The flat, shiny silk tie you wear for formal engagements is going to be a juxtaposition too far here. Shirts in textured fabrics like chambray, denim, flannel, linen and Oxford cloth are smart casual-leaning, and therefore it’s imperative you retain a sense of balance with your tie. They all have a different feel to them, which likewise can prove a means of self-expression when it comes to teaming them with a tie.ĭrake’s Grey Casual Stripe Wool Tie, £135 > Your shirt cloth might be woven in a twill it might be chambray or even a lightweight denim. After all, business shirts don’t only come in a smooth and crisp cotton poplin these days. Such is the emphasis on getting the right colours together, when combining shirts and ties, it’s easy to overlook the appeal of texture in the interplay between the two. This is where the knitted tie really comes into its own, because its texture alone is enough to make it interesting. In fact, solid ties seem to solve myriad problems if dressing in the morning is typically bleary-eyed and rushed – working just as well against patterned shirts as they do plain ones. Pattern isn’t required, it’s the colour that does the talking. un-patterned) colours: a plain tie against a plain shirt. Contrast tends to work best with solid (i.e. Indeed, the main body might actually contrast with the shirt. I love this special opportunity to see the creative, inspiring looks from my fellow over-40 fashionistas! All of you definitely prove that fabulous has no age.This doesn’t mean the main colour of the body of the tie need be similar to that of the main colour of your shirt – more that the colour of some obvious detail in the tie might chime with that of the shirt. It’s time for another issue of the My Refined Style Fashion Over 40 Linkup this Thursday. Feel free to ask me a question in the comments or get in touch with my comment form. Do you have a fashion question or concern? If so, I would love to help you come up with a solution.

I love thinking of creative ways to make all kinds of clothing work for women over 40. It also sits smoothly across the back, so it’s a lot more flattering. You can see that the end result lies flat against the body with adding one inch to the waistline. The last thing we want is extra volume around the waist! So, I came up with a simple trick to tie a button up shirt at the waist without bunching up the excess fabric. However, you typically end up with a heavy roll of material when you try to bunch it up to tie at the waist.

Red button down shirt and tie