5 Styles Of Watches For Any Outfit

People have different takes on wristwatches. To some people, they are invaluable practical accessories with a clear function. To others, watches serve an aesthetic purpose. Many people don’t wear watches at all and use phones to check the time. But what’s hard to argue is that a watch is a small detail that can go a long way style-wise. An appropriate watch will tie your outfit together and make it look complete and more thought-out.

So how do you choose that appropriate watch? We are looking at 5 watch styles and what type of outfits they complement best.

Dress Watch

A dress watch is an elegant watch style that, as the name suggests, you use to complement a suit and tie and wear to important business meetings, dates, and special occasions. A dress watch is elegant in its simplicity. These are slim timepieces with a clear-cut, plain look and no complications.

The strap is usually made from leather. A straight-forward leather strap watch is, perhaps, the most universal style. It won’t look out of place with business casual or just casual combinations.

That said, a smart-looking watch with a metallic bracelet in gold or silver finishing can also be a dress watch, especially if you like to stand out and dress up with a little bit more flair.

A Leather Strap Dress Watch In Smart Looks

One of the advantages of a leather strap watch is that it is lightweight on your wrist and feels very comfortable to your skin getting softer as it ages. In terms of style, a good-looking, quality leather strap timepiece is arguably the best dress watch to complement a business look.

A Metal Strap Dress Watch In Smart Looks

Durable and easy to keep clean, metal band watches somehow look more luxurious and expensive even if they aren't really.

What Color Dress Watch Should I Get?

The color of the watch strap traditionally coordinates with the color of your shoes and belt.

If you have black dress shoes and belt, you should look for a dress watch with a black leather strap.

Similarly, if your dress shoes and belt are a shade of brown, the strap on your timepiece should be a shade of brown as well (they needn’t be identical though).

If you’re looking for a timepiece with a metal bracelet and choosing between gold and silver finishing, either way is fine. If you like things matchy-matchy however, it might help to look at the color buckle on your belt and the metal fittings on your dress shoes, if there are any. Depending on this, you can choose from gold or silver tone watches to complement your dressy looks. Alternatively, you can opt for the bracelet that is made of both gold and silver tone metal links.

Leather Strap Beater Watch

As opposed to a dress watch, which is reserved for special events and thus tends to be more expensive, a beater watch is meant to be worn on a daily basis. The choice of a beater watch is very subjective. It can be a cheap mass-market watch or an expensive luxury timepiece that an owner chooses to wear every day. The watchband on a beater can be any kind of material you prefer: leather, metal, rubber, or textile. It can have the functions you need on a daily basis as well as have no complications at all.

In this article, we look at a leather strap watch as arguably the most versatile beater that goes with almost any everyday look from business casual to relaxed casual.

A Leather Strap Beater Watch In Smart Casual Looks

A leather band watch is a great option for your everyday blazer/trouser office combinations.

A Leather Strap Beater Watch In Casual Looks

And the leather watch looks equally good with more relaxed outfits if you spend most of your time in a casual setting.

What Color Leather Beater Watch Should I Get?

Like with the dress watch, the color of your beater watch will depend on your current wardrobe. If your wardrobe is dominated by black pants, footwear and belts, then a black leather watch is the way to go. Otherwise, if you have most of those items in a shade of brown, then a watch in brown, tan or tobacco is best. You can, of course, get a beater watch in a totally different color, for instance olive or navy, but those will be less versatile.

Canvas Strap Watch

A watch with a fabric (nylon or canvas) strap is perfect for casual, laid-back looks. Woven textile straps are lightweight and durable. They are especially great for summer as a fabric strap doesn’t cause any sweat, dries quickly and doesn’t stick to the wrist. One-piece canvas straps, called NATO straps, are also secure on the wrist.

A Canvas Strap Watch In Casual Looks

As you can see, a canvas watch looks firmly in place within casual warm-weather looks.

A Canvas Strap Watch In Smart Casual Looks

Although it is most commonly worn in casual settings, a canvas strap watch is versatile enough to finish off some smarter ensembles as well. It looks fine with blazer/trouser combinations and thus can easily become your beater watch to complement your everyday office looks.

What Color Canvas Watch Should I Get?

Given that canvas watch straps aren’t that expensive, you can buy several colors to complement your casual looks depending on the pants, jackets or even backpacks that you wear. Popular color choices for canvas strap watches are navy, olive, grey and striped.

Metal Strap Watch

If you lean towards urban street style, perhaps you should consider a metal strap watch. Inspired by hip hop culture, urban menswear looks are often accessorised with jewellery. A metal strap watch in gold or silver tone finishing is a great alternative to chains and rings, when full-on jewellery is too much but you still want to get that contemporary vibe going.

A Metal Strap Watch In Urban Looks

A metal strap watch was just what it needed to finish off these urban looks to perfection.

Rubber Strap Watch

The advantages of rubber watches are hard to deny. They are practical, more durable and usually less expensive. A rugged rubber watch is most appropriate for outdoor or technical looks. It is also a popular choice among people who work for the emergency services. If you just want a durable watch for everyday casual wear, consider slimmer styles made of silicone, which is softer than rubber. Beware of cheap rubber wristbands that can give you a rash.

A Rubber Watch For Outdoor, Sports, And Technical Looks

A rubber watch looks perfect in these contemporary technical combinations.

What Color Rubber Watch Should I Get

When it comes to rubber strap watches, there are lots of color options to choose from - from bright neon colors to traditional black and army green. If you’re not looking for anything flashy, you can opt for a watch in black, olive green or dark grey. Otherwise, you can choose the color watch to complement your sportswear or gear, for instance, if it has bright colored reflective elements.

Do you like the featured outfits? These are some of the most stylish and popular combinations out there. But you can also filter out the outfits you see to match your own clothes.

Add some of your clothes to your digital wardrobe on Lookastic, and we'll show you outfits you can put together. Click here to get started .

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