Are you looking to add some flair & panache to your wardrobe. For that effortless style upgrade that firmly elevates you into either relaxed, nonchalant dapper territory, or flat out graduated Sartorialist? What accessory could accomplish such a massive feat with such minimal associated effort?
What Is A Pocket Square?
Pocket Squares, constructed of fabrics such as silk, linen, cotton or wool, are solely used for aesthetic purposes. Unlike handkerchiefs, they are not utilitarian by creation. They are used to adorn one’s breast pocket, whether it be for a suit jacker or blazer, to add color, texture, depth, visual interest and overall pop & flair.
Featuring The Dark Knot’s Mamaroneck Paisley Silk Pocket Square
When Can Pocket Squares Be Worn?
Pocket Square are a highly versatile accessory that can be worn in both casual and formal settings. Whether you’re strutting it with a sports jacket on a casual evening out or date night, or to your next wedding reception or important presentation, a pocket square will instantly elevate your style game.
Pocket Square Fabrics
As mentioned above, pocket squares can come in a range of fabrics, including silk, linen, cotton, wool or even synthetic variants such as polyester.
Silk Pocket Square
Silk Pocket Squares are the perfect addition to your formalwear clothing, as the sheen that accompanies them will instantly infuse your attire with pop and a sense of vibrance – just as silk neckties work exquisitely with suits, so do silk pocket squares!
The downside to silk pocket squares is that they are not as rigid as linen or cotton counterparts, making them less ideal for pointed folds that require your pocket squares to have more structure and rigidity. As such, these pocket squares are best worn with a puff or reverse puff fold.
Given that silk pocket squares are typically worn with a puff fold, they need to be larger in size, as more of the pocket square is utilized in the fold (technically a fold – as one is essentially bunching up his pocket square and inserting it into their breast pocket with a puff fold).
At The Dark Knot, we ensure that are silk pocket squares are sufficiently large at 17 x 17 inches (versus many squares in the market that are less than 15 x 15 inches), ensuring that they remain firmly in place!
Pro Tip: Looking for your attire to really standout? Opt for silk pocket squares with contrasting hand rolled edges, such as those from The Dark Knot! With contrasting hand rolled edges, one can opt to show the main design and hand rolled edges in equal measure, or have the hand rolled edges distinctively stand out, as is the case below!
Please feel free to view The Dark Knot's stunning range of Silk Pocket Squares.
Featuring The Dark Knot's Saratoga Paisley Silk Pocket Square
Cotton Pocket Squares
Cotton Pocket Squares have more rigidity than their silk counterparts, and hence are best used in more traditional, formal settings. Their stiff edges allow for more intricate folds, that show off the pocket squares corners and edges, helping add a sense of panache and sophistication to your ensembles!
Linen Pocket Squares
Linen Pocket Squares fall somewhere between cotton and silk pocket squares. The rigidity of these edges resembles that of cotton, but they are supple enough to look exquisite with a puff fold. Furthermore, these pocket squares will add textural depth and variation to your attire, bring a layer of sophistication that will elevate your ensembles.
Featuring The Dark Knot's Lake George Blue / White / Navy Linen Pocket Square.
Hence, whether you are looking to strut a pocket square with a pointed fold, or wear a puff or reverse puff fold, a linen pocket square will allow you to showcase the full repertoire of folds, given their versatility.
At The Dark Knot, our Linen Pocket Squares stand at 15 x 15 inches, ensuring that they remain sufficiently in space, even after being utilized for a pointed pocket square fold, whether it be a two, three or four point fold!
Please feel free to view The Dark Knot's exquisite range of Linen Pocket Squares.
Please feel free to view The Dark Knot's Comprehensive Pocket Square Guide:
Pocket Square Folds
Puff Fold
Featuring The Dark Knot’s Ellington Paisley Silk Pocket Square
Looking for a smooth, sleek fold that requires minimal effort? Maybe you are just getting into your pocket square game and are seeking to elevate your style, without learning intricate, convoluted folds. The puff fold is the perfect fold for strutting color and pattern of that silk or linen pocket square you’ve been eager to show off!
The beauty of the puff fold is that it isn’t exact and so always throws off a slightly different look, making it appear more natural. The puff fold can work for both formal and casual settings – whether you are wearing it with a tie or sans tie.
- Lay your pocket square face up
- Pinch your pocket square in the center of the fabric and lift it up
- As you elevate your pocket square, run it through your other hand with your thumb and index finger, creating a circle.
