Colour for Men

[kit]

An article here all about the ' colour ' story for men , started by Christopher Bailey's men's collection S/S 05 for BURBERRY PRORSUM .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1416522,00.html

Is this the way forward ?

 

[Alejandro]

I would love to see that happening... I mean, some men do wear color and stuff, but they're mostly afraid of wearing it..esp. the whole red/green/pink Burberry look mentioned earlier... there's too much of a over minimalistic black/black/black bullcrap going on lately, which stops other people from wearing colors or whatever... I dunno, we need a different story, cause this whole deconstructed shades of black and grey are just tired already...no matter how many people likes it

 

[purechris]

Bailey's version of it was over the top and full blown. I can see it translating into real life very easily. Look at the huge sales of Lacoste polos over the past year. That's the easiest way to incorporate colour. I love it, but of course my closet has 5 pink shirts in it

 

[AlexN]

I would love to see that happening... I mean, some men do wear color and stuff, but they're mostly afraid of wearing it..esp. the whole red/green/pink Burberry look mentioned earlier... there's too much of a over minimalistic black/black/black bullcrap going on lately, which stops other people from wearing colors or whatever... I dunno, we need a different story, cause this whole deconstructed shades of black and grey are just tired already...no matter how many people likes it

Personally, I'm not afraid of wearing color. But I like wearing "tired" black, grey, blue, white, etc. because those are the colors I feel. I'll continue to wear them because I love them. Bright, flashy rainbows of color don't appeal to me. It's not my style, and probably never will be. However, I love the contrast of a bright color peeking out from behind black, grey, etc. I think it can be quite beautiful if well-executed.

 

[Spike413]

^ I agree, the key to color, especially for men is control. I think it looks totally rediculous to mix a bunch of very bright colors (like Bailey did) it looks a little too costumey, kind of clownish in some cases. But if you take one color and mix it in with your neutrals the result is (almost) always great, think Prada s/s 05 beige suit and shirt with a teal tie.

 

[wkwjosh]

An article here all about the ' colour ' story for men , started by Christopher Bailey's men's collection S/S 05 for BURBERRY PRORSUM .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1416522,00.html

Is this the way forward ?

there are so many pinks, red or green. so which ones are you talking about?

 

[dsq]

I love to add sharp colour accents to my dark clothes. Very beautiful contrast if done right.

 

[brian]

I love to add sharp colour accents to my dark clothes. Very beautiful contrast if done right.

same here, and i agree!

 

[raijin]

I agree with Spike and AlexN.

Also, the color can be made more interesting by the texture or special properities of the fabric.

CCP does this beautifully in his "SAFE" A/W collection.
The clothes are mostly neutral, but he has this bright red and blue boots to accompany them.

 

[AlexN]

Also, the color can be made more interesting by the texture or special properities of the fabric.

Absolutely. I always find "monochrome" looks made up of different textures very appealing.

 

[brian]

Absolutely. I always find "monochrome" looks made up of different textures very appealing.

tone-on-tone....

 

[raijin]

Defintely.

 

[DW_Hamilton]

dark, masculine, neutral

That describes about 98% of my wardrobe. . .as a goth friend (whose wardrobe was 99.9% black) once said, "colors are nice, but not for everyday."

It is something too, I've noticed in regards to "street fashion" as evidenced on other threads posted on this site: People in urban environments do not dress to draw attention to themselves, especially during the day. (Even the European women shown look chromatically drab by day.)

Camouflage (no, not the military print, though it applies here) is a survival mechanism. Black, grey, tan. . . works because it can take you from the sidewalk to the boardroom with out screaming "mug me!"

Festive colors for festive occasions? Why not? Once in awhile you want something that puts you at the center of attention - especially at night. Color is great for that. I've notice a lot of the "red dress shirt, black tie combo" making appearances here and there.

Certain men can pull of strong colors better than others, depending on their own coloring, and how outgoing they are. One expection to all the above would be the category: sports/play where of course the idea is to escape what's drab.

 

[amchan]

this summer must be COLOUR for men, i just brought a green prorsum tee days ago, very nice with the prorsum logo brooch~B)

 

[PrinceOfCats]

To be frank ("but your name's ri..."), I think black is camp it's been overdone so much.

 

[Johnny]

How is something camp just because it's been overdone?

 

[PrinceOfCats]

When something's overdone it becomes a caricature and when something's a caricature it's camp. Dior Homme looks increasingly camp these days.

 

[Johnny]

Hmmm, not sure about that PoC, but anyway...

I agree with the general view here which appears to be that a bit of colour works well, but too much is, well, too much. The prorsum collection is too much - no one will wear thse outfits as full outfits. Some of the pieces are probably Ok though.

All black doesn't work for me either though, at least on men. I think it's too dramatic, too self conscious - the man from milk tray! But very few poeple other than goths actually ever wear head to toe black either. There's usually a wee bit of grey or white and that's enough i think.

 

[PrinceOfCats]

Hmmm, not sure about that PoC, but anyway...

Well, it's like what you say about it being 'self-concious'. It's affected. Black has connotations with effortless cool - bikers, rock-stars and suchlike. But black from head to foot is so obviously contrived. And 'camp' means something which is affected or banal...

Back on topic, I like different colours for different things. Grey is a very nice colour for leather for example. It's also quite unexpected.

 

[DW_Hamilton]

I do like black because it suits my own coloring (dark), but I no longer fool myself that dressing all in black represents anything fashion-forward.

That aside, For spring/summer 05 I'd like a saffron dress shirt (thanks to Christo), and a magenta dress shirt. These I'd wear underneath a black suit, open collar.

I also have my eye on a candy-striped shirt - pinks, orchids, sherbert oranges- for with khakis or bluejeans

I would like some bold colorful pop-art graphic t-shirts in eye-popping colors. Good for the beach, city walks, layered under or over an open dress shirt, paired with a blazer and jeans. These t-shirts can't look like those ones from two to three years ago.

The major problem I have with color is it dates itself so quickly, as they systematically change "the color wheel." every season, so I will limit myself to a few items, mostly shirts, but hats, shoes, belts and scarves could be an option too. I will look for them in a hot, up-to-the-moment color, realizing that next year, it will die in the back of my closet.

If I could afford it, I'd buy suits in strange colors all the time, just to be a punk.