Suit colour for a freckled redhead
February 16, 2012 12:20 PM Subscribe
What colour of suit looks best on a ginger?
My husband is a red head. Strawberry blonde-ish with blue eyes, pinkish skin tone and freckles. We are going to order him a custom made suit for an upcoming wedding. We would like to get a lot of wear out of this suit, so we want it to look stellar. What colours/shades would look best on him? I'm thinking black or navy would be dreadful, he's not into brown, so probably some shade of gray. Photos in your responses are much appreciated! Thanks in advance.
My husband is a red head. Strawberry blonde-ish with blue eyes, pinkish skin tone and freckles. We are going to order him a custom made suit for an upcoming wedding. We would like to get a lot of wear out of this suit, so we want it to look stellar. What colours/shades would look best on him? I'm thinking black or navy would be dreadful, he's not into brown, so probably some shade of gray. Photos in your responses are much appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Darkest possible charcoal. Dark navy would also be fine, I don't know why you think it wouldn't.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:26 PM on February 16, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 12:26 PM on February 16, 2012 [5 favorites]
How about a very dark or muted green? My dad (though not a ginger) used to have one and it looked great. Just a little bit interesting. I bet a suit like that would really *suit* a ginger.
posted by Katine at 12:28 PM on February 16, 2012
posted by Katine at 12:28 PM on February 16, 2012
For reference: the Gosling in an olive suit.
posted by Katine at 12:31 PM on February 16, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by Katine at 12:31 PM on February 16, 2012 [5 favorites]
You don't get much more ginger than Prince Harry. Here's a slew of images of him in suits. Lots of navy.
posted by FlamingBore at 12:31 PM on February 16, 2012
posted by FlamingBore at 12:31 PM on February 16, 2012
Best answer: please do not order a green suit if you are looking to get a lot of wear out of it.
blue and orange are complementary colors so i think dark navy would look great, as would a lighter cool grey.
posted by violetk at 12:32 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
blue and orange are complementary colors so i think dark navy would look great, as would a lighter cool grey.
posted by violetk at 12:32 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Light grey with a hint of blue/lavender would be my first thought, but (on preview) supercres is right to point to Conan, who suits this brown jacket (photo looks like it was from a while back) but now favours darker suits with bolder shirts and ties: medium-blue, plum, pink.
Tweed might work, too, but I'm not sure if tweed suits weddings.
posted by holgate at 12:37 PM on February 16, 2012
Tweed might work, too, but I'm not sure if tweed suits weddings.
posted by holgate at 12:37 PM on February 16, 2012
Nthing charcoal, which can be paired with many bolder colors for excitement and fun, or toned down and made more formal with a crisp white shirt and interesting tie.
posted by blurker at 12:48 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by blurker at 12:48 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Blue, as in navy, or a blue grey.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:57 PM on February 16, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by oneirodynia at 12:57 PM on February 16, 2012 [3 favorites]
Hmm, I missed the bit where you said navy would look dreadful. i heartily disagree- Prince Harry is a fine example.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:00 PM on February 16, 2012
posted by oneirodynia at 1:00 PM on February 16, 2012
I think you're wrong about navy; a well cut navy suit will look great on him and he can wear it forever.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:01 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:01 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Navy's really what you're looking for. Perhaps with subtle lighter-blue pinstripes.
posted by General Malaise at 1:03 PM on February 16, 2012
posted by General Malaise at 1:03 PM on February 16, 2012
Nthing charcoal, but navy, black, or a lighter gray are also good options. Here's a pic of strawberry blonde Richard Branson in a dark suit with a pink shirt. My favorite ginger looks great in dark suits with pink or purple accents (shirts or ties). He also looks great in white shirts and blue ties which bring out his eyes, but in warmer colors he lights up like a sunset.
posted by ladypants at 1:23 PM on February 16, 2012
posted by ladypants at 1:23 PM on February 16, 2012
There's all kinds of different shades of both navy and gray (my personal color picks for a classic suit he could wear for a long time to different events). Can you go to a fabric store and hold up different shades of navy and gray to his face and see what flatters? Or can you go to a store and try on different shirts and jackets (you don't have to buy them) to see what colors look good? Because I thought I looked awful in navy until I found the right shade of navy.
Just going off the information you gave us, I would surmise a more muted (grayed as opposed to indigo or purplish) navy, or a gray with warm undertones (as opposed to bluish gray) would be the most flattering.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:33 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Just going off the information you gave us, I would surmise a more muted (grayed as opposed to indigo or purplish) navy, or a gray with warm undertones (as opposed to bluish gray) would be the most flattering.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:33 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Charcoal - it's something he'd get a lot of wear out of.
posted by mleigh at 1:38 PM on February 16, 2012
posted by mleigh at 1:38 PM on February 16, 2012
Navy navy navy navy. If you're going with made to measure you're spending a fair amount of money and will want something classic, so that really means navy or grey to me. I definitely think navy looks good on gingers (cf. Prince Harry above), especially if he has blue yes. Maybe have him try on suits off the rack at a good store (even if the fit isn't great) to get a sense of the shades that will work before you order anything.
