The Pocket Square Is Not Dead. You're Just Folding It Wrong.
Somewhere between the rigid presidential fold of your grandfather's era and the overwrought multi-point arrangements favored by menswear blogs, the pocket square lost its way. Men either abandoned it entirely or treated it like origami, turning a simple accent into a screaming centerpiece. The pocket square is alive and well. The problem is execution.
The most versatile fold is the puff. Take a silk or linen square, pinch it loosely at the center, gather the fabric into a soft cylinder, and tuck it into the breast pocket with the gathered end down. Adjust until roughly one inch of billowing fabric is visible. This takes five seconds and looks effortlessly elegant.
The straight fold, or TV fold, works for conservative settings. Fold the square into a neat rectangle and insert it so a clean horizontal line of fabric peeks above the pocket. Use this with a white linen square in business settings where anything more expressive might distract. Its simplicity is its virtue.
Fabric dictates the fold. Silk, with its slippery drape, produces beautiful puffs but sloppy straight folds. Linen, with its crisp body, holds a straight fold perfectly but can look stiff when puffed. Wool and cashmere squares, from makers like Drake's and Rubinacci, offer a textured middle ground that works with either technique.
Color coordination follows a simple rule: complement, do not match. A navy tie with a pocket square in cream, pale blue, or soft burgundy creates harmony. A navy tie with a navy pocket square creates monotony. The square should exist in the same color family as your outfit but contribute something the tie does not.
Avoid the common mistakes that kill the pocket square. Never fold it into more than three points unless you are a magician. Never let it tower above the breast pocket. Never match it identically to your tie, especially not from a matching set. And never, ever use a pre-folded insert. These plastic-backed shortcuts look exactly as artificial as they are. For pocket square tutorials and curated selections, https://www.drakes.com offers exemplary taste alongside practical styling advice.
Tuck a white linen square into your blazer tomorrow morning using the puff fold. It adds one minute to your routine and transforms the jacket from functional to finished. That is not fussiness. That is the quiet confidence of a man who cares about the details.
