Outfit-Building Through Color-Linking: PS by Paul Smith Henley

PS by Paul Smith Men's Henley'Tis true, I talk about henleys a lot in general as smart layering pieces, but this number ($310) from PS by Paul Smith is currently at the top of my favorites list. Here, the devil is in the details: the marled wool and red button thread stitching are just the right unexpected touches to make its wearer stand out without being party-pants obnoxious. I got this piece for a client during Mr. Porter's Friend's and Family sale a few weeks back, and in person the red button hole thread is much more visible than in the image above. The cool thing about this detail is that it allows you to wear red elsewhere in your outfit as a way of pulling an entire look together. With that in mind, here are some ideas of how to style it:Under a sport coat...GANT by Michael Bastian Prince of Wales sport coatOpt for a neutral-colored fabric with a thin red line running through it as part of the pattern like this GANT by Michael Bastian sport coat. (Red elbow patches optional.)Under a sweater...Polo Ralph Lauren men's cashmere sweaterBecause both red references are on your top half, wearing a red sweater like this one above, from Polo Ralph Lauren, is a bit of a no-brainer. Bonus: if you want to tie in your bottom half, add socks that have some red in them like those from Corgi below. Note that solid red socks would be overkill.Corgi men's socks Under a sport shirt...Bonobos men's check sport shirtAnother somewhat straightforward choice, throw it on under a sport shirt that has red in its pattern, like this one from Bonobos, as an alternative to a v- or crewneck t-shirt.With red footwear...Red men's deck shoesRed deck shoes like these from Polo Ralph Lauren and Shoo respectively are as bold as I'd suggest you go for pulling in red elsewhere in your outfit. Of course, bright red shoes are not for everyone, so as always, make sure to stick with what suits your personality when choosing your look.With red laces...Diemme Roccia Vet men's bootsWearing red laces like those in these Diemme boots is a more low key way of bringing your upstairs and downstairs together.Using the red button thread stitching on this henley as above is just one example of how to subtly tie in any color in one part of your outfit with the same color elsewhere. You can do this with almost any clothing detail. As always, I welcome your questions and comments about how to accomplish this.