Matching the colours of your tie and shirt is an art mastered by few of us. Let’s be honest: nine times out of ten we pair the two at random and hope for the best.

It has to be said that, back in the day, we hardly cared. We had T-shirts, jeans… and that was pretty much all our wardrobe held. These days, we rather enjoy being a gentleman and want to take ownership of our style. Mastering the art of combining shirt and tie has become essential.

Good news: LE CHEMISEUR® is here to teach you how to pair your men’s shirt with this must-have of your wardrobe. Follow the guide!

Matching shirt, tie and suit

This is the first rule to follow if you want the pairing to work beautifully. You choose the tie to suit the shirt, not the other way round. Remember: we’ve all seen a friend or colleague with a tie that clashes with their shirt. So we’d advise working through it step by step in the morning: are you going for a plain shirt? A coloured one? A patterned one?

In any case, if both your shirt and tie are patterned, the tie’s pattern should be the bolder of the two. In other words, the tie’s colour or pattern should dominate the shirt’s. With no patterns, it’s all simpler: go for a tie that pairs well with the colour of the shirt.

The tie: the art of fabric

You can absolutely let your imagination and creativity run free when choosing a textured tie.

The most common remain silk ties - hard-wearing and lustrous. They suit every occasion and come in an endless palette of colours and patterns. For a more casual look, the knitted tie wins out. It’s very much in vogue for mid-season and pairs easily with a chino and a fine poplin shirt. As the warm days arrive, we can only recommend trying a beautiful linen tie: pastel shades are perfect with a white or ecru shirt in the same fabric.

Finally, don’t hesitate to fall back on cashmere and wool ties when the temperature drops: your tie should reflect your mood and your surroundings.

Which shirt-and-tie combination for men?

With a white shirt, it’s… carte blanche! Patterns, colours or stripes are all having a moment and give an outfit a lift. On the other hand, skip the pure-white tie, which has little point here.

The ideal look? A navy suit, a blue tie with white polka dots and a white poplin shirt by LE CHEMISEUR®.

With a sky-blue shirt, you can allow yourself orange or burgundy tones for a striking contrast. The more classic among us prefer to opt for grey, for a minimalist style.

The ideal look? A charcoal-grey suit, a sky-blue shirt and a burgundy knitted tie.

With a pink shirt, go for navy or purple tones: as a rule, all deep colours pair perfectly with this shade of shirt.

The ideal look? A grey suit with a pink shirt and a dark-blue tie.

Wearing a patterned shirt with a tie

Hear us out - or rather, read us carefully: check shirts don’t get on with patterned ties. It’s a bit like cats and dogs. They love each other, but from a distance. Better to go for a plain tie that echoes the outfit’s main colours. As for the striped shirt, the key is not to match the stripe widths. So a finely striped tie necessarily goes with a boldly striped shirt, and vice versa.

For the look, take inspiration from an outfit that’s both chic and modern: a navy suit, a well-ironed shirt in white poplin with dark-blue stripes, and a navy tie with fine red stripes.

The LE CHEMISEUR® tip

If you’d rather not think too hard in the morning, go for a plain tie, which is always easier to match. For patterned men’s ties, avoid coarse prints and focus only on refined patterns.