"Your tie says everything about you. By its colors, its pattern, its placement, it announces your taste and style to the rest of the world. Once, the necktie served the singular purpose of announcing the background of the wearer."
For a crash course on matching ties with shirts, just know that solid ties should be worn with "busy" shirts and shirts that have patterns. On the other hand, if you want to wear a funky tie to work, wear it with a solid shirt. Just remember not to mix patterns with patterns.
Striped shirts
As a general rule, you can wear a striped shirt with a striped tie as long as the stripes aren't identical in size.
- Make sure at least one color in your tie matches either your suit, shirt, or your belt and shoes.
- Avoid wearing a striped shirt with a striped tie and a pinstriped suit. Matching three similar patterns together is rarely a winning combination.
Checked shirts
As a general rule, you can wear a micro-check shirt with a micro-check patterned tie, so long as the patterns aren't identical in size.
- Make sure at least one color in your tie matches either your suit, shirt, or your belt and shoes.
- Avoid pairing three similar - in this case, micro-check - patterns; in other words, don't wear a micro-check suit with a micro-check tie and shirt.
Plaid shirts
The trick to matching plaid shirts is to wear a solid tie that matches one of the colors in the plaid pattern.
- Although not highly recommended, you can always wear a plaid pattern shirt with a checkered tie, so long as the patterns aren't identical in size.
- Make sure at least one color in your tie matches either your suit, shirt, or your belt and shoes.
- Plaid shirts tend to be more casual, and great even when worn without a tie.
