What are some good options to match this dress?
I will be attending a wedding with my girlfriend, who will be wearing this dress: https://www.nordstrom.com/s/dahna-corset-long-sleeve-velvet-dress/7287629
I'm looking for general advice on what I can wear that will pair well with that dress. I have a black suit with subtle pinstripes I would like to wear, but a new tie and/or shirt is on the table. I did find one tie in my closet that I thought looked reasonably nice alongside the dress, though none of the colours actually match. Images attached of the suit and tie.
I am white (very much so) with blond hair, on the shorter side with slim/athletic build. Any ideas on what sort of colours/styles would work well for me here?
26 Replies
subtle matching is good, that tie is nice or one with purple (not the main color)
if I do go with that tie, what colour shirt would you recommend?
That suit looks charcoal. Is it black?
I have always considered it black, but I can't say I would know how to distinguish between the two!
Dark gray or black black? :P
I mean there's no real line between the two, not being scientific here or anything
I'd say it's black. Probably just the lighting making it appear a bit gray
Do you own more suits to choose from or is this the one you're going with?
It's my only real option
Got it
What are you doing for shoes? Do you have photos of the ties you own? I assume plain white poplin shirt? Got pocket squares?
Existing shirt and tie options. Not a great selection, I very rarely have occasion to dress up. I'm expecting I'll probably want a new tie or shirt or both for this
Just regular black dress shoes
Only pocket square is one to match the red tie in the picture
Dress shoes = oxfords? Derbies? Something else?
I am not sure. Can't access them at the moment without disturbing sleeping girlfriend
Aight
Okay, so all the info we can get is gotten, here's my advice
First, don't worry much about "matching" your gf. Something with a subtle nod to her dress is fine, but nothing more than that
Second, you're gonna start with the shoes, the suit, and the white shirt in your closet, assuming it's a proper white dress shirt and fits well
That leaves tie, optional pocket square (and optionally a watch, rings, something of that nature, if you have them and like them, that's all up to you)
If you do own a white square, I'd go with it. If you own a square of any sort, I would consider it. If you don't, and you want one, I would consider it.
My personal favorite square for a suit like that, if not a white linen square, is something like this: https://imgur.com/QZHAol7 -- mostly white, with a print.
For ties, okay, options:
Neat!
1. You can go full monochrome. It might be a bit trendy, or more classic, depending on which way you do monochrome. If you did the solid black tie for example that would be pretty trendy -- lack of contrast to suit, sheeny, etc. The black one on the right with red stripes, I think fairly so as well. The black and gray one in the top left I think more classic.
2. You have a couple colorful printed ties which are neat. With a rather severe suit, shirt, and shoes, a printed tie might liven things up a bit and seem more like you're going to a party than a business meeting
3. I do like burgundy/maroon ties but I like them to have texture. I am not sure how much I'd recommend the maroon tie you own. Looks a little too "power tie" to me.
4. So in light of the above, if you wanted an opportunity to buy a tie, I could recommend any of a large number of conservative, classic ties. Burgundy, navy, dark green, dark brown, dark purple, dark gray, etc. All of these would either have visual texture, physical-visual texture, or small repeating pattern, usually on a diagonal grid.
5. The tie you showed at the very top seems fine by me. Fairly quiet.
Overall I would say your biggest challenge is probably to dress like you're going to a wedding and not to address the board, if you know what I mean? To that end, I'd suggest accessories that are a little bit loud.
Sounds good, I'll give the white shirt a try with a few of those tie options. If nothing sticks I'll see if I can find a good dark purple tie. The match will make my gf happy 😄
I have some colorful cufflinks that might help do the job for accessories
Thanks for your help
Cufflinks good!
Big fan of purple. Depending on how much time you have, ebay has great deals on ties. Lots of $100+ ties selling for like $15.
I'll check it out. Got an example picture of a good purple tie?
As possible inspo, purple ties I own:
https://imgur.com/4HUwLvA
https://imgur.com/0aei6Cc
https://imgur.com/cgGT4cb is quite loud (and looks way better in real life), which is not necessarily a serious suggestion but deserves honorable mention :P
The middle one is of course my favorite
Heh ok got it
Yea that middle one is very nice
Also a big fan of Kent Wang's grenadine ties:
https://www.kentwang.com/accessories/ties/grenadine-bicolor-burgundy-black.html - resolves as purple-ish
https://www.kentwang.com/accessories/ties/grenadine-purple.html
https://www.kentwang.com/accessories/ties/grenadine-lavender.html