A great colour combinations is pink and green. The pink here is pale, too pale perhaps to be portrayed accurately in the photo, but it provides a subtle field of colour for green to play on.
The green tie, from Neapolitan maker Isaia, is a muted, brownish version of that colour. And it is important to note that a darker and more muted shade of any colour will always be smarter. Hence the Isaia tie here produces a smart effect under the blue suit (double-breasted, from Graham Browne) despite the unusual colour combination.
The point about muted colors is something men often get wrong. A dressing book from the thirties, for example, instructs men that pink is fine in a shirt as long as the shade is pale enough to be manly. Many find that last phrase counter-intuitive.
Over the shoulder is a green knitted tie in a much stronger tone. While this would go as well with the suit, the effect would be bolder, less formal, younger and preppier - in line with the preppy tradition of strong colour. Indeed, the place you are most likely to see a combination like this on the high street is in Ralph Lauren, who is worth studying for his strong colour combinations.
