The well-dressed man

When we think of green a numher of things come to mind: the colour of spring and summer; Ireland; tropical jungles; shamrocks and clover leaves; eye-shades; Tyrolean hats; Rohin Hood and the outfits he and his merry men wore; billiard tables and roulette tables; golf greens; grasshoppers; long fairways; and spinach. We think of green as a restful colour—an excellent colour in our homes and decorations; a colour that is particularly soothing to the eye.

When we think of green in terms of men's clothes we are too apt to think of bright greens, forgetting for the moment the many shades of green and that many of those shades are quite appropriate in men's clothes—the neutral shades, excellent ones in men's clothes and accessories. Properly included with these neutral shades of green are the mixtures of green and other colours which even the most prejudiced objector to green owes it to himself to look at, and for those who favour the rather dull but somewhat unusual shades of colour, there are no more unobtrusive tones than some of these green mixtures. Some of these have an almost antique look that is particularly attractive in country suits and top-coats, in soft felt hats, in sweaters and golf hose and in neckties. There is., none of the newness about these shades that is so obvious (and objectionable) in some of the more standard colours.

Fortunately few men wear billiard table green suits (perhaps we remember too vividly the ones we have seen and hastily condemn all greens). Fewer men wear eye-shade green hats (for which we are duly thankful). Some of the greens we see are too difficult for most of us to wear. Some are downright impossible.

But, we find many interesting shades of green in men's hats, thanks to the hat manufacturers who have produced these shades. Several interesting shades of green are obtainable in men's suit materials—grey-greens that will pass the scrutiny of the most discriminating and conservative eye; blue-greens in fine cashmere reefers, sweaters and golf socks; dark, plain greens in lightweight wool socks; greenish tans in overcoat and top-coat materials—all of which are not at all difficult to wear and all of them a decided relief from the ever-with-us greys, blues and browns.

And however interesting the patterns and shades of colour, grey, brown and blue will continue to be drab colours at best. Men's clothes have fallen on evil days by comparison with their splendid colours of only a hundred years ago and before that. In comparison with the modern woman's clothes, men's clothing colours and shades of colour are outnumbered at least by ten to one. Even our men's sports clothes which show some signs of life and colour—and are many times more gay than our business clothes—fail to exhibit much variety of colour. Considering the cost involved the number of times a man changes the colours of his cars, compared with the number of times he changes the colour of his clothes (over a period of years, of course) offers a revealing comparison in distorted values.

To return to green, in the neutral shades green can be worn with grey and blue and it is the obvious complement to brown. An all-green outfit is not advisable, however, any more than an all-grey, all-blue or all-brown outfit. Too much of one colour is monotonous and even if it is well-done the result is too careful, too obvious. Green should be used for contrast. A green hat looks well with a grey suit. Green looks well with any pure shade of grey—the latter is always a neutral colour—and especially with the black-andwhite suit and topcoat materials in fine checks, herringbones, basketweaves, diagonal weaves and the many neat variations of these wellknown patterns. Green socks look well with brown shoes.

Dark green ties look well with dark blue suits. Green hats look well with dark, Navy blue and blue-grey suits.

Green should be used to accent a man's outfit. A bit of green, even if it be only a necktie or a pair of socks, freshens a man's wardrobe and gives it more variety and scope. It makes more colour changes possible. An excellent colour for country clothes, it is equally good in more sombre shades for business clothes. Grey-green worsteds for business suits; grey-green flannel for townand-country suits, odd trousers, and odd jackets; greyand blue-green tweeds for country suits and top-coats; greenish tan covert cloths for town top-coats; greenish tan gabardines for odd sports jackets; green tropical worsteds, green linens, grey-green corduroys for odd trousers and odd jackets; all of these things in neutral greens, light, medium or dark, add a fourth colour to men's wardrobes, and in these drab times, a fourth colour is indeed welcome. Our fourth colour in its neutral mixtures may also be used in quite the opposite way, to soften the effect of a brown that may be a little too obvious or a blue somewhat too bright. Rather dull mixtures of green tone down the brown or blue.

Without green we seem doomed to an unending procession of greys, blues and browns, each successive one little different from the last. Greens at least break the monotony of the procession as they break the monotony of a predominantly grey, blue or brown outfit.