Julie Rath: Outfit Building Through Color-Linking

‘Tis true, I talk about henleys a lot in general as smart layering pieces,  but this  number ($310) from PS by Paul Smith is currently at the top of my favorites  list. Here, the devil is in the details: the marled wool and red button thread  stitching are just the right unexpected touches to make its wearer  stand out without being party-pants obnoxious. I got this piece for a client  during Mr. Porter‘s Friend’s  and Family sale a few weeks back, and in person the red button hole thread is  much more visible than in the image above. The cool thing about this detail is  that it allows you to wear red elsewhere in your outfit as a way of pulling an  entire look together. With that in mind, here are some ideas of how to style  it:

Under a sport coat…

Opt for a neutral-colored fabric with a thin red line running through it as  part of the pattern like this GANT by Michael Bastian sport coat. (Red elbow  patches optional.)

Under a sweater…

Because both red references are on your top half, wearing a red sweater like this one above, from Polo Ralph Lauren, is a bit of a  no-brainer. Bonus: if you want to tie in your bottom half, add socks that  have some red in them like those from Corgi below. Note that solid red socks would be  overkill.

Under a sport shirt…

Another somewhat straightforward choice, throw it on under a sport  shirt that has red in its pattern, like this one from Bonobos, as an alternative to a v- or crewneck t-shirt.

With red footwear…

Red deck shoes like these from Polo Ralph Lauren and Shoo respectively are as bold as I’d suggest you  go for pulling in red elsewhere in your outfit. Of course, bright red  shoes are not for everyone, so as always, make sure to stick with what suits  your personality when choosing your look.

With red laces…

Wearing red laces like those in these Diemme boots is a more low key way of bringing your upstairs  and downstairs together.

Using the red button thread stitching on this henley as above is just one  example of how to subtly tie in any color in one part of your outfit with the  same color elsewhere. You can do this with almost any clothing detail. As  always, I welcome your questions and comments about how to accomplish this.