The other option is probably a mid-grey -- charcoal might be too harsh and a lighter grey will wash him out.
My sartorialist boyfriend's other advice is if he wants to be able to wear it for a wedding and also get a lot of mileage out of it, get something as plain and well-fitting as possible. Solid colour, nothing trendy. Stripes look too businessy. White shirt, coloured tie.
posted by SoftRain at 2:15 PM on February 16, 2012
The other option is probably a mid-grey -- charcoal might be too harsh and a lighter grey will wash him out.
My sartorialist boyfriend's other advice is if he wants to be able to wear it for a wedding and also get a lot of mileage out of it, get something as plain and well-fitting as possible. Solid colour, nothing trendy. Stripes look too businessy. White shirt, coloured tie.
posted by SoftRain at 2:15 PM on February 16, 2012
Navy looks great on redheads, and if the rest of his clothing tends to be warm/brown, he'll be able to wear a (possibly already in the closet) dark brown belt & shoes with it and not have to invest in a set of black shoes, etc. to match a charcoal suit.
posted by apparently at 2:39 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by apparently at 2:39 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Another vote for navy - here's Robert Redford in one.
(As lovely as that Ryan Gosling pic is, he has completely the wrong coloring for what you're asking. Prince Harry is a great option for looking at pictures.)
posted by jabes at 2:47 PM on February 16, 2012
(As lovely as that Ryan Gosling pic is, he has completely the wrong coloring for what you're asking. Prince Harry is a great option for looking at pictures.)
posted by jabes at 2:47 PM on February 16, 2012
You can't go wrong with navy, it really is timeless. I'm not sure why anyone would think they look dreadful in it.
That being said, I am a fan of the greys and charcoals on the pastyfaced gingers.
My superginger nephew in a grey suit with a blue shirt.
I would like to have had him in something a little darker.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2019152684998&l=f358fd6d11
I would have preferred something a little darker, but the price was right.
posted by Momorama at 3:56 PM on February 16, 2012
That being said, I am a fan of the greys and charcoals on the pastyfaced gingers.
My superginger nephew in a grey suit with a blue shirt.
I would like to have had him in something a little darker.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2019152684998&l=f358fd6d11
I would have preferred something a little darker, but the price was right.
posted by Momorama at 3:56 PM on February 16, 2012
It really depends on how ginger he is, and how fair, and how much he'd like to emphasize or downplay it. Blues will make the orange glow like neon; darks will make the skin superwhite. Avoid any shade of green at all costs unless you're after the leprechaun look.
Really, he couldn't go wrong in grey tweed with just a bit of brown woven in.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:12 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Really, he couldn't go wrong in grey tweed with just a bit of brown woven in.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:12 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think redheads can wear any of the classic suit colors. It's the shirt and tie that you choose that will make or break the look, and for those, I'm sure you already know which colors your husbands wears well in general.
Redheaded (or close), pale, freckled, men looking hot in suits of various colors:
Paul Bettany in Purplish-Navy
Paul Bettany in Charcoal
Damian Lewis in Charcoal
Alan Tudyk rockin True Black with a lavender striped shirt
Jesse Tyler Ferguson in Light-Medium Gray
All that said (or shown), I think that right now a solid charcoal suit, with a slim cut, is likely to be stylish for the longest.
posted by JuliaIglesias at 4:12 PM on February 16, 2012
Redheaded (or close), pale, freckled, men looking hot in suits of various colors:
Paul Bettany in Purplish-Navy
Paul Bettany in Charcoal
Damian Lewis in Charcoal
Alan Tudyk rockin True Black with a lavender striped shirt
Jesse Tyler Ferguson in Light-Medium Gray
All that said (or shown), I think that right now a solid charcoal suit, with a slim cut, is likely to be stylish for the longest.
posted by JuliaIglesias at 4:12 PM on February 16, 2012
Is it too late to vote for a dark charcoal? I think navy suits are... I don't know... dated, dull, so-not-classic, and they never seem to go perfectly with shoe colours. I have no reason to think that, I just do.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 9:59 PM on February 16, 2012
posted by malibustacey9999 at 9:59 PM on February 16, 2012
Navys differ. He probably wants to lean to the green side of navy, rather than the purple side iykwim.
Otherwise tan is a good neutral on many redheads. And good for the summer.
posted by plonkee at 1:04 AM on February 17, 2012
Otherwise tan is a good neutral on many redheads. And good for the summer.
posted by plonkee at 1:04 AM on February 17, 2012
I think navy suits are... I don't know... dated, dull, so-not-classic, and they never seem to go perfectly with shoe colours. I have no reason to think that, I just do.
it really isn't about the color that makes a suit look dated or modern—it's all about the cut. period.
posted by violetk at 9:59 AM on February 17, 2012
it really isn't about the color that makes a suit look dated or modern—it's all about the cut. period.
posted by violetk at 9:59 AM on February 17, 2012
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posted by supercres at 12:24 PM on February 16, 2012 [1 favorite]