It is June, yet it is in the mid 50s this morning. This isn't entirely uncommon where I live. We have some rather cool days in the summer. We will go through stretches where OCBDs and sweaters are needed, then 2 weeks of seersucker, madras and linen, then back again. During this cold snap I am really leaning on some of my favorite fun-university stripes. I just adore this mint university stripe. It is so so cool (as in cold) and vibrant. In the past I have paired this with pale yellow and it can also be paired with pink as well. Purple is of course another option. All of those options lean into a theory of stark contrast. Running away from the shirt, expanding the color scheme.
This outfit is the opposite. This is simple, understated and minimizing of difference. A plain blue knit tie, differentiated enough from the cool mint to not fall into match-match territory, yet still in that same cool territory. There are really 3 color centers in this outfit. They are distinct and clear.
1 - Blue (mint stripe and knit tie)
2 - White/Light (cream sweater, white stripe of the university stripe, stone chinos)
3 - Brown (warm dark belt)
When you have everything separated in this way, when the poles attract the pieces in a very close huddled proximity it really creates a beautifully ordered, clean and simple outfit. When you look at this photo it just washes over you. It is so simple, so clean and without anything feeling ostentatious despite the shirt being mint university stripe. It is not so easy to do this with each and every outfit we wear. We often want more. We want to be a bit more bold, we want to have our pieces dance and interact with each other a bit more playfully. But, it is very nice from time to time to put something together in this manner. It is more than possible to execute quite reliably as long as you play the colors right, and keep the proximity around the poles tight.