- Hold the pocket square about three quarters of the way down.
- Fold the excess fabric behind the front of the pocket square, and adjust it to the size of your jackets breast pocket!
Courtesy of www.realmenrealstyle.com
Edge or Reverse Puff Fold
Featuring The Dark Knot's Waterford Abstract Silk Pocket Square
A variation of the puff fold, the edge or reverse puff fold is definitely my favorite, go to pocket square fold! Showcasing both the pocket square puff, along with its edges, allows you to highlight your pocket square pattern in greater detail, emphasizing both the design and the edges. This is particularly effective if your pocket square comes with contrasting, hand rolled edges.
The Edge or Reverse Puff Fold can be worn across a multitude of settings, and is ideal for an aspiring dapper gentleman that wants to strut his style. This fold creates a bold, layered look that may have people asking you if you are wearing more than one pocket square! The Edge Puff Fold, like the standard puff fold, can be worn with silk, linen or cotton pocket squares – though the effect with a silk pocket square is more pronounced, given the natural sheen associated with silk.
- Lay your pocket square face up.
- Pinch your pocket square in the center of your fabric, and lift it up.
- As you elevate and pull your pocket square up, run it through your other hand, with your thumb & index finger, creating a circle.
- Hold the pocket square approximately half way down.
- Fold the excess fabric up, behind the pocket square, so that the edges are well displayed.
- Adjust the pocket square to the size of your jacket breast pocket accordingly!
Courtesy of www.bedfordandbroome.com
Presidential Square Fold
Your go to business or formal wear fold, The Presidential Pocket Square Fold works perfectly with linen or cotton pocket squares, given that their fabric structure is more rigid than silk – helping to keep pocket square edges in place. The presidential pocket square fold is ideal for business and formal settings:
- Lay the pocket square flat
- Fold the pocket square in half
- Fold the bottom half of the square, up about 70% of the way of the upper half of a square.
Courtesy of www.ties.com
Single Point Fold
Courtesy of www.otaa.com
The single point pocket square fold is a classic fold that is extremely easy to learn and make your pocket square look sophisticated without being too ostentatious.
The single point or peak fold is simple enough to remain business appropriate, but relaxed enough to strut in a more casual setting. Whether you are dressing for daily work, an evening our or date night, the single peak fold will have people doing a double take and then some. The single peak fold can be worn with either a silk, linen or cotton pocket square.
- Lay your pocket square flat
- Fold your pocket square in half once from opposing corners, to form a triangle
- Take one of your points along the longer side of the triangle, and fold along that side near to the middle of the triangle, about two thirds of the way along the length.
- Repeat the last step with the other side, and your ready to place it into your pocket.
Courtesy of www.realmenrealstyle.com
Two Peak Fold
Courtesy of www.ties.com
The Two Peak Pocket Square Fold is a dressier fold with some incremental panache. Hence, this particular fold is a more detailed and aesthetic alternative to the single peak pocket square fold. The Two Peak Pocket Square Fold is traditionally a more formal fold, and is best worn to business meetings or an important presentation – or the next wedding reception that you are attending.
- Lay your pocket square face down in a diamond shape.
- Fold the pocket square in half from top to bottom, but adjust it slightly so that the corners are slightly spaced apart (hence forming the two peaks!).
- Fold the pocket square from the right corner to the left, past the center point.
- Fold the left corner of the pocket square over to the right. Try and make each pocket square fold the same size – and the pocket square approximately the width of your jackets breast pocket.
- Fold any excess fabric around the back of the pocket square.
- Fold the bottom area of the pocket square towards the back, and adjust the pocket square to fit the size of your jacket.
Courtesy of www.ties.com
Three Peak Pocket Square Fold
Courtesy of www.cavani.com
The three peak fold should be part of every gentleman’s pocket square memory bank! The three peak pocket square fold is ideal for making a confident, bold statement, and so is perfect for a gentleman who wants to stand out from the crowd. These three symmetrical peaks make the pocket square fold ideal for formal settings, such as a wedding reception. However, they can be worn to an important meeting or a presentation – just ensure that the pocket square folds are extra crisp!
- Lay the pocket square face down in a diamond shape.
- Fold the pocket square in half from bottom to top.
- Take the bottom right point of the pocket square, and fold it up and towards the left of the first (center peak).
- Fold the left corner of your pocket square up and to the right of the two established peaks, creating a third peak!
- Fold the right corner in towards the middle, just past the center point.
- Bring the left corner in, towards the middle, just past the center point.
