How to Pair a Cravat with a Pocket Square

With matching patterns available, you may think that a cravat is designed to go with its partnering pocket square. We think that this is a bit of a misconception, and we’d like to make the case for coordinating colours, designs and tone, without directly matching. In most situations, we think it’s the most stylish way to proceed.

A cravat and a pocket square go so beautifully together, it can be easy to forget that the effortless outfit you’re aiming for takes work. There are pitfalls, and while rules are made to be broken, it first pays to understand why they exist. Ultimately, putting an outfit together is about style choices, how you pair things up, and your own critical eye. Being stylish sometimes means experimenting, and with experiment comes risk - we can’t quite get as far as making the decisions for you. We can, however, give you a place to start. 

Some Basic Guidelines

Before we really get into it, a short reference guide:

• Watch your clashing colours

• No matchy-matchy unless you’re VERY sure

• Keep your tone consistent

• Always match to your whole outfit as well as your other accessories

• The devil is in the detail

• A little care goes a long way

With those ground rules out of the way, let’s dig a little deeper as to how to begin.

A Certain Ease

First, have a look at a design you like - whether it’s the cravat or the pocket square that draws your eye doesn’t really matter at this point. Identify the dominant colour and the leading contrast or secondary colour, as these are what you’ll be working most closely with. Alongside your outfit, which hopefully already matches your chosen accessory, this is your palette. 

You want to look as if your ensemble is well chosen, but you also want to disguise some of the effort that went into it; hard work beats talent every single time, but it’s always better to appear gifted. In coordinating your accessories, you give the observer’s eye something to do, keeping their interest and delighting them with the details. 

Men’s fashion is nothing if it’s not about the small touches, and a well-chosen accessory is an easy way to express that. For a quick shorthand, look at the lining of your jacket - very likely, you’re the only one who ever sees it. However, it gives crucial details about colours, styles, and the art of dressing harmoniously. Think of it as the designers of the garment giving you a free tip, steering you gently towards accompaniments that might work.

Contrast and Balance

Varying patterns are also important here, both in size and in type. In truth, this will often happen by process of elimination; anything too close and you’re in danger of an actual match, while two designs far apart from each other simply won’t work with the same jacket. However, if you have two pieces that utilise similar colours, using the pattern as the source of contrast can be an ingenious way to dress, especially when incorporating bolder shades or colours that are harder to work with.

The Importance of Tone

We also want to mention overall tone as a key element. You could also call this the “feel” of the outfit. For example, if you’ve gone with elegant polka dots or a deep and moody Madder silk pattern, you’ll want to keep a more sombre feel with its counterpart. The same goes if you’ve gone for bright colours or more strident patterns, which don’t need to match, but do need to talk to each other. They’re a strike partnership - oil and vinegar, heat and moisture. Having them work together can create a stunning effect that is more than the sum of its parts, while if they’re working against each other, the outfit just will never quite work the way you imagined.

A Match Can Sometimes Work!

Despite all our dire warnings about not directly matching your cravat and pocket square, even we are forced to admit that there are occasions where it works. For example, a wedding or a formal occasion is the ideal forum for such a deliberately staged look, which is even more true if you’re keeping to a theme, or matching with other groomsmen. For the most formal outfits that just NEED to look a certain way, a matching set is an ideal companion - 

The Rocco Polka Dot Silk Cravat & Pocket Square

The Erden Mongolian Print Silk Cravat & Pocket Square

Towards a Personal Style

Choosing pieces that complement each other invites you to do the thinking, maximising your input and making it all about what you personally want to achieve. We offer styles from traditional to maximal, but we can’t wear them for you, so it’s up to you to make your outfit shine. This is how you develop a signature style, and how you express yourself through clothing.

Below are some examples of how the theory works in practice, centred around our hugely versatile and artist-drawn multiway pocket squares. These accessories in particular can work in an extraordinary number of ways, as the design can be refigured to suit your choice of neckwear. As always, these are simply points on a map, and your own input is of paramount importance - 

Xiaowen cravat x The Navigator pocket square

Available on pre-order after a restock, this geometric design is one of our stylistic stalwarts, with strong primary colours pairing well with many other designs. The Navigator, one of our signature artist-drawn multiway pocket squares, uses similarly strong tones in lockstep with gentler earth colours, allowing for huge versatility and many re-imaginings.

Kohaku tie x Kaminari pocket square

A Japanese-inspired print of koi carp makes a perfect thematic match for the Kaminari pocket square, with its kabuki print in kaleidoscopic colour. 

Katsuo cravat x Hannya I pocket square

Deep, glowing reds are the order of the day here, with the snarling and demonic illustration offering counterpoint to the calmer cravat. If you prefer something plainer, the Syrah cravat would be another great option here.

Hinata cravat x Aoi pocket square

The Aoi pocket square gives you plenty of colour to play with, with cascading blue waves alongside a bright red cranes-in-flight print. The Hinata plays in the same territory, with paler blues and even more vibrant reds. If you’d prefer to use the navy trim of the pocket square, the Makio is an equally good counterpart, echoing the theme of the print.

Hojoon cravat x Yorimitsu II pocket square

Demonstrating perfectly that soft colours need not mean a soft look, the geometric tiger print Hojoon cravat pairs perfectly with the dramatic Yorimitsu II handkerchief, depicting a samurai locked in battle in glorious pastel tones. For even more detail in the cravat, the Ashoka cravat offers a floral print alternative.

Zihan cravat x Deco Island Dusk pocket square

This Art Deco-inspired illustrative pocket square goes beautifully with a simple geometric print cravat, with the dusky pink tones a perfect match for an earthy suit. A playful look, but still one with some dignified reserve.

Mikolas cravat x Kin pocket square

Contrasting patterns can work extremely well when chosen correctly. The Mikolas cravat, with its light base tone and vibrant paisley, works gloriously with the sedate, measured Kin pocket square, as the illustration allows for plenty of play in the colours. If you’d prefer a darker paisley, the Orpheus would make a perfect alternative.

The Aranami pocket square 

This multiway, named for the award-winning gin produced by our sister brand Hidden Curiosities, has enough detail to give you a wardrobe’s worth of options. For example, the Zuli cravat makes the most of the bright pink at the very edges of the print, while the Viggo goes for the same tones with the opposite effect, foregrounding the dark detailing of the paisley. For a different approach to matching the pattern, the Tove tie makes for an interesting counterpoint.

Ryuhei cravat x Miharu pocket square

The colours in the Miharu pocket square can either send the wearer towards light pastels, or deep forest tones. The Ryuhei uses its dragon print to beautifully subtle effect when picking out the pink and lilac details, while the Einar makes the most of the grassy foliage colours around the edges.

For additional support in picking designs that work beautifully together, our website allows you to search for your fine accessories by colour. Simply go to our website and type your desired colours into our search bar, and you'll be presented with all the designs we have containing them. As if that wasn't easy enough, we've also sorted our designs by colour, so you can browse at will. Simply open the sidebar and explore. Alternatively, if you'd like some guidance from us, please just reach out to us here and we'd be delighted to help. 

Equipped with some guidelines, and some examples to illustrate our method, we hope you feel confident choosing your favoured pieces. Experiment, express yourself, avoid common mistakes and get the very best out of your accessories, and don’t forget to think outside the box! Keep coordinating and you’ll be well on your way to the perfect outfit, whatever it is that you’re doing.