Shoestring pocket squares are usually made of linen, with a white ground and a colored border (thin, like a shoestring). These are great, mainly in one of two scenarios: 1) the rest of your outfit is rather busy and you don’t want to add to the business with the square or 2) the occasion or your mood calls for a simple solution; an important meeting or otherwise somber occasion.
Now the obvious way to match it to your outfit would be to match the border directly to your tie or shirt (upper right) and while this certainly works, it’s not the most exciting solution. By far the more interesting approach is to pick a border color that isn’t found in the rest of the outfit but still complements it (middle right). Sometimes, the stark white of the square can stand out a bit against the rest of the outfit if there is no white in the shirt, so this works best with a plain white shirt or a patterned shirt that also incorporates white.
At Shibumi, we offer a variety of linen squares with colored borders, also available in convenient packs of four; we also have some very nice cotton/linen blends by Carlo Riva – a gorgeous cloth in light blue, blue and red.
No matter what philosophy you follow exactly when selecting your pocket square for the day, one thing is for certain: there is no well-dressed man on earth who doesn’t rely regularly on this beautiful classic.
