Almost any time that you’re going to match an accessory with a specific set of clothing, you’ll need choices among the accessories. Think of it this way: If you have one set of earrings, it’s going to be impossible to coordinate with your dress. When you have a minimum of two sets of earrings, suddenly you have a choice. You can apply this to ladies’ watches as well.

On the men’s watch side of the question, it’s equally important to have choices if you’re going to coordinate this item with outfits for specific settings.

To accomplish your goal, whether you’re male or female, you’ll need a minimum of three different watches – sport, casual, dress/formal. Now you’re ready to match your timepieces with the wardrobe that suits the occasion. The key is to have watches in good working condition with clean appearance. This doesn’t mean that you have to invest in the most expensive watch for any of the events or locations you’ll be travelling to, a guideline applied to timepieces for men as well as for ladies’ watches.

Start with the Basics

The Sport Watch: Take each of the watches in hand and hold them against the clothing. When you’re going out to an event or gathering for which athletic shorts, sweats, team sport shirts, and the like are appropriate, hold the sport watch against the shirt, shorts, or both. You’ll be able to see immediately if this is the right choice. If your watch and your apparel are true to their categories, your choice will be rather easy. This category might be one in which the timepiece for women is similar to or the same as men’s watches.

The Casual Watch: Do the same for what you consider a casual watch. Separating the sport watch from the casual watch will be simple if you stick to this guideline: A sport watch has a heavier band, usually made of a composite or rubber-like material. A casual watch will usually have a leather band or a canvas band, for example. Your casual watch may have hands to indicate time, as opposed to the digital face of a sport watch. However, this is not the final word in separating the two, especially for the men’s watch.

The Dress Watch: When you take this same action with your dress watch, you’ll see if the silver or gold on the band and accents complements the formal clothing. This watch should also have a glass face with hands to show time. But it’s probably best to have a “formal” watch with a face relatively clean of anything other than the hands and numbers. You might even prefer a watch on which thin lines or minimal marks replace the numbers. These are often indicative of classic men’s watches.

It’s in the Details

You’ve read about some of the important details when you’re matching the men’s watch with sport clothing, casual clothes, or dress attire. You’ve also received some advice on how to choose when matching ladies’ watches. But there are a handful of other guidelines that you might follow. One of the most important involves the watch strap.

For example, classic men’s watches in the casual category will generally have a black, brown, or tan leather strap. You can use this as a guide to help select shoes as well as for general clothes matching. Some of the finest men’s watches for formal dress have metal bands of silver or gold and the face often features Roman numerals or simple stick indices.