For the Well Dressed Man

Interesting Varieties in Color Contrasts and Harmonies Characterize the Present Mode

NOW that New York is completely and definitely established in its winter garb it is obvious even to the casual observer that the shadows cast in August were true harbingers of present sartorial events. It has been many years since the Avenue, the hotel lobbies and the clubs have seen a greater variety of color or more individuality of taste than are expressed in the present mode. Not only is this true among those men to whom meticulously correct attire has always been a matter of course; it is characteristic of the majority— from Wall Street to The Plaza.

More care in the selection of shirts, cravats, suits and overcoats with due regard to their mutual obligations and more courage in the mingling of colors are noticeable everywhere. The results are not always successful but the attempts are very welcome, for they are departures from the uniform and the stereotyped; they make assemblies of men look lesslike communities of ants. The most common error in the use of colors is, and perhaps always will be, that of discordant contrasts, but it is just as eas>r to err in the other direction by over-doing color harmony. An example of this is the combination of a brown suit, brown derby, brown shoes and brown tie. This symphony in brown is conspicuous because of its uniformity. Even a black or dark green tie would provide an agreeable break in the monotony.

Oxford gray is one of the least colorful fabrics, but a judicious choice of accessories can lift it out of the funereal. Above we are showing a straight front oxford gray sacque with which are worn a shirt of solid blue, a gray and white knitted scarf, low black laced shoes and gray socks with white stripes. This is good color harmony.

One of the obstacles to the attainment of interesting effects is the scarcity of good shirtings. In the shirts and shirtings available today there is little to indicate that their designers had any guiding principle or any conception of results to be attained. The over abundance of colors in most shirts makes them absolutely useless, for a shirt is nothing more than a background for the cravat and when the background is so conspicuous that it leaps to the front, definition is lost and effect completely destroyed.

There are two types of shirts to which one can always resort successfully however. One is the solid color and the other is the checqued, though few of the latter are found in ready made shirts. In (2) is shown a three-button, black and white herringbone sacque with which ⅜ a shirt of fine black and white checques is worn.

This attire is prevented from being a monotonous "symphony in gray" by the use of a taupe colored necktie and black vamped boots with taupe colored tops and brown leather facing at the eyelets.

Pink shirts, when used with the proper cravat, will combine excellently with almost any suit and will look particularly well with black. The double-breasted black worsted (3) is considerably brightened by the use of the solid pink shirt and black tie with white stripes. Incidentally, the bold wing collar should be more generally worn with the double breasted sacque than it is.

For some reason, contrasts between shirt and tie are seldom successful when the shirt has stripes set far apart. Harmony is the safer thing to play. And yet this difficulty does not seem to arise where the stripes are horizontal instead of vertical and certainly the cross-striped shirt makes the better background. This was illustrated in the costume reproduced in (4). The suit was a blue cheviot and with it were worn a shirt having heavy pink horizontal stripes and a deep blue knitted scarf; the buttoned boots were black. It will be noticed that all of the shirts described are very simple in color and design, and yet when properly used they have more definition and produce far better effect than ninety per cent of the models commonly seen.

Color contrasts and harmonies are by no means confined to suits, shirts and neckties. Overcoats in browns, blues and greens have appeared in great numbers. No longer are black and oxford gray the dominant features. Even the sedate Chesterfield has taken on a brighter hue. The easy hanging model shown (5) was a fine brown and was worn with a brown derby over a brown suit. Again the pink shirt came to the rescue and, with a solid black tie, prevented another "symphony in brown" and produced a very attractive and colorful turnout which was in excellent taste. Another coat of the double-breasted but slightly heavier model (6)was made of gray blue chinchilla with dark blue velvet collar and cording at the cuffs. It was worn with a black derby, over a blue suit and black shoes with taupe colored spats.

In the heavy ulster type one more naturally expects color, especially in brown or gray mixtures, but the bottle green model reproduced (7) was a rather new note and looked extremely well with a dark green soft hat and blue suit. With it were worn a blue striped shirt, black necktie and black boots.

Fine big ulsters with raglan shoulders and long full skirts (8) suitable for automobiling and for the heavy weather days are made in every conceivable color from oxford gray worsteds to light brown tweeds and homespuns; but for the most part they are looked upon as purely utilitarian garments and too seldom is sufficient thought given them as an integral part of one's general turnout. The model shown here was a tweed of medium brown worn over a brown and white homespun suit with a dark brown Homburg hat and brown blucher boots.

Speaking of boots reminds us that, so far as we can judge by observation of the general run of men, less thought is given to this important item of one's attire than to any other part of the wardrobe. We are referring not so much to style as to care which ninety-nine out of one hundred. men fail to give to their boots, and the reader should know, for reasons both of economy and taste, just how to dress his boots.

The primary requisite is cleanliness. When the shoe salesman tells you that a light-colored tan grows dark as it soils, he is starting you along a policy of shoe destruction. To be sure, dirt darkens shoes and when it is polished in, it finally ruins them. Tan shoes should be frequently washed with saddle soap or castile soap and water. This keeps them clean and allows the leather to darken naturally and uniformly. After the shoe has been washed and allowed to dry a polishing cream containing softening animal fats should be applied and allowed to penetrate theleather before being brushed with a clean white-bristle shoe brush and polished with chamois. These creams come in light and dark brown shades and after a few applications they impart a fine mellow tone and underglaze without impairing the texture of the leather. The edges of the soles and heels should be varnished, each coat being removed with alcohol every time the shoes are cleaned and a new one applied. This sounds like a very elaborate proceeding, especially to those who are not fortunate enough to have a man who understands leathers and the proper dressing of boots. But so much is being said today about the economy of buying expensive shoes on the principle that they last longer, that common sense would seem to justify a little care after the shoes are bought, and certainly the casual passes which the bootblack makes at the dust on your shoes and the washes and pastes with which he grinds and polishes that dust into the leather should warn any man that if he would be well dressed and economical he had best take care of his own boots.

Black Russia calf should be treated in the same manner as tan shoes except of course that black cream and varnish should be used instead of brown. A more difficult leather to dress properly is French calf and its domestic imitation. This is a very oily leather with a peculiar surface which roughs-up easily and does not readily take a polish. So the first step where a brilliant finish is desired in dressing it is to sponge off the surface oil with alcohol. When the shoe is dry it should be thoroughly "boned," that is, the seam cracks and rough spots should be rubbed out with a bone which can be obtained for that purpose. After this, one coat of black varnish should be applied and rubbed gently and smoothly into the. leather. After this has dried, a second coat should be applied with a flat camel's hair brush and left to dry. Waterproof varnish should never be used nor should pastes, as they are apt to spoil the leather.