Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [19]
Regard the selection of a tie as an opportunity to enhance the color of your eyes. The person with blue or gray eyes, for example, should own several plain, slate-bluish-gray ties. Combined with a gray shirt and a dark gray suit, this elegant combination shows off your eye contact first. Darker eyes look best with dark ties—consider such colors as wine, burgundy, slate, or dark blue. There are lovely soft paisleys, foulards, and neutral patterns in monochromatic colors, but it often takes some searching to find them.
Prepare yourself for a possible argument with the salesperson when you look for a quiet tie. He or she may think you have no taste for what’s currently popular. You may have to look past the stripes and brights to find a neutral tie with a dull finish. But if you persevere, you will emerge with a few perfect ties you thought you would never wear—until you understood the purpose the tie is to accomplish.
Many men have a dedication to red ties, which they regard as a spot of color. TV cameras had been installed on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for several years by the time the senators voted to allow them in the Senate chamber as well in the mid-1980s. At the time, the red “power tie” was just coming into vogue. When the Senate cameras were finally installed, it seemed like everyone was wearing red ties. Many a time I—and probably you—have turned on the television to see a panel of senators or bankers or journalists or whatever sitting in chairs all wearing the “uniform” of navy suits, white shirts, and the ubiquitous red ties—the ties looking like a row of red exclamation points. But the truth is that the red tie attracts too much attention to itself, and we see the brilliant red long before we see you.
Also the red tie reflects color under the jaw onto the skin tone and reddens the whites of the eyes. Look at the red ties you see on the street and you will realize that they make their presence known a long way off. The successful businessman or public official should not wear a red tie, in my opinion, but instead express his individuality in something more subtle.
Some very distinguished men like bow ties. With a bow tie, you can’t go halfway. You have to decide if it fits the image that you have of yourself, then you have to wear it all the time. A bow tie can be an effective accessory if you have a strong personality and consistently make it a part of your public image as Senator Paul Simon does.
Pocket Handkerchiefs. Many men like to tuck a silk or cotton pocket square into their suit jacket pockets. This can be very chic and fashionable, or it can end up looking cheap and flashy. The rule of thumb is to avoid using a light or brightly colored pocket square in the breast pocket, since it pulls the eye away from the face. Instead, choose one that is of a dark solid or printed color that (1) coordinates perfectly with the colors of your suit and tie, and (2) is well folded and not hanging out too much.
As a voice coach, I sometimes schedule several individual clients in the same day. I remember one such day when I noticed a series of pocket squares and how they worked with the rest of the clothes the men were wearing.
My first client, who was a CEO of an insurance company and gave many speeches, came in wearing very handsome clothes that I could not help admiring: He had on a plain navy suit with a blue shirt and a navy and burgundy-figured tie. Tucked into his suit pocket was a small silk square of plain burgundy that he had folded straight across the top. I remember thinking how distinguished he looked, and that discreet pocket square added just a little bit of dash. In short, he looked like a CEO, but one who was forward-looking and not afraid of being a bit fashionable.
The second client wearing a pocket square was a young man trying