When it comes to accessorizing, men have much fewer options than women do. So, when you do pair your outfit with an accessory (or a few), you’ll want to make sure that each aspect comes together to create a cohesive whole.
Watches are a key way to show off your style and personality, so in this blog post we will go over how to match your watch to your outfit like a seasoned expert.
A Look at Different Watch Types
The first order of business is to go over the different types of watches out there. This will help you determine the right watch to wear for any occasion.
Dress watches will usually be the simplest-looking style, with an unadorned face, little to no complications, and a leather band. A plain watch with gold or silver details and monochromatic colors will be easiest to match with different kinds of outfits. Rado offers a variety of dress watch styles, ranging from sleek to traditional, that would make a great accessory for any of your formal event ensembles.
Divers, pilot, and field watches are timepieces that are made with a specific purpose in mind. Because these are utilitarian and typically more rugged in design, they are much less formal than dress watches and should not be worn for formal occasions. Look to Omega’s Seamaster and Speedmaster collections for some examples of these watches.
A casual or sports watch is a watch that can be worn for many kinds of casual events and outings. These timepieces are larger than their dressier counterparts, and will have additional complications to suit the needs of the wearer. There are many overlaps between these two types, but the main difference is that sports watches are made with durability in mind; casual watches like the timepieces from Seiko are simply watches that can be worn in casual settings.
Because they are made to be worn during rigorous activities, sports watches like ones from TAG Heuer will be more resilient than dress or casual watches. And although they are not true dress watches, many casual watch styles may look particularly dressy, especially ones from luxury designers.
General Guidelines on Accessorizing with Your Watch
- Less is more. Put together your entire outfit, and from there determine the kind of watch to wear last. Occasionally, you may find that you don’t need to wear a watch at all!
- Match the formality of the watch to the formality of the occasion (more on that below).
- Match the metal details of your watch to the other metal accessories of your outfit. Belt and shoe buckles, bracelets, rings, and cufflinks are all things to consider when choosing the right watch. The one exception to this rule are wedding rings, since that won’t change.
- If you’re wearing a watch with a leather strap, it should match with the leather details in your outfit. This includes your belt, shoes, bracelets, and necklaces.
- Reserve lighter watch faces for daytime activities, and darker watch faces for nighttime events.
How to Wear Your Watch for Formal and Casual Occasions
Accessorizing for formal and casual occasions have different sets of rules, which we will go over here. Keeping these tips in mind will serve as a good baseline to follow when you’re dressing yourself for any event.
A good guideline to follow: If you will be wearing a jacket, you will probably need to wear a dress watch. In this case, the simpler the watch the better. If you’re not sure what kind of band to wear, match your watch to your shoes. Dress watches go with dress shoes, and casual watches with casual shoes and sneakers.
If your timepiece has a metal band, it’s considered less formal than one with a leather band. Save these styles for more casual affairs. Meanwhile, a leather band can be worn for any occasion.
And that digital or smartwatch you own? Those are strictly for casual occasions only.
With these tips in mind, you should be all set to wear your watches in style!
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Once watch aficionados start to grow their collections, many will have their “go-to” pieces for different occasions. What about you? Do you have styles you automatically reach for when you get dressed for certain events or occasions? Let us know in the comments below!