COLOURFUL EXTRAS

Male accessories are becoming steadily more colourful, original and interesting. They provide a means for men who are somewhat wary of too much colour in their clothes to try a little more zest in the extras.

Ties have always added colour, almost their raison d'etre now. However, simply adding a garishly patterned tie to lift an otherwise rather dreary suit - some TV pundits are guilty here - just shows the wearer doesn't really have taste. A tie should have some relation to the shirt or suit with which it is worn.

The brilliant tones of the pocket hankies here may pick up on a more subdued shade in a shirt. They should not be colour-matched with a tie but be left to provide their own burst of colour, the tie plainer and more subdued.

Watches have embraced colour , especially at the less pricey level but also now at levels that are certainly not throw-away. Long gone are the days when a watch was the one and only, with a wardrobe of them now providing plenty of time for change.

And though formal hats stay steadfastly neutral, more casual designs, as here, provide a heady mix of colours. There are also colourful straw trilbies that are in favour with young men about town.

Sunglasses have long since stopped being just about the sun. This summer's versions are particularly chunky and macho, but generally with dark frames rather than colours. Watch for more colour next summer.

Top, silk pocket squares, ties and solid silver cuff links, all from Grosvenor www.grosvenorshirts.com

Top watches, Hip Hop styles from a wide colour range, price £24.99 in department stores. Yellow watch above is from Triwa, price £99, on www.triwa.com

Hats, at top a baker boy and lower brimmed style, are from the Kangol range in cloths from Yorkshire, priced from £83 to £104.

Umbrella or parasol, from Drake’s, in a Royal Stuart tartan, with a separate wooden shaft to turn it into a parasol. Price £385. www.drakes-london.com

Left, chunky sunspecs from the AM Eyewear collection designed by Simon Ponnusamy.  These are high grade glasses, priced from £170 to £220. www.infor@eyerespect.com