Understanding how to choose a tie that co-ordinates with the rest of your outfit is an art. And like any art, it takes practice before knowing how to choose a tie for the day. Three elements to keep in mind when choosing a tie are pattern, texture, and colour.

The formality of your outfit can be greatly influenced by your choice of tie. That being said, it doesn't make sense to pair a casual tweed jacket with a satin tie. That looks silly. Solid ties and ties with small patterns are ideal for urban, more conservative outfits. You can choose a tie with larger, bold stripes or a paisley pattern to pair with summer jackets and flannels. Make sure that all patterns you mix are of different scales -- so a small check on a shirt should be paired with wide stripes on your tie.

It is important when choosing a tie to keep the texture of your tie in harmony with the texture of your jacket. Smoothly-textured ties should be paired with smooth jackets, and roughly-textured ties should be paired with rough jackets. So, don't wear a satin tie with a tweed jacket and wear a linen jacket when you have a cotton jacket.

This is the bit that, ironically, most people are aware of and still get wrong when choosing a tie. The colour of your tie, ideally, should echo and contrast with your shirt. For example, a light blue shirt is well-paired with a tie featuring gold and navy blue stripes -- the navy blue echoes the shirt and the gold contrasts with it.

If you're unsure of what shirt to wear with a tie or vice versa, a reliable (and boring) strategy is simply to choose a tie coloured a darker tone of the shirt. For example, a navy blue with a light blue shirt. Always make sure the tie is darker than the shirt. If you're going to do this, try and wear something else that stands out or you will look dull.

Better results can be achieved by choosing a tie that combines multiple colours. For example, I have a gold and red striped tie featuring small horse figures in navy blue that I often wear with a light blue shirt -- the red and gold contrast with the shirt while the blue echoes it.

As you become more capable of spotting stylish combinations of shirt and tie, you can explore more interesting options, such as varying patterns and textures with complementary hues that don't include the colour of the shirt in the tie. Something that complicated sounds difficult to pull off, but once you have an eye for it, it becomes second nature.