The grey and the good Important men's wear designers are extolling the virtues of black's more subtle, more suitable cousin, writes Simon Brooke.

There's only one thing worse than waking up to a grey day and that's waking up to a grey hair. You might also find yourself described in a pejorative sense as a "grey man" and politicians and chief executives who are underperforming will often find themselves dispatched by men in grey suits.

But sinister or not, men in grey suits - as well as grey shirts, ties and pullovers - are currently in abundance. "Grey is the dominant colour for men," says tailor Roberto Boccoli of Spirito Uomo. "People such as (Ermenegildo) Zegna are producing beautiful fabrics in grey. Loro Piana have a silk cashmere suit fabric that is light, soft and elegant and works very well in grey because it's so subtle."

"I've always got a grey suit in my wardrobe - it goes with everything," says Neil Gordon, an equities trader. "But grey shirts are new to me. I've now got pale grey and dark grey - they're masculine, cool and the ideal colour for contrasts."

"Designers love grey," says Jan Borghardt, head of design at Eton Shirts, which has a range of greys. "The sales team go, 'No, not grey!' But we know it will work." He argues that although grey is a reaction to the rich colours and patterns of recent years, it is anything but dull. "Black and white are stark but grey allows a dialogue," says Borghardt.

"It's a change from black. We've carried it for years and when we don't men always ask for it," says Alison Loehnis, sales and marketing director at Thomas Pink.

Some designers suggest that anxieties about world affairs are, in part, a prompt for the use of grey. It might be sober but it's also "steely" and, of course, the colour of battleships. It also looks manly. Cary Grant and Sean Connery's James Bond both wore understated, well-tailored grey suits, as did President John F. Kennedy. Brooks Brothers has just launched the Fitzgerald suit, which comes in light charcoal grey, as an homage to JFK.

"When I think of grey I think of the wonderful mid-tone salt and pepper melange of a men's suit - the quintessential classic look of Brooks Brothers," says the company's vice-president and creative design director, Simon Kneen.

But grey does allow for a bit of wit and daring, says tailor Timothy Everest, who is finding that more men are asking for the colour. "I've just made a suit for one client with charcoal trousers, a grey mohair waistcoat and a silver grey jacket," he says. "It's part of the return to understated masculinity along with a short back and sides and a good watch."

Dawn Stubbs at John Smedley, says: "Black or navy can be a harsh contrast to other colours, whereas grey always looks good."

The Savile Row Company has introduced three different grey shirts. "Women feel that it can make them look washed out and frumpy, whereas men have long regarded grey as a classic," says the company's Rebecca Horton. In other words, men have kept in mind that other noun often associated with grey: wisdom.