Pocket squares are a small detail that make a big overall difference for not a lot of money. It’s also an easy way to differentiate yourself from the pack and stand out for the right reasons. If you’re wearing a jacket with a breast pocket, you should have a pocket square in it.
Rule #1Never wear tie and pocket square sets together. Feel free to wear them separately, but never exactly match your tie with your pocket square. Not much else screams “I have no idea what I’m doing” than exactly matching your tie & pocket square. See images below.
Rule #2 Mix patterns. Just like we talked about in this earlier post, when going with plaid on check, make sure the scale of pattern and colors are different. See below. Large pattern jacket with a small pattern pocket square. Works every time.
Pro Tip: In your overall outfit, try to limit to two or three patterns. Three things can be of the same like pattern, but the scales and colors must be different.
Rule #3 Keep it simple. Your pocket square doesn’t ‘necessarily’ have to match your shirt or tie. Wearing green socks? Go with a green pocket square. If you’re concerned, stay within the same color family. Dark blue shirt? Go with a light blue pocket square.
Rule #4 When in doubt, go with white. White essentially goes with everything, but it can look somewhat formal with a dark suit. Go without a tie to make it more casual.
Rule #5 Don’t buy the cardboard pocket squares. We can tell. Go for the real deal with simple folds. I prefer a straight or modified Presidential fold or the standard puff. I’ll leave the large, erupting volcanic folds for the younger guys. Notice that the straight folds all have the corner points facing outwards toward the shoulder.
Images sourced from Google
