I’m often surprised how well brown and blue work together, and at the same time how readily it is dismissed. For the Americans it has reached the stage of an antiquated ‘rule’ along the lines of no brown in town.
If you have a brown suit almost nothing will look better than a blue and white striped shirt with a dark blue tie. Strong dark colours that work well together look more authoritative than the washed-out, everyday business ensemble of grey suit, white shirt and pale tie. The Italians do this a lot better and appreciate the values of a strong yet dark colour. But then it does tend to work best with darker skin.
Returning to blue and brown, try a dark brown tie (perhaps with a white club stripe) with a normal blue business suit. The strength of colour is often more satisfying than another dark shade – grey or blue for example. (It may also go well with those dark brown brogues. That’s dark brown, not tan. But more on too-pale brown shoes later.)
Simon,
I am curious: do you still stand by the flexibility of a good brown suit for business/leisure as long as pattern/styling is restrained?
Yes I would. It depends on your work environment, obviously, but I think it’s smart yet also individual