Are you wondering what are the best clothing color combinations for men?
If so, then you’re in the right place.
This article has all the answers along with an in-depth fashion guide from a personal stylist.
Your appearance directly depends on a successful combination of shades in clothes.
Combining and maneuvering colors will create a complete image and personal style. Therefore, if you want to spice up your look, you should be more careful about the colors you wear.
Fortunately, figuring out which color combinations work well for men is as easy as reading this article.
How Can Men Combine Their Clothing Colors?
The fashion color wheel can be handy for color combinations in clothes. By allowing you to determine which colors are complementary and identical, the color wheel can give a rough idea of which shades work the best.
Complementary colors on the opposite side of the wheel provide balanced contrast. However, they can be too intense, so similar shades are often used instead.
Similar colors are next to each other on the wheel, meaning they have similar tones and work well with each other. It is a triple color scheme of three evenly spaced shades.
They look harmonious in combination, but such a combination can be considered quite bold and somewhat fleshy. While the wheel can help you decide which shades you choose, you shouldn’t rely solely on it.
With experience and knowledge of shades and style, you will learn to perfectly match colors in your wardrobe.
Blue Clothing Color Combinations For Men
Avoid black with blue
If you are wearing blue clothes, you are better off avoiding black as it can make your outfit too dark or rather drag your perfect color scheme/palette down. If you are unsure about your color palette, it is better to use white or beige (light colors) instead for a more harmonious look.
For example, a white shirt refreshes a blue suit and looks classic and sophisticated. This combination always looks good. Soft pinks also work well with blue, while lighter shades of blue create a smooth blend of similar tones. In addition, details in maroon and red will complement the blue.
Blue Almighty
Royal, Azure, Klein, Iris, Majorelle, Oxford Blue, Sky, and French Blue. The number of words used to describe the attractive shade of blue currently popular with men is only limited by the imaginations of the people representing it. In reality, it doesn’t matter what you call it, and the only thing that matters is that you wear it. That’s why we’ve put together a guide to many ways to show you how to wear blue in menswear.
» Related: 10 Best Colors for Southeast Asian Skin Tone (Men’s Style Guide).
Of course, blue, a traditionally masculine color, has always been central in a man’s wardrobe. However, it is a dark blue that predominates most of the time. Blue looks graceful because it is a universal color, not a speckled color, and so dark that it borrows much of the formality we associate with black clothing.
In a nutshell, while navy blue adapts nicely, it’s pretty sensible – royal blue provides a brighter alternative, especially during the warmer months.
The extent to which you want to use royal blue will likely depend on your surroundings as well as your desires. A new watchband will suffice for some men, while others will not be satisfied until they are in a royal blue mohair suit.
Whether you want to add a touch of personality to your classic suits, look for an alternative to black for your next pair of pants. Or, if you want a new casual jacket this season, the answer comes in the form of royal blue.
Blue as an accent
Whether a person is held back by their environment (formal office environment) or doesn’t want to visit a tailor’s parlor, there are many ways in which they can display a simple hint of their personality. The man can be dressed in an ensemble that makes us imagine drinking gin and tonic on an expensive yacht’s deck, fueled by his classic white pants and a navy blue blazer with a royal blue striped shirt and azure strap.
The contrast between an old-style wristwatch and a lively strap is especially pleasing and disrespects the serious world of watchmaking.
Using light blue
Lino leluzzi runs a Milan-based menswear store that does not sell online and does not seem to have ambitions to become a global brand. And yet he is the star of the streetwear style in Italy, and his bold taste in dressmaking has inspired thousands of iGents worldwide (the generation of the tailor-obsessed man whose style appears in Pitti Uomo every season).
Leluzzi is known for wearing a padded double-breasted jacket with shoulders. Of course, he almost always wears a double-breasted blazer with soft shoulders, but this color has a bold blue hue, and it can be seen so often on the streets of Florence that we tend to call it Pitti blue.
The color of the jacket is intense, but Ieluzzi has managed to soften the visual impact with accessories and sunglasses in the same shade, opting for more muted shades of blue in his open-necked shirt and perfectly folded pocket square.
Just ditch your tie when wearing your regular navy blue blazer. Make sure your look is paired with complementary light blue shades to avoid being too monotonous in the blue ensemble.
If Ieluzzi takes a casual approach to tailoring, he is still one of those clearly rooted in traditional tailoring codes. A more modern way is to abandon the old rules when looking for clothes.
