It’s a Vibe, Not a Science
How to break the rules the right way…
The past two weeks, we’ve talked a lot about “rules”. We’ve looked at why mixing patterns in your clothing reflects divine harmony back into the world, and what guidelines to follow to match patterns tastefully.
But in all this discussion of the right and wrong way to do things, a crucial distinction can be easily lost: namely, that dressing well is an art, not a science. You must know the rules, but you must also know when to break them. To follow them too rigidly is to kill what you want to bring to life by dissecting it on the operating table.
Many people, especially conservatives, are reluctant to break the rules. Rules provide comfort by giving you a framework to work within. You know what’s right, you know what’s wrong. And, to be fair, society errs far too much on the side of complete lawlessness in matters of dress. Being a stickler for the rules is far from the worst crime you can commit.
But I assume that if you’re reading this, you’re probably a bit like me: you’re far from a relativist in matters of dress, and believe that there are indeed standards to be upheld. You want to learn the rules of style that are rooted not in arbitrary matters of fashion, but in eternal and even biological realities that shape what we deem to be beautiful.
That’s why today, as we dive into our third and final installment in our series on pattern mixing, I want to share one of the rules that was hardest for me (and likely for others of my disposition) to come to terms with: that true style is a “vibe”, not a science. It is based on rules but not bound by them, and transcends technicalities to create a work of art.
To illustrate this, I’ll be showing pictures of men who break the “rules” of pattern mixing that we laid out in the past two articles. We’ll see where it works, where it doesn’t, and what these examples can teach you about how to break the rules with style…
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Patterned Perspicacity: Instinct Above All
When it comes to mixing four patterns together, instinct trumps rules of the game. By this point, having spent time pairing two and three patterns together, your instinct should be sufficiently honed to master adding in a fourth.
That said, there still are general rules of thumb you can follow when it comes to execution. For inspiration in these guidelines, we can look to Luciano Barbera, owner of the Italian clothing company of the same name:
Here, Signore Barbera follows much of the guidelines we laid out in last week’s article. He varies the stripes by scale, anchors the look with a tie that breathes, and employs a pocket square that harmonizes with each element in the ensemble individually. So far, everything is by the book.
These same guidelines are at play again in the following shot, where Barbera varies his two main check patterns (shirt and jacket, respectively) by scale and then chooses a tie that could go with either. The pocket square then harmonizes with the tie while also providing another point of visual contrast against the muted jacket and shirt combination:
But before you accuse Barbera of simply being a stickler for the rules, we need to look at other examples of people following the “guidelines” and getting it wrong. Because in doing so, you’ll realize that Barbera’s instinct for style is something that transcends the playbook’s technicalities.
So what does it look like to fail by following the rules, and to succeed by breaking them? To find out, let’s turn to a man you’ve almost certainly seen before…
