Can I wear stripes and stripes?

[cbaileyau]

It seems I like stripes. Going through my closet most my shirts have stripes. The problem is alot of my favorite pants have some stripes to them. My wife was no help as she grew up in a family of girls. So is this kosher? https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vas4k5X2OXU/TlLeoW5GW7I/AAAAAAAACxw/00SK36x_AbA/s720/2011-08-22%2B17.54.02.jpg


And another one: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZEZwNIvL1Tw/TlOnMlpIstI/AAAAAAAACyk/fmzTCizKpe4/s720/2011-08-23%2B08.11.57.jpg


Thanks for the help. This is always a question at my house. My gut says I am pushing it and I should wear solid shirts with these pants, but what do I know.

Thanks

[Frank]

Your pushing it, but I tend to do the same thing because I find solid shirts boring sometimes. I feel like as like as the scales of the stripes are the same your fine because the eye will just naturally continue in the direction of the stripes. As for the plaid pants, the patterns so fine noone will notice...

[YackoYak]

I agree w/ Frank, I think the plaid pants are a non-issue.


As for the first pic, I think that's borderline. In my opinion, pieces should contrast enough so they don't blend together. Hard vs soft textures. Bold vs muted colors/patterns. The eye seeks a focal point and if all items are at the same "volume", it will pass over the image. So to your example, if the shirt's stripes were a bit softer, or if the pants were wool, I don't think it would be as tricky. The reason this is borderline for me is that from further away you won't see the stripes on the shirt as much as the pants; the pinstripe pants are relatively bold.


But that's just my opinion. In my workplace people don't really dress with such attention to detail so I'm more free to experiment. Trust your gut.

[ChrisW]

In my opinion the stripes in the first picture are too similar. The second picture with stripes and plaid is fine.

[MaxMan]

The short answer to this question is yes. The long answer is why: the scale and level of loudness of the stripes are what should be considered. The first Pic works IMO mainly becasue the scales are different, the stripes on the shirt are not the same scale (amount of space between each stripe) as those on the pants. The pants are certainly the louder piece in your outfit. If you want to subdue the shirt even more, i would say add a solid layer, ie sweater, cardigan, blazer and the shirt will be subdued (warning: dont add another pattern when you already have 2 patterns working unless your a pro at it). I like the secomnd picture because the scales and patterns are completely different and the plaid in the pants are the soft piece becasue they are so light. As long as you can balance your scales and know what piece is the loudest (look at the outfit in the mirror whereever your eyes focus on first is usually your loudest piece) you should be fine.


If you wear ties, id add a plaid tie in a larger scale (than both shirt and pants). But thats venturing into the 3 pattern thing i spoke of above. but nice look. You like the monochrome look i see?

[Albert]

I always go by a couple guidelines with pattern mixing.


1. If the patterns are different then they work.

2. If the patterns are the same they must be a different scale for them to work.


This is why the first seems like too much and the second try is pretty good!

[cbaileyau]

Thanks for the tips. I found dappered recently, and it has really helped me out style-wise. These two outfits are some of the first nice clothes i have bought in about 3 years thanks to some pretty sweet sales. Pants are from BR and shirts are from JC (all were less than $15 each). I ended up wearing them together cause they are both slimmer fits and I really like their fit. With the rest of my closet being baggy, I need to find me a good tailor to bring some of those shirts in.

[greg_s]

I agree on all counts with MaxMan. I dig the stripes on stripes in the first photo but I would add another piece like Max suggested to put some distance between the 2 patterns (vest or sweater).