BACK TO BASICS, GRANDPA STYLE

Trending: Colorful socks, bright shoe laces, flamboyant handkerchiefs, ostentatious pants, colour (British), color (American), color…

Question: Does a man have to look like a peacock all the time in order to be labeled MWS (Men With Style)?

“I wish my husband would wear more color.” “My boyfriend is always in dark colors and I hate it.” “I bought these colorful pants for my fiancé, but he never wore them.” Sound familiar?

Color is a major component of my personal brand. I embrace it. I love it. I have mastered the use of it. Whether I’m styling an editorial shoot, Boston’s most influential men, or myself, color is the weapon with which I kill them softly.

I often encourage guys to work splashes of color into their daily styles. It can add many features and benefits to the look if it is used properly. In fact, when I was a financial consultant I wore the usual blue and grey corporate uniform. However, I would change up my corporate looking ties for more engaging options for networking events. I had special business-appropriate neck wear that would help stand out as an individual in a room filled with grey, blue, and black suits.

So in celebration of color, I would like to give a shout out to my comrades who fight against wardrobe fatigue. They have places to be, people to see, and deals to close. They don’t spend valuable time deciding what to wear and what not to wear. Almost every article in their wardrobe handsomely complements each other.

Don’t you wish you could travel with a butler and a valet like they do in “Downton Abbey”? Nothing can be more exhausting then packing for a business trip. From my experience most deals get closed on paper napkins after hours when everyone is relaxed, rather than a tense boardroom with slideshows. Therefore, the evening wardrobe should be as “on fleek” as the daytime look.

But despite a thriving economy, you are still a few million dollars short of affording that traveling butler. You cannot pack your entire rainbow closet on the plane, and you don’t have the time to worry about which shoes you should wear with what. My dad and my grandfathers taught me the basics; match belts with my shoes and socks with pants. Because of this they never suffered from decision fatigue. As I’m rocking my green rubber boots while writing this post, I invite you to ignore the trending echo “COLOR, Color, color,” but to go back to basics and adopt a stylish minimalist attitude with tonal ensembles.

Check out the outfit grids below for some transitional day-to-night and weekend inspirations, where I shuffle only one or two articles of clothing, and show different accessory options.