should be variations of 2 grays ONLY so light gray/medium gray is perfect. Dont go with different color stripes etc etc.
The only thing you might want to do is go with brown shoes and a brown belt. It'll make a HUGE difference.
Oh enough with the light pink shirts already! Such a poor attempt to be trendy...they do not, and never did, look good. Anything but light pink.
Stick with the classics, maybe a little contrast in there, but for the love of god, leave pink out of the equation.
I'm a white-shirt kind of guy myself, but grey and blue almost always look great together
Keep the shoes and belt black. Go with a white shirt, and a Navy Diagonal stripe tie. The stripes will pick up the pinstripes in the suit. No need to add any other color. The focus of the event is the couple getting married. As for shoes and belt in brown, forget it; very declasse. You do not want to look like you are only one generation away from having lived in mobile homes.
If you must, then belt and shoes in Cordovan.
Never, ever, in gray, white, or anything else.
When you're wearing a pinstripe suit, the two things you want to avoid are looking like a banker or a mobster. In this respect, I'd watch accenting the stripes too much.
My preference for weddings is to look a little more modern and formal. I'd go with a crisp white shirt and solid black tie. example: http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/a4/6/AAAAAgxyrPIAAAAAAKRiNw.jpg
I love this choice because it will bring out the subtle details of the pinstripes without creating more distractions. It is also a modern trend to go more monochromatic with suits. There are very few formal events that we attend in our lives outside of weddings and if you wear a suit to work, you don't want to feel like you're in your business attire when you're on the dance floor.
you can never go wrong with a white shirt and a more "summer-y" tie, light green, pink, yellow. that should make the darker suit appear a little lighter. or you can consider skipping the tie altogether with the time of year and wearing a brighter shirt, pink, blue, yellow...
cheers