It takes a certain kind of man…

OUT of interest, I asked a friend if he owned a pink shirt. He didn’t, he said. I asked why and his response was two-fold. First, he said his complexion wouldn’t go quite well with pink and secondly, he said pink was for rich men. He said “it took a certain kind of man” to wear a pink shirt and look good in it. I argued that the likes of rapper Desmond “Stunner” Chideme and Zimbabwe Style Icon Craig Zoowie effortlessly rock pink shirts but neither of them are light skinned per se. I wouldn’t know about either their bank balances but don’t crucify me for saying they probably don’t sign off millions at a time.

My friend’s argument was baseless, I thought. He probably just didn’t like pink and would feed his mind with all sorts of theories about why a pink shirt wouldn’t be any good. Pink is a good colour which transcends both genders pretty well. You certainly don’t have to be rich to wear pink. Maybe your complexion counts but not so much. Pink is one of those colours which will make a woman look at a man twice, just to see if he wore it right. So it does matter what you’ll pair your pink shirt with and what shade of pink it is.

Blush pink is obviously more luxurious than ceres or hot pink. Hot pink could actually be beyond hideous on a dark skinned person – it would become somewhat the battle of the colours –blue-black complexion against a hot pink. To be safe, I’d say go for a more subtle pink, something that would be easy on the eye.You could pair the pink shirt with a number of basic pieces. For instance, a navy blue blazer over a pink shirt and khaki chinos with brown shoes and a matching brown belt would be a smooth business casual look.

A pocket-square would be an excellent addition to the look – women like men who pay attention to detail. A pink shirt would also work pretty well with a black, grey or navy blue suit and a matching tie. With a black suit, black shoes are more ideal while navy blue and grey could swing quite easily with brown shoes. The secret lies in always making sure the shoes and the belt match. This creates a sense of cohesion and obviously looks neater.Pink is such a delicate colour that if handled well, would give you a super clean look.

I see a lot of men pairing their pink with brown and sometimes baby blue. Now, that takes a certain kind of man to pull off! You’d need apples of steel and your confidence levels would have to be at 100, almost bordering on arrogant to do two bright colours at once. But this isn’t quite your everyday look. It would work for a wedding or when the invitation card says “Dress To Impress”.

I saw a picture of a man in a black and white plaid suit with a white shirt, a navy blue tie and a matching pocket-square and was convinced it truly takes a certain kind of man to pull off certain clothing items, a pink shirt included. The man has to be clean and well-groomed. He has to pay delicate attention to detail. The man has to carry some aura, the kind that would leave you convinced he has a seven figure bank balance, even if he doesn’t.