Mixing Two Similar Patterns Have
Never Been Easier For Any Man

My Latest eBook: Learn How To Dress for Success With More Illustrations and Pictures To Explain Coordination Using The Right Colors and Patterns To Look Sharp & Smart click here to read about it First let me say how thrilled I am to find your homepage.In my working days I never got beyond the basics of Malloys "Dress For Success". Your Mens Fashion Tips take Malloy to newer and higher levels of excellence and breadth. I am an older man,in a Florida Atlantic resort town, determined to enhance my retirement fun by wearing clothing of good style,by creating new fashion combinations. Sandy Sot, Florida, USA

Ever wondered how to get the best dress style when mixing two similar patterns? The main objective is to prevent an optical illusion of discord and extensive vibration between the patterns.

We want to have a natural and smooth transition between the two similar patterns. The art of doing so is to have different scales for the two same design patterns. Let us begin by looking at mixing stripe patterns first.

Mixing two similar patterns like stripes boils down to the size of the stripes as well as the spacing between the stripes. Make sure these two factors be as different as possible between the stripes.

If two small size stripes are put together, the effect can create quite a bit of tension between them. When having two different stripes yet with similar spacing makes it difficult to put the attention on either stripe.

I have some examples with from my own wardrobe:

When different stripe shirts are matched with my pink stripe tie, the transition between the pink stripe tie and stripe shirt varies.

The pink stripe tie against the pink hairline dress shirt does not give our eye the illusion of tension.

Because of the two types of stripes are differently scaled giving us a compatible transition between them.

Instead this other combination of the same pink stripe tie with a closely scaled and spaced dress shirt creates a lot more vibration.

Another example is coordinating my stripe suit and stripe dress shirts have come up with various results as well when the spacing between the stripes differs.

One combination involves stripes with very similar spacing for both the suit and dress shirt. The other combination is where the suit has a much different scaled stripe spacing compared to the dress shirt.

From this, there is a higher preference for the combination that has different scaled stripes. It allows a more distinguished transition for the dress shirt from the suit. I would also choose a plain brown tie to give an easing finish from the two stripes.

Mixing two similar patterns like checks applies the same theory as the stripes. But checks have more intense pattern compared to stripes, so it can be more difficult in coordinating especially for plaids.

Some examples by combining dress shirts and check ties:

If you use medium sized check dress shirt matched with a similar sized check tie, the look will turn weird because of the similarity in size of the checks that sets a tension for the viewer.

However, if you match it against a smaller check tie (like houndstooth) the overall look allows a smoother transition between the two similar patterns even though with more contrast.

Yet when we use small check ties to put it against a tightly scaled check dress shirt, we are creating a lot of disorientation. This is because of its intense and vibrating effect on the eye that is confusing and blurry to the viewer.

So always avoid using two similar sized checks together but use contrasting scaled checks.

For the overall best effect on mens fashion dress style, mixing two similar patterns boils down to the concept of using two designs with different scales and different spacing.

This applies for suit against shirt, shirt against tie, or even suit against tie.

Matching Two Different Patterns

Mixing Three Different Patterns

Matching Three Patterns Where Two Are Similar

Coordinating Three Similar Patterns