- Fold the bottom section of the back. Adjust the pocket square to the size of your breast pocket!
Courtesy of www.ties.com
Four Peak Fold
The grand daddy of your peak folds, the four peak fold should be reserved for the most formal off occasions only. If you are looking to make a bold statement, the four peak fold is the ideal stylistic complement to your attire. Due to the intricate aesthetic of this fold, the four peak fold is best worn with a solid / plain pocket square, allowing the folds to take center stage and not the pocket square’s color or pattern.
The four peak fold is best worn with a more starchy fabric such as linen, as the rigidity of this fabric helps with maintaining the crispness of the various peaks.
- Lay the pocket square flat down, in a diamond shape.
- Fold the bottom of the pocket square up, with the bottom corner slightly to the right, creating two peaks.
- Fold the bottom left corner up to the right of the two peaks created by the previous step, resulting in a third peak!
- Fold the bottom right corner up to the left of the three previously formed peaks, creating a fourth peak!
- Fold the right corner in towards the middle, just past the center point.
- Fold the left corner in towards the middle, just past the center point.
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Fold the bottom of the pocket square up and behind the front, and adjust the pocket square to fit the size of your jacket’s breast pocket!
Courtesy of www.realmenrealstyle.com
How To Wear A Pocket Square With A Blazer Sans Tie
Looking to make an impression on an evening out, in a less formal capacity? A pocket square with a blazer can quickly become your go to look. Simply match or coordinate your pocket square with your shirt color and pattern, and you are bound to make an impression! If pairing your pocket square with a smaller patterned shirt, such as a microcheckered shirt, we advocate opting for larger scaled pocket square pattern, so as to offer sufficient contrast.
Featuring The Dark Knot's Barnstead Paisley Light Pink Silk Pocket Square.
How To Match Pocket Squares
Coordinate Your Tie & Pocket Square
Looking to match pocket squares to your ties? Contrary to conventional wisdom, matching sets of ties and pocket squares are a definite faux pas – strictly avoid buying tie & pocket square sets of identical fabric and pattern. The key to coming across as well dressed and having been deliberate with your attire is to have your tie & pocket square be coordinated, as opposed to strictly matching each other.
A pocket square that complements your tie, as opposed to being of the same fabric and design, can result in an exquisite look, without looking trite and manufactured. Featuring The Dark Knot's Franklin Checkered Linen Pocket Square.
Match Pocket Square Color To Secondary / Tertiary Tie Color
A great rule of thumb when matching pocket squares to your ties is to choose a secondary color of your tie as your dominant pocket square color. Hence, a navy tie with burgundy accents would be perfectly complemented by a burgundy pocket square.
A blue pocket square with pink accents perfectly complements this pink sports coat! Featuring The Dark Knot's Everglades Flamingo Blue / Pink Silk Pocket Square
Embrace Pattern Variation
Pattern variation can go a long way towards optimizing tie & pocket square combinations! If opting for a patterned tie such as a striped, polka dot or geometric foulard tie, it will be perfectly complemented by a solid or larger scale patterned pocket square such as a paisley or floral pattern.
If strutting a solid tie, a patterned pocket square such as a foulard, polka dot or paisley design will pair exquisitely, helping to create a striking look.
Featuring The Dark Knot's Westwood Paisley Silk Pocket Square.
Pro Tip: While pattern variation can really infuse your attire with some much needed flair & pop, the key is to embrace variation in pattern scale. Hence, a larger scaled paisley pocket square will perfectly complement a smaller scaled paisley tie – but a medium scaled polka dot pocket square would like somewhat jarring with a medium scaled foulard tie. Essentially – pattern variation only works if there is variation in scale as well. Pattern variation alone isn’t sufficient enough to create that desired look! Always look for variations in pattern scale – or the spacing inherent to a design.
Utilize A Color Wheel
Color Wheels serve as an incredibly useful, yet underrated tool in ascertaining which colors work best together when building your clothing ensembles. While an entire blog post can be devoted to this, there are certain general rules of thumb that should help you choose tie & pocket square colors that work well in tandem.
Color Wheels are largely divided into two camps - warm & cool colors. Warm colors exhibit vibrance, such as orange & yellow, while cool colors are indicative of a more calming presence, such as blue, purple and green.
The concept of a color wheel helps us harmonize colors - helping create a balanced look. What creates ideal color harmony is a pairing or sequence which pairs warm colors against cool colors. This color pairing helps create visual contrast and a stronger element of pop.
