Royal, azure, Klein, iris, Majorelle, Oxford, sky and French. The number of words used to describe the striking blue color – today the star of men’s fashion – is only limited by the imagination of the people who describe it.
It does not really matter what they call it, it only matters that it’s worn. That’s why the portal StylesMen has prepared a guide on the myriad ways a man can wear blue.
The blue , a traditionally male color, has always been fundamental in the menswear. However, navy blue predominates most of the time. The navy blue looks smart because it is a uniform instead of a varied color, and it is so dark that it borrows much of the formality with which we associate black clothes.
In summary, while navy blue is wonderfully adaptable, it is quite sober – royal blue offers a more vibrant alternative, especially during the warmer months.
The degree to which you want to receive the real blue will probably depend on your environment, as well as your inclination. For some men, a new watch strap will suffice, while others will not be satisfied until they are in a royal blue mohair suit.
Whether you want to inject a bit of personality into your suits, look for an alternative to black for your next pair of tailored pants or simply want a new casual jacket, this season the answer comes in the form of royal blue. Here are six ways to wear blue .
1. Use it for emphasis. Regardless of whether a man is limited by his surroundings (perhaps a formal office environment) or simply does not want to transcend the limits of fashion, there are several ways in which one can wear a simple touch of royal blue.
The man in the photo, wearing an outfit that makes us imagine someone drinking gin on the deck of a luxury yacht, lights up his classic chinos and navy blue blazer with a royal blue striped shirt and a blue watch strap.
The contrast between the vintage style watch and the lively strap is particularly pleasing, and suggests an irreverent attitude with the serious world of watchmaking.
2. Soften it with light blue. What a strange place the Internet is. Lino Ieluzzi runs a men’s fashion boutique in Milan, which does not make online sales and does not seem to have ambitions to become a global brand. However, he is a street-style star, his bold taste for adaptation is an inspiration to thousands of iGents (that caste of men obsessed with tailoring).
In the photo, Ieluzzi wears a cross jacket without shoulder pads. Of course, he almost always wears a jacket like that, but it is striking for its vibrant color – so often seen in the streets of Florence that we are tempted to call it Pitti blue. The color of the jacket is intense, but Ieluzzi has managed to soften the visual impact by adding accessories such as sunglasses in the same tone (that drag the look up) and opting for darker shades of blue in his open-necked shirt and the square pocket. A tie will not produce the same results, be sure to combine with complementary light blue tones to avoid being too dazzling.
3. Show some skin. While Ieluzzi has a clearly relaxed approach to fashion, it remains one that is deeply rooted in traditional tailoring codes. A more contemporary way is to avoid the old rules in search of clothes that speak more directly to life in 2015.
So it is with this tight and slender blue suit that, apart from the fact that the jacket and the pants are made of the same fabric, bears little resemblance to the adaptation of yesteryear.
As such, it serves as a better inspiration for a wedding attire than an office suit. The way the fabric has been easily pulled back on the arms tells us that it is very light, a factor reinforced by the wrinkles around the buttoning point. The way he looks, with an open-necked shirt, further reduces formality and could easily be worn over a pole.
4. Lighten your business trip. Even at the conservative end of the spectrum, there is still much that can be gained by lightening the tone of blue it uses. As these three gentlemen demonstrate, the simple changes in the shade of blue transform the image projected by the garments.
If these gentlemen were dressed in navy blue they might give the impression that they are the giants of the directory, but with their blazers without shoulder pads, brown shoes and thin trousers, it looks as if they were going for an iced glass of Prosecco instead of a presentation of PowerPoint
In this way, they give us a lesson on how to achieve the (sometimes difficult) transition between office and free time, something very important for businessmen in all the financial districts of the world, especially when traveling for work.
5. Get a new accessory. A well-thought-out accessory is a great way to show some flair within the limits of conservative business attire. Here a wonderful gray tweed suit is worn over a classic light blue shirt and woolen tie.
However, the attention is taken to the hand-made lapis lazuli leather portfolio, which changes the viewer’s perception of the entire outfit. The key here is the contrast of color between the suit and the portfolio, and the evident quality of the accessory; Any item that you are using to get the viewer’s attention has to face scrutiny.
Speaking of which, if we’re not mistaken there’s a striking “Pepsi” watch from Rolex GMT bezel hidden under the left fist. The upper part of the panel is real blue as well. It is obvious that someone has paid a lot of attention to their attire.
6. Keep simplicity. Between the work clothes and the confection is the elegant clothes of the man of the world in fashion. And that’s a perfect description of Simone Marchetti, fashion editor of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Here he shows us how to get out of the house with tailored pants, a wool sweater and a coat and look both comfortable and sophisticated at the same time.
It is an outfit that seems to have come out of a relaxing weekend, but Marchetti takes it in a way that could serve to go to the best restaurants and most exclusive bars. The success of the outfit depends on the way in which the three shades of blue differ, and make contrast instead of generating a conflict, and the obvious quality of the fabric. In particular we applaud the simplicity without adornments of the look.
