This needs no introduction, because you just can’t be erroneous when you’re raring to walk out in a patterned ensemble. Patterns are always a welcome breather to break the monotony, but if you’re not careful it can create a fashion diarrhoea.

So, to avoid such fashion faux pas, here are 3 rules every man who feels like walking out in a patterned suit should remember.

1. Cardinal Sin 1: Don’t go Bold – No you most certainly don’t need to stand out and be remembered for times to come for all the wrong reasons. Go subtle with your patterns. Delete all rancid thoughts of a bold pinstripe… neutral shades, sleeker patterns like glen plaids, windowpane checks. Know your patterns.
2. Cardinal Sin 2: Pattern on Pattern – You don’t want to become a disturbing walking showpiece of patterns. Yes, you can wear a striped shirt with a striped suit but make sure the proportions of the stripes vary, preferably subtle pinstripes for a suit. An ideal would be solid coloured dress shirts with patterned suits
3. Cardinal Sin 3: This ain’t a Rainbow – You can’t have a blue suit paired with a green or a purple or red. Colour Coordination is a must. Stick to similar and neutral shades for a more formal look. For a dark blue /navy suit white is the best dress shirt to wear. Or else team it up with a pastel blue shirt. For a grey patterned suit, pastels like pink, blue, lilac look good and highlight the skin tones as well.

With winters round the corner… here are some classic winter suits a man must have!

Herringbone, Houndstooth, Windowpane, Prince of Wales Checks, Chalk Stripes and Plaids are popular patterns to dabble with this winter. While plaids look good with tweeds and flannel (popular fabrics for winter along with wool), the rest look good with woolen or cashmere-woolen suits. Winter is also a time to bring out the darkest shades.