We’re huge fans of Gus Johnson, and we loved his call today on Fox as Ohio State thumped Penn State.
But Gus can be a bit bold at times with his style choices, and he picked a wild one today as you can see in the screen shot above.
It made us think about combos when wearing a sport coat. Gus’s bold choice included a large-scale plaid sport coat (tan, brown, and cream tones), a striped shirt (medium-width navy or dark stripes on white), and a geometric patterned tie (brown with a repeating square motif), along with a patterned pocket square
That’s four distinct patterns layered together — checks, stripes, geometric, and pocket-square print. Most of us wouldn’t try anything like this, but of course some men will look for combos that draw attention.
Traditionally, pairing a checkered (or plaid) sport coat with a striped shirt can absolutely work, but it requires balance and confidence. But Gus goes further with the patterned tie, which will be too much unless you’re really trying to be flamboyant.
If you stick with a solid tie, then you can try the sport coat and shirt combo with a few guidelines. Firsy, vary the scale of the patterns. If the jacket’s checks are large and bold, the shirt’s stripes should be narrow and subtle, and vice versa.
In the end, it’s all a matter of personal style. But it helps to be aware of traditional combos.
