Readers sometimes send us questions about clothes they like but aren't sure how to wear.
I offer you my step-by-step thoughts to understand the piece and be able to wear it well, with examples of outfits.
After having mentioned the mustard yellow shirt , the red and black checked shirt or even the cognac pants , this time we are going to mention a blue sweater, but a blue like no other.
Here is a photo of the sweater in question:
What makes this piece difficult to wear?
Here, you don't have to look at the design: it's a very classic round neck sweater .
It is rather in terms of color that this knit appeals : duck blue. We can also talk about peacock blue.
Source: Colonel Mustard
It is a blue that tends towards green.
It is a rather bright color and which raises questions: it is neither completely blue nor completely green.
How to wear it well?
Styling Tips
The real question concerns which colors to favor and which to avoid.
1. Colors to avoid
The main point of vigilance concerns the color of the pants.
The sweater and pants are two pieces of clothing that are very visible in the silhouette. If the color of the pants doesn't suit, that's all we'll see.
The first pitfall is to avoid pants in a bright color.
This risks making too many bright colors for a “too much” effect:
The combination of colors is not uninteresting in itself. But on a sweater + pants silhouette, it’s still a lot
If you want to wear stronger colors, you can, but on softer shades. On the pants, I'm thinking of an ecru for example.
Then there is the question of green and blue pants , since the sweater contains these two colors.
I think you have to look for contrast on the pants . More precisely, choose rather dark green or blue pants and avoid too light shades.
Faded blue jeans, for example, are not ideal. Raw jeans are more suitable.
Likewise, a rather light green doesn't seem very happy with duck blue.
2. The colors to favor
The first colors that come to mind are white, gray and black.
White and gray, neutral, are fairly obvious solutions. A white t-shirt and gray pants for example. White can easily be extended to ecru or cream. There is also a real card to play with white and its derivatives: they are luminous shades but not too bright.
The black will highlight the duck blue well. Generally speaking, black goes well with stronger colors.
COS often offers this type of outfit with a stronger color calmed by black, white, gray
As mentioned just before, yes for the blue, but rather dark , especially on the pants.
Finally, you have the whole palette of brown to explore, from beige to fawn to dark brown.
These kind of colors. Credit: Scheme Color
Outfit suggestions
I suggest five outfits with this sweater.
The idea is to start with simpler outfits and gradually move towards more daring combinations.
Outfit 1: you can always count on the basics
Colorful Standard t-shirt, BonneGueule jeans, Suitsupply bomber jacket, Artisan Lab sneakers
The first solution is to calm things down by wearing this sweater in a stronger color with basics. This avoids any association errors.
The white t-shirt may protrude slightly from the collar of the sweater.
The raw, dark jeans contrast sufficiently with the sweater.
Next I have in mind a gray jacket, very neutral. My choice fell on this medium gray harrington. Another option: beige. A beige bomber jacket or a beige raincoat for example.
For shoes, I choose white sneakers yes, but not all white .
These Artisan Lab take up the aesthetic of the German Army Trainers . There is a gray suede leather insert reminiscent of the jacket and a honey-colored sole which adds a little warmth to the whole and complements the duck blue quite well.
Outfit 2: chic but not too much
Drake's shirt, Scavini pants, Suitsupply blazer, Morjas derby
I was inspired by this outfit from one of our shoots:
For my own taste, I replace the sky blue shirt with a pastel to add a discreet touch of color . So I went with a pale yellow OCBD .
The rest of the outfit comes pretty easily.
First of all, gray flannel pants, a garment that I find essential in an autumn/winter wardrobe because it is so versatile.
Next, a blue blazer, in a textured or patterned material. I favored texture.
Finally, brown brogues, which I chose in grained leather to add relief and vary from smooth leather.
Outfit 3: once a vest, always a vest
The first idea here was to put a vest on the sweater . This Informale model is perfect, both in the shape, successful with the patch pockets and the lapel, as well as the color, a neutral ecru/beige but also very bright.
Next I want to put on a green chino . I chose it dark to avoid a collusion of two too bright colors with the sweater.
For the rest of the outfit, I want to extend the color of the vest . A little darker than the vest and we arrive at the color of the coat. Houndstooth is to add a pattern to the rather plain outfit.
A little darker than the coat again and we arrive at the color of the boots. Fawn is very interesting because it is dark enough to be versatile but also bright enough to stand out well in an outfit.
It's a color that seems much more relevant to me than the cognac that we sometimes see on the feet of these gentlemen.
Outfit 4: so soft
On the previous look, you could see a first shades of brown.
Here is a second one with the use of very soft and pleasant materials : boiled wool jersey, corduroy, suede leather.
In terms of colors, we start with beige on the overshirt.
BonneGueule overshirt, Alex Mill pants, Jacques Solovière shoes
We then go for a very dark brown on the pants . Here, there is still the idea of avoiding a too bright shade which would not go very well with the sweater.
Finally, on shoes, taupe comes quite naturally. It is located between the other two shades of brown. I choose a pair from Jacques Solovière whose creative work I find interesting. It's quite successful and it's a change from what we usually see.
If you want to finish the look with a coat, I wouldn't choose it in a shade of brown. I would keep it simple and go with a blue or a gray.
Outfit 5: black and white style
BonneGueule perfecto, De Bonne Facture pants, Solovair derby
For this last outfit, I thought of combining the sweater with a black perfecto , as Jordan did in the episode of Panache dedicated to this jacket:
Falcon Garments jacket, turtleneck From Future
I really want to try a black and white outfit and I choose light pants. Not optical white either but rather cream, a slightly yellowed white.
If we take off the jacket, the outfit will certainly be bright but not too bright: the color of the pants is quite soft. All the interest of these ecru/cream shades.
For shoes, I thought about a black pair. Then I came across these black Solovair derbies with a large white part in the middle. This pair fits well with the chosen theme.
