Brown: the toilet tone of geography teachers the world over. Of crap tailoring and flammable seventies fabrics. But when somebody gets it right, brown is also a bona fide menswear shade, especially when it comes to accessories. Exhibit A: Alexander Skarsgård’s brown tie. At the premiere of his younger brother Bill’s latest flick, It, the 41-year-old wore a polarising palette and actually made it a harmonious look. Brown and grey isn’t the most obvious colour combination, but it’s a good one in these proportions. The knitted tie drops both texture and colour into the two-piece without going overboard, proving that brown is a colour that, when used sparingly, can lift staple wardrobe shades (a brown tie also pairs well with a navy suit). Match it with some polished shoes below et voila – a way to wear brown tailoring that’s neither dated nor like a poorly-dressed Bond villain.
