Giving Thanks For These Thanksgiving Suit Tips
The leaves are changing, the air is cooling down, and it’s time for your bright linen suit styles to get tucked back away into the closet until next year. It is finally autumn, argued by many as the most versatile season to style in. Typically known to bring out the natural browns, olives, oranges, yellows and golds of the environment, it is usually advised to have your suit follow suit. However, in recent years with fashion advancing the way it has been, it isn’t as frowned upon to mix up the color palette a bit. We’ll touch on a few classic Thanksgiving suit styles and tips, as well as dive into a couple experimental trends.
Holiday Color Palettes
As mentioned before, most holidays / times of year come along with a designated color pallet. Red, white, and green are for Christmas, pastels are for Easter, red white and blue is usually for the 4th, and gold and blue reserved for Hanukkah. The significant thing about Thanksgiving is that the color palette consists of colors with an “analog relationship”, meaning these colors are often found together in nature.
Since they appear naturally together, they are known to be more calming and quite harmonious. The well-known Thanksgiving colors of brown, orange and yellow can be easily accented with colors like white and green.
Scheming Colors
The tricky part about autumn colors, and Thanksgiving more specifically, is the overuse of neutral shades. Especially during this time of year, men have a tendency of wearing a lot of neutrals like tan, white, khaki, black, brown and gray. Neutrals make for a great base to your Thanksgiving outfit, but should always be combined accent colors as well.
You accent color can be a focus piece of your outfit or can be emphasized on one of your accessories. A brown suit with a white shirt might just look like another outfit for a day at the office; but paired with a bright orange bowtie can take your overall look from the boardroom to the holiday party. Too snazzy for you? Well move that pop of color from the bowtie down to your shoelaces as a pair of orange laces on a neutral color shoe can be just the subtle pop you need to set your holiday look off right.
Patterns
A good pattern can add depth to your overall style and look. However, contrary to what most believe, the art of mixing patterns is very alive and well. There are just some stipulations to how you attempt this feat. The main thing you need to worry about is the size of the pattern; they should not be close to each other in size. For example, your watch may match your pocket square. Stripes and dots will go perfectly together, just make sure the colors are identical, like below.
Keep in mind though, mixing patterns of pants and jacket is not advised. If you choose a jacket with a stripped or plaid pattern, the pants you wear should be a solid, more than likely neutral, color. Same goes for the reverse.
Layer Laws
The beautiful colors that autumn bring in also comes with the brisk cool weather which is perfect for layering. Sometimes styling up your outfit can be as simple as adding layers of clothes that go well together. For example, wearing a same patterned vest with your suit can create volume and depth, as well as adding another layer for warmth. But it doesn’t stop there; sweaters, crew neck, v neck, or cardigan, are all great layering options when styled correctly. A burnt orange cardigan sweater on top of a white shirt under a brown suit screams autumn style; but make sure you layer from thinnest to thickest. A shirt too thick underneath your sweater could make your outfit look lumpy and lopsided.
Depending on your location and your local weather in the fall, an overcoat is also an excellent addition to any outfit. For autumn, the best overcoat colors lie in the tan, khaki, olive green range. Charcoal gray is also a viable option, but be careful how you pair it.
In our opinion, autumn might be the top styling season. Between the layering options, the presence of patterns, and the natural colors with analog relationships, autumn proves to have a leg up on the other times of the year when it comes to styling. So follow these helpful tips and you’ll be well equipped for any holiday party you attend this autumn!