Color-Coding the Basic Wardrobe

Far too many guys, whose bars boast all the ingredients of a Zombie, who score with the damsels in a finger snap, and whose apartments are furnished in impeccable taste, lack the same assurance and know-how when it comes to building a wardrobe. They collect duds haphazardly. Faced with a rackful of suits in a men's store or a counter piled high with shirts, they turn giddy as a debutante with her pick of the stag line. They are easily swayed by the (concluded on page 20) blandishments of a salesman: "This is the latest" or "Here's what everyone's wearing now". Other sad clothing sacks are the impulse buyers who splurge on a snappy new lid or a gaggle of spectacular neckties without a moment's reflection on what's already in the wardrobe back home. On the way back from lunch, they spot a suit or a shirt in a store window, rush in and plunk down the loot, repeat the process next month, and end up with drawers full of uncoordinated accessories -- very little of which pairs up with anything hanging in the closet. Let's face it, it's a stupid way to behave. For the same amount of cash, with far less effort, they could build a sensible, color-coded wardrobe that garners a triple reward: the selfconfidence that goes with being well turned-out from head to foot, the approval (even emulation) of your fellows, and the prideful smile of any lass in the company of a tastefully-garbed guy. Reaching that state involves nothing occult, believe us.

August isn't a bit too early to start thinking about your own fall and winter gear. Your best procedure is to set your sights on three basic, but complete, outfits: one oriented around blue, one with a focus on brown and one whose key color is gray. Repeat: this is a basic wardrobe. Three suits will be laughably inadequate to the great majority of Playboy readers, but -- hell -- you've got to start somewhere. Trot down to your tailor, or the best men's store you can find; give preference to a place that sells clothing whose cut and tailoring are comfortable and becoming to you; then sit down with the most knowledgeable salesman thereabouts to select complete outfits.

By "complete" we mean simply this: choose, for a starter, the brown suit that appeals to you. Immediately, that same day, select the properly color-coded shirts, belts, neckties, shoes, socks, hats and everything else you're going to need when you wear that suit. Ditto for your blue suit; likewise for the gray. Now you've got the basic minimum and it's a splendid beginning, a fine jumpingoff point from which you may easily amass a wardrobe that is distinctive, imaginative and in good taste.

As one way of doing it, check over the brown, gray and blue basic wardrobes gathered for your edification on the preceding pages. The variations on the theme are infinite, of course, but you get the idea. A still further aid: the handy color-coding chart on this page for use when purchasing your accessories. You'll see that certain of them -- white or blue shirts, black or navy socks, neatly figured foulard ties -- play off interchangeably and well with all three of the suit colors. Let suitability be your guide, and stick to a few elementary rules:

Dressing sensibly, yet with imagination, is the mark of a man who knows what he's doing, and insists on doing it well.

Color-Coding: The Brown Suit. Southwick Superflex single-breasted suit of shadow-striped herringbone with an olive cast, tailored by Grieco, about $100. Stone gray, blue and yellow button-down shirts by Gant of New Haven, $5.50 each. Cordovan-bound elastic belt by Punja, Ltd., $5. Currycolored, crater-crease hat with deep back turn-up, narrow raw-edge brim and back bow, by Knox, $12.95. Silk and wool neckties, in English foulard and regimental stripes, imported by Myron McLntyre, Ltd., from $2.50 each. Esquire socks in Argyle and ribbed patterns, from $1.50 a pair. Calf bluchers, with medallion tip, by Johnston & Murphy, $32.50.

Color-Coding: The Blue Suit The Gray Suit: on the opposite page is a three-button worsted flannel with black stripes, tailored by Baker Clothes, about $100. Blue English tab-collar, white oxford button-down and striped broadcloth semi-spread collar shirts are by Arrow, from $6.50 each. Rep striped, challis print and solid-color neckties by Brooks Brothers, from $4.50 each. Cavanagh low-silhouette hat, in bark brown with black band and side bow, shallow crease, about $20. Cordovan leather belt with brass buckle, by Punja, Ltd., $5. Interwoven socks, in Argyle and clock patterns, from $1.50 a pair. Russet-tan cordovan leather shoes, six-eyelet, wing tip model, by Frank Brothers, $36.95 a pair.

Color-Coding: The Blue Suit The Regal Blue: an imported flannel single-breasted model with flapped pockets, by Norman Hilton, about $125. Striped Hathaway shirts, with button-down, spread and tab collars, from $6.95 each. Finely figured English foulard neckties, by Keys & Lockwood, from $2.50 each. Cordovan-bound, black elastic belt by Punja, Ltd., $5. Dobbs hat in moonglow gray with navy blue band, low tapered crown, and center crease, about $15. Coopers hose, in both ribbed and Argyle patterns, from $1.25 a pair. Johnston & Murphy black calfskin oxfords, six-eyelet, straight tip, $29.95.