They said it couldn't be done. It was never thought possible. Once a blue moon, maybe if you are lucky. "They" that I am referring to is myself, of course. In the photo above we have a very rare and difficult to pull off pairing. This is a green university stripe OCBD paired with this 90s Polo Ralph Lauren geometric tie. I consistently believe that it is very difficult to pull off a non-blue university stripe with a 90s Polo Ralph Lauren geometric tie. It is just too much, it is too hard to do without it being too busy. Of course I stay on the safe side, often. This is a cautious stance. Nevertheless, the pairing above falls outside what I generally think of as being commonly possible.
Granted, this green is a very gentle, dim green. It isn't overly vibrant or bright. It is very soft. It is forgiving. It also works because this geometric tie is very uniform with a pattern that is quite small. It is almost in micro-pattern territory. There is, if you notice, a green dash inside each motif. This locks up with the green of the stripe wonderfully. Nevertheless, I generally stay away from non-blue university stripes with 90s geometrics.
Yet, on the day I wore this I thought maybe I would try this green, hoping for it to hook up with that stripe in the motif. I pulled it out of the closet, held the tie over the shirt and was wonderfully surprised. A great example of an exception to a general trend. There are general suggestions, there are general trends, there are commonly found pairings, harder to pull off pairings. Yet, there are always surprises. There is always some combination that you didn't consider previously, there is always some avenue that you may stumble upon when you venture out just a bit. And that avenue may lead to a whole new go-to one day. There are always pleasant surprises, even for the weathered dresser.