WIW: Black vs. Brown

I wore the 1930s belted back sports coat yesterday for one last hurrah before summer and the warm weather ends for the year. A nice day for it, too.

Summer is the primary time to wear the brown and cream spectator shoes I'm pictured wearing so often during this time of the year. But black and white spectators can work just as well.

click photos to enlarge

The thing about black and white spectators is that they can be both easy and difficult to wear with certain things. On one hand black and white will go with many other colors and are therefore somewhat easy to match. On the other hand most guys don't know how to use the black and white combination. They use too much of the combo by wearing a completely black shirt with a white or gray tie and dark trousers. The look is then far to monochromatic to be attractive or interesting.

The key is to blend and use as little of the white/black combination as possible. Don't use it for the main article of clothing of your look, but rather as an accessory. And liven up your look with a splash of color like the tie and suspenders in the photo below. And most important of all, keep it simple.

The herd of cats seem to be enamored with the shoes.