Colour is a powerful thing. Mood-enhancing or –diminishing, it’s the reason why green is used to placate actors’ egos backstage and why weightlifters lug more in gyms with walls painted blue.
But, when it comes to your wardrobe, colour’s force can be hard to harness. Yellow, pink and teal might look great on a hanger, but they won’t always sing against your skin, or team easily with whatever else is in your daily rotation. It’s not that you’re totally opposed to the idea of wearing bright colours, it’s just that black, grey and navy haven’t failed you yet. But neither will blue. A bridge between shining brights and sober shades, blue is the colour the lets you step outside your comfort zone, comfortably. Shades lighter than navy – like chambray, cobalt and petrol blue – all offer a point of difference without turning you into a dartboard for digs, which make them a fail-safe way to shake up your look. It’s especially effective applied to tailoring. Sure, black, grey and navy suits are as much timeless classics as they are obvious choices, but a blue suit is just as easy to wear, yet a lot more interesting.
Moss London Skinny-Fit Chambray Suit
‘Sharp’ is a word rolled out far too often when talking tailoring, but in the case of a skinny-fit suit, there’s no better descriptor for its razor-like lines. If you’ve got the frame to pull one off, this Moss London style would make a welcome addition to your warm-weather collection. A safe bet for a summer wedding, its almost indigo blue colour, chambray textured finish and peak lapel all make you stand out without upstaging the groom. Two-piece was £129. Now £109.65 with voucher code DSGN15.
DKNY Slim-Fit Bright Blue Suit
The main challenge in wearing a cobalt blue suit is not looking like a hoodwinking estate agent with a habit of selling shabby bedsits as ‘cosy’ one-bedrooms. The trick to keeping cobalt classic is in the fit. While a poorly-cut suit in this bold shade will read tacky, a sleek single-breasted take – like this 100 per cent wool style from New York label DKNY – shows you mean business. And not the funny kind. Button it up with a white shirt and tie for a not-so average day at the office, or team it with a fine-gauge roll neck for a Dermot O’Leary-inspired spin on eveningwear. Two-piece was £299. Now £254.15 with voucher code DSGN15.
French Connection Slim-Fit Faded Blue Suit
It’s sometimes best to steer subtle, even with blue. So try swapping bolder shades like cobalt and azure for a more muted hue that won’t wash out your skin tone. Take petrol, for example. Softer than blue’s saturated shades but not as light as a nursery wall, petrol is one of blue’s most versatile faces, which makes it well suited to smart-casual situations. Case in point: this French Connection slim-fit suit, which you can not only wear to a summer wedding as a full three-piece, but also split up to wear the jacket with smart trousers or the trousers with a blazer. It’s a smart-casual one stop shop. Two-piece was £199. Now £169.15 with voucher code DSGN15.
Moss London Skinny-Fit Blue Birdseye Suit
While we’re loathe to use the term ‘peacocking’, sometimes you’ve got to don some look-twice plumage to score the prize. That’s not an excuse to truss yourself up Saturday Night Fever style, mind. Instead, look to pieces that are at once timeless and a talking point – like Moss London’s skinny-fit birdseye suit. Birdseye – a weave made up of small-scale diamonds each with a dot in the centre – strikes the eye as subtle from far away, but makes a statement up close. Set against this suit’s smart shade of Persian blue, it packs a punch that won’t go unnoticed. Two-piece was £129. Now £109.65 with voucher code DSGN15.
