Matching A Tie, Without A Sport Coat

I am a college student and going out to a nice dinner that requires me to dress up. I am not wearing a sportcoat, however, I am wearing black dress pants with a navy blue dress shirt. My question is what color tie should I wear? I have a stylish blue one, a nice gold-ish looking one, and a plain black one. (Flint, MI)

It’s hard to escape the image of randy school boy in his shirt and tie, but there certainly are plenty of situations where wearing a jacket is unnecessary (think lab coat), even though sporting a sportcoat will finish the look.

When spurning a jacket, your tie acts as an anchor and introducing a third color, like the goldtone tie, will break up the line. Best bet would be a blue tie that matches your shirt with some black pattern to coordinate your pants.

Word to the wise, before you leave the house, double-check that jackets are not required or you’ll be forced to wear the restaurant’s rancid, ill-fitting polyester loaner jacket that the maitre d’ snidely presents- ouch!

-November 16, 2001