Black Suit Is Versatile With Proper Shirt, Tie

Dear Fashion Police: I have a black Armani suit that I wear to weddings, parties, etc.

I’m usually pretty good at picking elements of clothing, but I can’t seem to arrive at a good shirt and tie to go with the suit, which I need to wear to an upcoming wedding. I tried the “Regis” look and felt ridiculous. What colors and types of shirts and ties do you recommend with a black suit?

--SUITING UP

Dear Suiting: You’ve discovered that a good black suit can take you far--to weddings, bar mitzvahs, funerals, cocktail parties and the theater, since its look can change depending on the shirt and tie. This is a concept women have been familiar with for some time, extending their wardrobes with a little black dress or a three-piece suit (jacket, skirt, trousers), and dressing them up, down and sideways.

What you wear with your black suit should be determined by the occasion and your own tastes. For a funeral, for example, we wouldn’t recommend getting funky with an electric blue shirt and an Andy Warhol print tie.

Serious events demand serious attire, so stick with a white, ivory or pale-blue shirt and fairly conservative tie, such as a subtle geometric print or foulard pattern.

For a wedding you can have more fun, since this is a festive celebration. Let your own color preferences lead you. If you’re not a bold color kind of guy, try shirts in sage green, wheat or gray-blue and a tie that either picks up that shade or complements it. Instead of thinking the tone-on-tone Regis look (so tired, by the way), think layering colors in harmonious hues.

If you’re not afraid of sporting color, then let the shirt be the focal point.

A mustard gold or sea-blue shirt shouldn’t compete with the tie, so choose a dark solid or subtle pattern that references the shirt and works nicely with the jacket. With that mustard shirt, for instance, a tie in deep plum with touches of gold would coordinate well.

Dear Fashion Police: A couple years ago a co-worker chided me for wearing a brown leather watch strap with black leather shoes. As a result, I have two nice watches with leather straps to coordinate with my dress and work shoes: I wear brown with brown, and black with black.

Now it’s time to replace my brown leather wallet, and I’m wondering if it would behoove me to have a black version and a brown version, the way women do with their purses? Or would I be better off spending the extra money on some counseling?

--WORRIED

Dear Worried: When it comes to accessorizing our wardrobes there’s a fine line that we continually have to decide whether to cross or not cross. Should we worry about our belt matching our shoes? About our earrings matching our necklace? About our umbrella matching our raincoat? Can such questions drive you insane? Yes.

So when do we know when to stop obsessing? When we start to get bogged down in outfit minutiae. We define that by being overly preoccupied with insignificant items or items that almost never see the light of day, e.g., a wallet.

If you’d like to have a wallet wardrobe we won’t stop you. But just having one wallet, either brown or black, is perfectly fine. Just make sure it’s not scuffed or worn and isn’t bulging with so many receipts and credit cards that it creates an unsightly protrusion when placed in your pocket. If someone does suggest that you think about coordinating your wallet with your belt, watch strap and shoes, suggest that he or she may be the one who needs counseling.

From the Fashion Police blotter: Remember, we still need your comments about back-to-school shopping. Please let us know your shopping strategies, if they’ve changed from previous years, what kind of pre-shopping research you’ve done, if you like what you’re seeing in stores, how much say you let your children have in selecting their outfits, and if you’re willing to give up chocolate for a year in exchange for your kids’ school opting for uniforms.

Please include your name, the city in which you live and a phone number.

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Write to Fashion Police, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles CA 90012, fax to (213) 237-4888, or send e-mail to jeannine.stein@latimes.com.