It is with this elegant blue suit, which, besides the fact that the jacket and trousers are made of the same fabric, bear little resemblance to perfectly tailored clothes. Thus, it serves as a better inspiration for an Italian summer outfit than an office ensemble. The fabric is very lightweight, reinforced with wrinkles around the fastening point.
Blue for a business trip
Even if a man dresses up in a conservative style, he can still look fabulous by adding a light shade of blue he wears. Suppose a guy is dressed in a navy blue suit. In that case, he might get the impression of a Wall Street shark, but if the suit has soft shoulders, brown boots, slim pants, and hypothetically open-neck shirt, they can still look like they’re heading for a glass of Prosecco and not for a PowerPoint presentation.
So it can be a lesson on how to manage the sometimes difficult office-to-work transition relevant to the men of Florence and the financial districts of the world, especially if you’re a man of the office.
Accessories
A well-designed accessory is a great way to show some mastery in conservative business attire. For example, a wonderful tweed suit is worn over a classic light shirt and wool tie. However, if you keep a wallet or a cardholder with you, the eye would be drawn to a dramatic portfolio crafted from blue lapis lazuli leather that can change the viewer’s perception of the entire outfit.
The key to this is the contrast in the color of the suit and the accessory and the apparent quality and texture contrast of the leather item with the blue suit. Any element you use to grab the viewer’s attention has to stand up to scrutiny.
Keeping it simple
Simone Marchetti, the editor of the fashionable Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, shows us here how to leave the house in a tailored coat, a wool pullover, and loose trousers looking comfortable and sophisticated at the same time. It’s an outfit that sounds like it needs to be worn on a weekend getaway, but Marchetti wears it in a way that (and no doubt) ensures entry to the finest restaurants and most exclusive bars, even in his furry slippers.
The outfit’s success depends on how the three shades of blue are different. So there is contrast, not clash, and the apparent quality of the fabrics. We especially welcome the unadorned simplicity of the exterior.
Grey Clothing Color Combinations For Men
While blue is the all-time ideal color for men, grey works well when the days start to shrink down, and temperatures drop. Grey was a vital shade in any well-dressed man’s wardrobe for a long time.
Just take a look at archival footage of one of the best-dressed actors of all time, Gary Cooper, if you need some persuasion. Grey in menswear looks good on cloudy days and bright and sunny ones.
The fall/winter collections have quite a few different shades of grey, especially brands like Brunello Cucinelli, Bottega Veneta, and Acne Studios.
Where to begin with the grey color for men?
There is a world of difference between the classic garments that inspired The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, which was Sloan Wilson’s treatise on post-war conformity, and how modern designers use color.
The world’s leading stylish men use grey and do it pretty well. For the modern user, I, as a stylist, turned to the streets of London, Paris, and Milan for inspiration.
Soften it!
Simone Marchetti, the fashion editor for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, looks adorable in his grey ensemble. He picked three classic menswear pieces and put them together in a fresh and disarming way. It’s hard to imagine how a man in a double-breasted suit and a printed T-shirt can look sophisticated and relaxed. Still, a raspberry clutch and glasses together with lightweight fabrics convey a modern, lighthearted attitude.
While the two shades of grey are nearly identical, it’s instructive to see how they look complementary, given the contrast in overall textures between the suit’s fabrics and the relaxed print and a bright red accessory.
Choose accents
Grey creates a flat, neutral background, serving as a great base for bright spots of patterns and color. In this case, Thom Browne tricolor ribbons peek out from under the jacket cuffs and match the scarf colors.
A pale shade of grey (the one that Thom Browne himself often wears) goes well with a white shirt, which gives a harsh, minimal look that’s great for the office.
Grey, dark grey, and more grey
Italian fashion insider Alessandro Squarzi (an agent for various labels) often attracts the attention of photographers, and for a good reason. He put on an outfit that oozes “carefree” (sprezzatura) on a cold day. The cotton chinos match the white shirt, contrasting nicely with the three layers of grey wool. It is a dark cardigan, a padded jacket with attractive white buttons, and a coat with a particular combat swing.
Notice how the different shades of grey add richness and three-dimensional quality to what is sometimes considered a relatively flat color. The overall impression is casual and confident, elegant enough for coffee with a client, but comfortable enough for a day out in the city.
Wear it with a print
Since grey is a muted color, it can be a substitution for dense patterns. For example, a raglan-sleeved flannel coat and a blue and white collared blazer with a gripping tape fastening. The bottom layer is a pop art-inspired printed shirt, reminiscent of Bridget Riley’s work, but central to how it fits into the outfit is the low contrast between the black and white shirt, blue and white blazer, and grey coat.
