When shopping with my DH for a suit yesterday, the manager of Men's Wearhouse made this statement: "Any color that goes with charcoal gray will automatically go with black." I didn't disagree with him because there was no point in getting into a discussion about color analysis, but my take on it is that charcoal gray is a softer color, while black is a strong color. There are softer colors that will look better when paired with charcoal gray instead of with black.

There's also the issue of warm vs. cool. The manager pulled out a few shirts and ties that were for someone with obvious warm coloring, and tried to sell us on it. I was glad that my DH didn't like them at all, and that he trusted me on the colors I chose. I liked those colors, but not on him because of his obvious winter coloring. I chose a light blue shirt, a white shirt, and a tie that works with both. All items are cool colors and go with both suits. However, I was thinking about the shirts my DH already owns (a blush pink one, for example) that will look much better with the charcoal gray suit. My DH was not initially interested in buying 2 suits, but I talked him into it.