Pocket Squares Part 2 – How to style pocket squares

Pocket squares come in a variety of colours and patterns. The hard question is always, “how do I style my pocket square?”

In this blog post, we are going to help you answer that question. There are no sure fire rules on how to style pocket squares – sometimes, it really does come down to your personal taste, style and creativity. But the one rule of thumb you can go by is that styling pocket squares is all about matching/complementing them with your tie, shirt, blazer etc.

Let’s first observe these “DO NOT” AND “DO” rules before we proceed any further.

DO NOT

Do not let your tie and pocket square look exactly the same. It is frequently said that your pocket square should complement, not match, your tie. In other words, do not buy an exact copy of the tie and pocket square and wear it. This is a NO-NO.

You’ll ask, then why do shops sell both a tie and pocket square that look exactly the same, in the same box? Maybe they are trying to give you an either/or option, or a value for money package, who knows?! Just don’t wear them together or you’ll be the class clown – at work.

DO

When matching your pocket square to your tie, usually the best way to ensure your pocket square complements your tie is to find a colour in the tie that could be similar to your pocket square. For example, if your tie is blue, you could go for a pocket square that has blue patterns in it.

There are two types of pocket squares – plain pocket squares and patterned pocket squares.

• Plain pocket squares may be completely plain or may have a contrasting border.

• Patterned pocket squares come in patterns such as paisley, stripes, checks and polka dots.

Plain pocket squares:

When you first start out wearing a pocket square, it is probably best to start with a plain colour while you learn the tricks of the dapper game. Plain white is the holy communion. You can never go wrong with white. It would match any suit, tie and you don’t have to worry about patterns.

Grey pocket squares are also quite neutral and would most likely go with most suits (just don’t style it with a grey suit, because you won’t be able to see it). As you go along, you may buy various colours depending on what you will be matching it with eg your tie, your shirt, your blazer etc.

Once you become more adventurous, you’ll find that bright bold colours look great on darker suits eg an orange/yellow pocket square will add that bit of pop to your black suit.

Patterned pocket squares:

Patterned pocket squares come in paisley, polka dots, checks and stripes.

Our favourite pattern out of these is Paisley because there is a certain sort of elegance and richness to it.

It can be quite tricky to match patterned pocket squares with ties. If you do not wear ties, then you can easily wear any style of pocket square to match your bold blazer/shirt.

Infact, it is very fashionable to wear jeans/chinos/casual trousers, a blazer and a pocket square for a cool smart casual look. Perfect on your yacht 😉

How to style various patterned pocket squares with a tie?

Trying to plan your outfit around your pocket square can be very difficult. It is best to first decide which suit you’ll wear, the tie etc and then decide on the pocket square. We feel the best way to illustrate what sort of pocket squares to wear would depend on the tie you are wearing.

Illustrating various patterns of pocket squares with different types of ties through pictures might be an idea. So let’s do this!

Plain ties:

Say you are wearing a plain tie. What sort of pocket square do you wear with this?

A plain coloured tie is probably the easiest tie to match a pocket square with. You could match any pattern of pocket square ie paisley, stripped, checked etc, as long as it has hints of a colour from the tie in it.

If you are wearing a black tie, find a pocket square with hints of black in it.

Don’t go for a completely black pocket square as this will look boring.

The shades in the pocket square and tie do not have to be the same, they could be darker or lighter. Infact, you could have a pocket square that is completely different but has hints of the shade from the tie in it.

You could also go for two completely different colours:

Striped Ties:

When wearing striped ties, it is probably best not to wear a striped pocket square. You could keep your pocket square simple i.e use a plain colour

or;

You could play around with patterns and go for different patterns in your pocket square and tie. For example, you may go for a striped tie and match it with a polka dot pocket square, which is really cool.

You can also style your pocket square to match your blazer or trousers or shirt as seen in the photos below:

One really interesting way of styling your pocket square could be to match it with your socks! What do you think of that? 🙂

Polka Dot Ties

As stated, there are really no rules on how to style pocket squares. It’s all down to your preferences. Here are some images showing different polka dot style ties with pocket squares and you’ll get an idea of how to style them.

The ties below are crosses of plain ties with a polka dot texture. They are also a great option for styling pocket squares as in the images below.

You also must check out the creativity these gents have used. They have matched polka dot ties with polka dot pocket squares which is very tricky but they have managed to pull it off.

Checked pattern ties:

With patterned ties, the safe bet is always to keep it simple and wear a plain pocket square that matches a colour in your tie.

Paisley pocket squares:

Paisley prints, in our opinion, are very elegant and add that extra bit of charm to your outfit. Styling paisley ties with plain pocket squares is a safe bet, however, if you are able to pull off a paisley tie with a patterned pocket square, the look you will get will turn heads. After that, there is no going back.

As you’ll have noted from these looks, it all comes down to a bit of creativity and experimentation. Seeing what works and what doesn’t. Have a look at this style inspiration. This gent has matched his pocket square not only to his shirt and tie but also to his scarf. The options are limitless.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and hopefully you now have an idea on how to style pocket squares. After a lot of research, we found that there are not many articles that actually explain how to match pocket squares of various colours and patterns to your attire. And yet it is this very matching of pocket squares to your tie/suit that is difficult.

If you have any advice/feedback/suggestions in relation to our thoughts about, please feel free to fill us in. If you have other ideas about how to style pocket squares, we are all ears 😉