5 Fashion Risks Men Should Take

The great Diana Vreeland, who was the fashion editor who, through her work at Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar redefined the notions of style and fashion, started out her career by writing a column that was called “Why Don’t You…” which featured fashion and lifestyle ideas for the readers of Harper’s Bazaar from the beginning of the 20th century. Sometimes, the pieces of advice she gave were quite strange, but they were always something Diana had tried herself.

In this article, we have put together a short list of fashion risks you should take. In the spirit of the “Why Don’t You…” column, we have tried these things ourselves and feel that everyone should try them too.

Wear two or more prints at once

Most men are really reticent when it comes to wearing prints. And, even though there are some guys who are more adventurous in their outfits than others, most men who wear prints wear only one print paired with one or more solid colors.

From the Etro Men’s RTW Spring 2015

Make it one of your New Year’s resolutions to wear two or more prints at least once. This is something you can easily achieve if you follow one simple rule. Basically, that the golden rule is that the two prints should be of different sizes. To give you an example, if you are wearing two garments that feature stripes, one of them should have wide stripes and the other one narrow stripes. This applies to any type of patterns, textures or prints.

Also, if you mix different types of patterns prints and textures, the rule remains the same: should you want to wear stripes and dots at the same time, it will look best if you wear thick stripes and small dots or vice versa.

Don’t forget: A pattern is a symmetrically repeated construction, a print is an image that features a clear composition and a texture is a pattern that can not only be seen, but felt as well.

Wear black with brown

“Black and brown will make you frown” is an old saying a lot of us have heard and followed. To clarify this shortly, the reason why a lot of people consider that black and brown don’t go together is because brown is on the dark end of the color spectrum and can be easily mistaken for black. Therefore, pairing the two appears as if it would result in an outfit that lacks any kind of definition and which could look muddy. This is something that could happen, yes, but only if you choose the wrong shade of brown or a brown that lacks depth. A strong, powerful brown or a light, almost chalky brown can work very well with black.

Create a triad color combination

An example of triad colors

There are several types of color combination rules you can apply when choosing the colors of your clothes: there’s the analog color combination, that is a very harmonic combination composed of colors that lie close to each other on the color spectrum, then there is the complementary colors scheme, which refers to mixing colors that lie on exact opposite sides of the color wheel, then there is the split-complementary color combination and finally we have the triad color combination. The triad color combination is the boldest color scheme, and whatever colors you will work with, they will make you stand out. To create a triad color combination, is that you need to first look for colors that are at equal distance one from the other on the color wheel. In case you are using a 24-color color wheel, you can count from 8 to 8 starting from any color to find the right matches (in our case, we have a 12-color color wheel so we are counting from 4 to 4). These combinations will result in more flashy, strange combinations, but that will be nevertheless harmonious. They go best with formal clothes, but can also be used if you are putting together party or club outfit.

Wear a monochrome outfit

Speaking of colors, why don’t you wear a monochrome outfit for a day – but not a neutral one. Monochrome outfits are outfits composed of only one color. You can wear the same shade of the color or you can use different shades of the color you choose to wear. This might sound easy, but pulling off such combinations is quite hard. If you can create a good balance between different shades of the same color, you will look extremely subtle and polished. A monochrome outfit is a great idea for both casual and semi-formal settings.

Mix vintage and new pieces

Many people today like to wear vintage clothes and accessories, but a lot of them, when they wear vintage clothes, wear only vintage clothes or pieces that have a vintage design. Unfortunately for them, this is not the best thing to do, sartorially speaking, as doing so can make you look like you are wearing a costume or more costumes at a time. The key to wearing vintage pieces and to add just an elegant hint to a time period in your outfits, is to mix vintage pieces with new ones. Add vintage watches to a brand new suit, a vintage tie clip to a new tie or a vintage badge to a bag are all great ways to style up your look, the vintage way.

So, there you have it! These are our five style risks we encourage you to take when you feel like styling up your day. We can assure you that they will make you look more elegant; more put together and will convey the message that you are a man who is in control of his look and life.

Fraquoh and Franchomme

P.S. What do you think? Are these style risks or are they simple guidelines? What are your style risks? Share your thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook or Twitter!

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