STEP 3: Separation

Now that you have an easy recipe for the basis of outfit creation, it’s time to distinguish yourself from your counterparts by adding some sartorial and personal flair. Your neutral foundation is now the perfect blueprint to add complementing details, colors, and accessories. There are three ways to separate yourself from the pack and achieve perfection with your wardrobe and personal style. One way is to diversify your initial color palette, the second is to accessorize and add statement items, and the third is to note sartorial details. You will now be able to create a style that excites you when dressing and preparing for business or pleasure.

Diversify your initial color palette by varying your neutral shades, opting for bolder colors, and exploring patterns and textures. As alluded to in STEP 1: Strive for a Neutral Heavy Foundation, this is where varying shades of green, brown, blue and and other neutrals come into play. Varying shades can apply to your entire wardrobe, from shoes and socks, to jackets and accessories. Try starting with your pants, sport coats, and jackets. You will see your outfit combinations grow substantially, and will have the ability to create more interesting and unique combinations.

Begin adding bolder colors to your wardrobe like mustard, primrose, burgundy, and violet. These are examples of more exciting colors you may want to explore for pairing with your neutrals. Keep in mind, when searching for these varying neutrals and bold colors, explore different patterns and textures to garner a more unique and personal look. For example, gingham, and striped shirts are always safe bets, while floral and and other abstract patterns can give your outfit a more alluring quality, causing others to inspect and appreciate the outfit you’ve put together. Patterns in jackets, sport coats and socks are also something to be mindful of when searching for more personal and uncommon articles.

Try on different colors to see how they complement your skin tone and vibe. Don’t feel forced to wear certain colors if you don’t think they look good on you. I personally am not a huge fan of red, but have found a few red items I love because of the mood they create. Have an open mind and explore! Confidence is always necessary, but this is the first step in which it becomes a focal point of outfit creation, due to the truly personal aspect that is now being applied.

Whether subtle or flamboyant, accessories (belts, jewelry, bags, wallets) and other statement items (coats, jackets, shoes, boots and sneakers) are key to perfecting your wardrobe and style, adding not only a personal touch, but a complementing or distinguished feature that can bring an outfit to life. These added accessories and statement items will give you a more polished, and style competent look. From a pair of Jordan 13’s to a bright colored pair of Sperry’s, classic Ray-Ban’s to chic Warby Parker’s, a Fossil to a Rolex, these items not only provide flair and personality, but are unique to your tastes. Changing small details of an outfit such as buttons, shoelaces, or even adding elbow patches to a sport coat, can also add individuality to your style. You can completely change the your vibe and presentation by showcasing your hand picked, complementing items and add-ons.

Sartorial details give you the entire package. Some of these include having your jackets tailored to show some of the cuff of your sleeve, knowing what type of break you want for your trousers, having shiny or unique cuff links perfectly placed outside of the arm of a jacket, or even wearing a vintage pocket square (handkerchief) to complement a polka dot tie and gingham shirt. Knowledge of sartorial intricacies demonstrates knowledge of the subtleties behind outfit creation, and these details are what distinguish Gatsby from a commoner.  This information is essential to merging timeless and personal style.

Also, begin to garner general knowledge associated with dressing for different occasions. This sartorial knowledge allows you to break rules at times, and opt for items that won’t be worn by the masses. You can keep your individuality and be appropriate at the same time.

The key to achieving separation is  to start thinking one item at a time. One lavish or subtly brilliant item or add-on can be the difference between looking like everyone else, and having an enchanted charisma about you. Wear a defining centerpiece, or weave complementing details into an outfit. These separation items will begin to complement your neutral base and give you a more synergistic and seamless wardrobe, where every item you own can coordinate to create a tone and style that can only be defined by your name.

Featured Brands:

G-Star RAW

Jack Jones

Happy Socks

Polo Ralph Lauren

J. Hilburn

Hugo Boss

Citizen

Nixon

Michael Kors

Converse

Selected Homme

DL Denim

Bottega del Sarto