{Such A} All tied up and the first Redkat Contest!

Recently I was questioned by a male friend about the right way for a man to coordinate a tie with a dress shirt. My first answer was, "Easy. Solid shirt and a patterned tie. End of story." My friend was unimpressed with my answer, which spurred me to wonder...could there actually be more to it than that? Happily (and you'll see why at the end of this post) I was half-wrong with my simple answer. Yes, solid/print is a win but what about stripes, plaids, prints? Here are a few basic rules I've crafted based on my research.

SOLID SHIRTS
• White shirt -anything can go with a white shirt. It's the same idea as a blank canvas...any color of tie will work.
• Color match - if you have a blue shirt, go for a navy tie, yellow shirt, darker yellow tie -- you get the idea. If you go tonal, you can't go wrong.
• Solid shirt/Print tie - think about the complimentary colors that you know of - a blue shirt with a crimson tie, a creme shirt with a brown tie, a pink shirt with a red, blue or yellow tie. If you aren't sure what are complimentary colors, try taking a look at color wheel.

PRINT SHIRTS
Now we get into what I used to think was the complicated matching, with print shirts and print ties. But really, it's a simple process.
• Striped shirt - stand back from the shirt and determine what color is the main color. This is the color that needs to be most prevalent in your patterned tie. You also need to make sure your pattern works with stripes. If you happen to have a striped tie with a striped shirt, follow the ratio of 2:1 and go for a tie that has stripes twice the width of your shirt stripes.
• Plaid shirt - same as with a striped shirt, you will need to step back and evaluate which color is the main color in the shirt. You'll want to pick a tie with this same prevalent color. If you choose a pattern of dots or boxes for your tie, you want to make sure that they are larger than the check pattern on the shirt.

I'm sure you're wondering why I'm spending an inordinate amount of time talking about men's ties. I am holding my first blog contest, and the topic is ties! See, I told you there was a happy reason for this post.

Kwame Jackson, former contestant from season one of the Apprentice has designed a line of men's neckties called Krimson By Kwame. Polkadots, paisley and gorgeous stripes -- these ties are serious neck-candy for men. Kwame will be in Cincinnati to show off his ties as part of a trunk show on April 23rd with local clothier Corwyn Apparel.



But, if you'd rather just "do lunch" with Kwame, then enter my contest. Simply visit Krimson by Kwame and pick your favorite tie. Vote using the comments at the bottom of the post. Include the name of the tie and the reason why it's your fave. The winner of the contest will meet and have lunch with Kwame, as well as be invited to the trunk show on April 23rd at the Banker's Club.

My fave? The San Francisco. Why? It's an elegant dark red paisley tie that I would absolutely figure out a way to wear...I'm thinking maybe as a sash to dress up a simple shift? In any case, it's my favorite Krimson by Kwame tie -- what's yours? Contest ends on April 17th!