Layering
Before climbers influenced us to wear goose-down jackets, men relied on substantial wool coats to keep them out of the winter chills. This garment is really nifty.
The coat has more wool than the average lamb jacket because apart from the cotton shirt, everything is wool – tie, vest, single-breasted blazer, and structured coat. However, there are details at every turn that update these traditional elements. A thin tie clip, navy buttons on the blazer, a tight coat pocket, and a collar.
Grey for intellectuals
The appeal of grey goes beyond suits and jackets. This modern man changes his mood with a pair of black pleated pants with a certain intensity thanks to the contrast between their color and a pale coat and sweater. A loose-fitting wool turtleneck is chunky enough to keep warm in the coldest weather, while a coat looks elegant.
This man looks like he could have a drink with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett at the Left Bank Café or edit a high-circulation literary magazine.
Brown Color Combinations For Men
On the men’s color wardrobe spectrum, brown is all too often a maligned member of the family: sleek grey suits, sophisticated black coats, and navy blue striped clothing. But natural tones like tan, cinnamon, and sepia are happy companions for hints of brown as part of your look, and they create a certain mood. Brown color in clothes has its nuances, but it still looks subtle and collegiate.
In the world of tailoring, darker shades tend to dominate, but brown is a refreshing antidote. It’s elegant, subdued, but not corporate. Professional athletes Odell Beckham Jr. and JJ Redick have proven their edge in the combination of brown in clothing. Textured fabrics benefit from shades too.
The patina on worn leather or shiny suede surfaces can be lost in black; cognac or tan colors add a certain richness and depth. A man’s winter wardrobe reserve can often be black – like a black shaded coat or a tailored suit – but this softer alternative falls into the sartorial sweet spot.
The overcoat
The history of the overcoat – it evolved as a dress for officers in World War I – brings with it certain stylistic colors, such as epaulettes, wide lapels, and polished brass buttons, the sheen of which is perfectly offset by a deep shade of nutmeg.
Wear this coat neatly buttoned up with elegant trousers to show off your stately look, or dilute your look with light, understated knits.
Old is new and old with new
Plaid, checkerboard, and herringbone patterns — anything that might come under the term heritage — can be a cunning beast of tailoring to master. Add some corduroy pants. Traditional fabrics are beautiful and show British supremacy in the textile industry but bypass the history lesson and bring things into the 21st century.
A bright, minimalist shirt (wear not tucked in), perhaps a neat T-shirt, or a slouchy silhouette. If you love streetwear, wear a cap, and you will be the most stylish.
Pattern play
The natural connotations of brown — autumn leaves, mossy hills — add flavor to outdoor clothing, most effectively in a subtle, evocative pattern. Add Colorado tops and rustic jeans to the look above to complete the effect.
Play with the brown tone by mixing it with similar shades such as latte, hazelnut, and caramel. An entire Starbucks color menu adds a warm element to your outfit.
Sprezzatura styling
Italian designers such as Brunello Cucinelli, Barena, and Canali have long made brown the signature of their collections, teamed up with solid navy blue.
The overall effect is masculine, meaning dark blue is exclusively for the boardroom. Try the sprezzatura style – this is ease and carelessness in clothes.
Retro style
For all the 1970s fashion misfires, this was the decade that tailoring bias was eliminated. The suit your dad wore in the office ten years ago is suddenly ripe for dancing in the disco, with a tapered waist, exaggerated lapels, and shoulders, and a turtleneck instead of a shirt.
Throw in the fact that the shades of tawny and taupe can’t help but succumb to some 1970s hindsight, and combining a brown jacket with polo is a stylistically double punch. Avoid the extra bulk and choose two shades – perhaps cocoa with tan to bring out all the subtleties.
Textured textiles
Quilted, textured jackets are winter perennials because they provide warmth and comfort. Dark brown is the standard here, but it can sometimes feel like a bit of 1980s detective.
And, even more, the darker tone will appear more sophisticated and less mellow. Wear a rustic look with a cotton shirt to look more sophisticated.
Brown pants
While cream chinos are an option for the summer months for warm weather, brown trousers in sturdy fabric are a more mature and sophisticated piece of clothing.
The trick is to avoid the daddy dressing trap and add a warm jersey or knit shirt for winter or a silk one for summer, and you run the risk of looking very stylish.
In Closing
I hope this information on the three best clothing color combinations for men is helpful to you in your daily life and has shed enough light on the stylistic perspective.
P.S. Remember that the style begins from within, so we preach internal class first.
About Iryna
Any pressing questions about color and style?
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Looking forward to seeing you in there.