However, balancing warm and cool colors may often seem to be reserved for aspiring dapper gentlemen with bolder sartorial ambitions. With the below examples, we will work progressively from more subtle combinations to bolder combinations.
Monochromatic Color Scheme: As the name implies, is indicative of a color scheme that entails pairing a darker variation of a color along with a lighter variation e.g a navy pocket square with a blue tie, or a burgundy pocket square with a pink tie, or vice versa. Monochromatic color schemes help create an effortless, color coordinated look without taking on any overt fashion risk!
A solid navy tie is perfectly complemented by a lighter blue paisley silk pocket square, creating a seamless, harmonious look that is easy on the eyes! Featuring The Dark Knot’s Coldspring Abstract Silk Pocket Square.
Analogous Color Scheme: An analogous color scheme involves choosing colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel – and typically work best with cooler colors. Analogous color schemes, also known as similar color schemes, help create a feeling of familiarity, and soften the impact typically associated with bolder color combinations. Examples include an olive green pocket square with a blue or navy tie, or a lilac pocket square with a navy tie!
An analogous tie and pocket square combination worked to perfection, with a darker green pocket square perfectly complementing this navy & turquoise geometric foulard patterned silk tie! Analogous color schemes help create a sense of familiarity and harmony. Featuring The Dark Knot’s Granville Paisley Linen Pocket Square & Berkshire Abstract Navy / Turquoise Silk Tie.
Triadic Color Scheme: Looking for some extra oomph? This is where triadic color schemes kick in. A color wheel generally splits colors into warm and cool colors, and so choosing colors along a triangle ensure that you will essentially pick colors that harmonize with regards to a warm and cool contrast.
Perfect examples of a color wheel combination that work to great effect are a burgundy tie with a blue or navy pocket square, or a blue or navy tie with a red or burgundy pocket square! While orange, purple and green also form a triangle, with the exception of using potentially a lilac pocket square with an olive green tie or vice versa, we would refrain from using this triangular combination given its inherent boldness!
Triadic color schemes can often provide for an electric combination, stemming from the colors inherent to such a scheme – balancing warm with cool colors. Here, a navy blue silk pocket square provides the perfect level of contrast to a bold red geometric foulard silk tie. Featuring The Dark Knot’s Oakland Foulard Red / Navy Silk Tie & Bahamas Party Navy Silk Pocket Square!
Complementary Color Scheme: A complementary color scheme entails choosing colors that are directly across each other on the color wheel – thereby creating the strongest contrast between warm and cool colors. Because these colors are diametrically opposed to each other on the color wheel, wearing one color with a muted effect will be far more effective and alluring to the eye, than a flat out contrast e.g a blue tie with a burnt orange pocket square will work exquisitely, whereas a blue tie with a regular orange hue may appear a bit too jarring, even though it does work in terms of strong contrast between warm and cool colors.
Similarly, an olive green tie will work best with a burgundy pocket square, as opposed to undertaking the dreaded Christmas party combination of a red pocket square with a green tie!
Implement Fabric Contrast Between Your Tie & Pocket Square
Few things scream dapper like a well coordinated ensemble from a fabric standpoint. Balancing out a silk tie with a linen or cotton pocket square, given the right occasion, can work exquisitely. While we would advocate for a silk tie and pocket square in more formal settings, the ultimate in formal – the black tie event – warrants a plain white linen or cotton pocket square to perfectly complement that black tie!
With regards to a day time wedding or an evening out with friends, a textured pocket square such as linen or cotton can work exquisitely. Moreover, these pocket squares allow you to wear various types of pointed pocket square folds, which are only feasible with fabrics with a more rigid structure, such as linen or cotton.
Given their more casual nature, cotton & linen pocket squares are particularly suited towards spring / summer months!
Fail Safe Combinations
1. White Pocket Square With or Without A Tie
Looking for the ultimate fail safe combination? A linen or cotton white pocket square, worn with a presidential fold or puff fold, pairs exquisitely with virtually any sports jacket or suit combination without or without tie.
Featuring The Dark Knot's Tuxedo White / Navy Linen Pocket Square.
2. Larger patterned pocket square with a finely striped or microcheckered shirt
A pocket square with a larger scaled pattern will pair perfectly with a finely striped or microcheckered dress shirt, with the larger patterned pocket square popping off exquisitely against the smaller patterned shirt.
And that's a wrap for this one. We hope that you have found this blog post both informative & enjoyable to read!
