How do I combine a pocket square with my tie

With a pocket square you can give your outfit a personal touch in no time. This can be a striking accent by means of a vibrant choice of colour or design, but it can also be a subtle and stylish accent to your jacket by means of a calm and restrained choice of colour and design. There are many ways to use a pocket square that's what makes this little piece of fabric so special. Every man should have at least a pair of pocket squares in his wardrobe, to give the same suit a different look every time. Although you are reading this article because you would like to know how to combine your pocket square with your tie, we would also like to point out that a pocket square can be worn without a tie. This will make your look less formal, but with a fresh accent. A pocket square is therefore not just for business and formal occassions, but can also add a trendy touch to your look with a casual outfit.

The canary-yellow pocket square adds a fresh accent to the jacket and is stylish casual combination without tie.

First choose a tie

If you'd like to make the pocket square-tie combination we recommend that you first choose a necktie that matches your outfit. If you are wearing a formal grey or dark blue suit with little texture, dark colours such as cherry red, aubergine and burgundy are a good option. You could also choose a tie with a floral print but make sure you choose a design with a dark base colour. If you choose a tie for a casual outfit like a navy sporty jacket and khaki trousers, a more casual design with more texture and possibly in a lighter color is often a better choice than a plain satin silk classic tie. In winter, for example, you can opt for a wool tie with a blended texture and in summer and spring you can opt for a tie in linen or cotton. In short, take the occasion into account. The more casual the occasion, the more you can play with textures, colours and materials. The more formal the occasion, the more classic and understated the tie should be, and normally in a choice of silk or satin.

Casual outfit for spring and autumn: Jeans and a shirt combined with a cotton jacket, navy knitted tie and a red pocket square for a striking accent.

So the first step to a stylish, harmonious look is to make sure that all the elements of your outfit are the same level of formality and matched to your accessories. A suit, jacket or trousers with a check pattern or a striking stripe pattern require simple accessories that have a soothing effect on your look. For a busy base, it's a good idea to wear a plain necktie and pocket square. For a quiet base you can choose more daring accessories such as a Paisley pocket square or a checkered tie.

How to choose your pocket square?

Once you have chosen your necktie, it's time to think about what kind of pocket square will go well with your outfit. The pocket square is meant to compliment your jacket, trousers, shirt and tie and to add that touch of casual elegance to your look. For dark suits, a plain ecru or white pocket square is almost always a good and safe choice. Simply fold it into a flat rectangle and let a small piece subtly protrude from your chest pocket. This way you can not go wrong. Our pocket squares are folded in a rectangle and packed in a handy storage box, so they are immediately ready for use. A small note if choosing white: if you wear a light blue shirt, a white pocket square is usually not a good match. If you want to make a safe choice, then choose a dark blue pocket square.

Pocket square by Profuomo: casual combined without tie.

Matching set

Enough about the safe choices. Let's go a step further and add some colour to your look. For example, if you wear an ochre bow or tie, wear a matching ochre yellow pocket square. Stylists will often avoid a tie/pocket combination in the same colour, as it lacks creativity and does not follow the guidelines of classic etiquette. But don't worry about that, the end result is what counts, especially if you are a novice pocket square wearer. You can easily grab a beautiful look, let yourself be inspired by the images below.

Matching set: ochre yellow satin bow with matching pocket square.

Tasteful combination for your tuxedo: a sapphire blue bow tie with a sapphire blue pocket square.

More daring combinations

If you're brave enough, you can go one step further. Leave the world of plain, white, ecru and matching sets aside and experiment with your accessories. Try to be a little more daring in your look with the pocket square and choose one that either complements your necktie in colour or contrasts with your tie. To start with, if you have chosen a dark blue paisley necktie with different shades of blue and an extra spot colour such as white or beige, choose a blue coloured pocket square. Whether it's dark blue, royal blue or light blue, you'll have to play with that and see which colour suits your outfit as a whole the best. If you choose a colour that does not appear in your necktie or bow tie, it usually works best to choose a colour that is totally unrelated. With a green tie, for example, a brown pocket square can work very well. To combine a yellow or ochre yellow tie with a rust brown pocket square would not be a good match.

Contrasting combination for winter days.

More examples of colours that are far apart are blue and red: for example, combine a royal blue checkered tie with a plain satin red pocket square. Another example is aubergine and ochre yellow. A satin purple tie can be beautifully combined with a stylish ochre yellow pocket square.

Without the ochre yellow pocket square this outfit would be rather boring.

Whether your pocket square works or not is a matter of trying and combining until you get that perfect surprising combination. We offer you a wide range of colours that allow you to vary endlessly, so get to work!