With the summer in full swing north of the equator we thought it would be a great time to lay down some ground rules for styling your printed button up shirts without looking like your dad on his trip to Hawaii.
Let's get started
Wear Them With Black Denim
Black denim is an essential part of every guys closet. It's cool, versatile and has the option of being dressed up or dressed down, which is why this is the easiest style to pair with printed shirts on our list.
The key to this look is not to overthink it, as the saying goes everything goes well with black. There are a few style details to pay attention to. Make sure your jeans are fitted, slim fit or straight leg will do, no wide leg jeans please. For a rock and roll summer look, pair your black jeans with punchy floral short sleeve shirts and complete the look with black loafers. If you are looking for a more smart-casual look pair your black jeans with a black and white floral printed long sleeve shirt and finish everything off with some monk straps, or fancy loafers.
@kam.the.coder owning the streets with his black denim paired with our Garden Botanical Short Sleeve shirt.
Wear Them With Blue Denim
Although one of the most obvious choices for an everyday look, pairing your blue denim with a printed shirt can be tricky. One wrong decision and you can end up looking like a mid-2000s smart-casual dad.
Here are our tips to avoid that situation.
Pay attention to the print and colors of your shirt. Wear a complementary jean with a color that doesn't suffocate the shirt by being ?too similar in hue. For example if you are wearing a dark printed shirt, avoid wearing it with dark denim, instead, pair it with a lighter stone wash jean.
Stick to a more tapered, straight leg or moderately skinny jean. The last thing you want is accidently pulling of a Jeremy Clarkson street-style look by wearing a wide leg jean. To finish the look, put on a pair of clean white sneakers or New Balance runners that compliment the base color of your printed shirt. Due to the hot weather, wear a short sleeve printed shirt like our Summer Breeze, (shown below) to offset the heavier jean fabric.
Pro tip: Show the world you're on trend by cuffing your jeans, just make sure you don't cuff them too high. Remember, one or two cuffs is good but three starts putting you in the Bermuda shorts category.
Check out @matthewonpint below for some pro level street-style.
Print on Print
Did he just say print on print?! Yes, if done correctly, the print on print look can be your staple during the summer months and propel you to boss-level style status.
So what are some key principles for wearing print on print?
Paying attention to your outfits base colors is key. Most printed shirts or pants will have a singular base or background color on top of which the print lies. Make sure the base colors are complementary to each other or variations of the same base color. For example, mixing a base blue printed short with a base blue printed shirt as shown below.
Pay attention to the intensity of the prints and make sure one of them is tonal. With this tactic you can make sure that there is only one major focal point in your outfit. In the picture below we paired our Cool Cats short sleeve shirt with blue tonal camo shorts. By sticking to these base rules you too can reach boss-level style status.
Dressy Shorts
Although it may sound like a contradiction dressy shorts are a thing, and when paired correctly with a refined printed shirt they can make you look sharper than Harvey Specter in a 3 piece suit. Ok, maybe not as sharp as Harvey but pretty darn close.
The key to achieving this summer smart-casual and refined look comes down to three things, color, fit and print.
If you are going for the refined look stick with darker colored shorts such as black, dark blue or brown. Pick a tailored, fitted short that sits just above the knee. When choosing a printed shirt, we recommend going with our Floral Fields long sleeve shirt which provides a dressier, sharper look. Finish everything off by buttoning your shirt all the way up. Now you are ready for the races, a garden wedding or a fancy patio party.
