What Color Shirt Goes With Blue Pants? (Outfit Ideas)

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From the deep navy of formal trousers to the casual charm of denim, the spectrum of blue offers endless possibilities for crafting distinctive and stylish looks. However, achieving the perfect look requires choosing the right color shirt, raising the question: what color shirt goes with blue pants?

The choice of shirt hue can significantly impact the overall look, striking a balance between sophistication and casual flair. Whether you’re aiming for a classic and timeless appeal or a more contemporary and bold statement, I’ve selected nine shades that, in my view, coordinate beautifully with blue trousers.

What Color Shirt Goes With Blue Pants?

The shirt colors that best complement blue pants are burgundy, navy, blue, grey, white, pink, green, brown, and beige.

Pairing a purple shirt with blue pants also offers a stylish ensemble with complementary shades, featuring dark and light purple tones alongside various blues. While not elaborating on this combination in detail here, rest assured that it’s an excellent choice.

Whether your blue pants are darker or lighter, they still pair well with a wide range of shirt colors. Let’s take a closer look at each shirt color individually and find out what color shirt goes with blue pants.

Blue Pants With Burgundy Shirt

Burgundy stands out as one of my top choices to pair with blue pants if not my absolute favorite. The harmonious blend of blue and red hues, especially within the rich spectrum of burgundy, creates a sophisticated and polished look. Burgundy suits fair, medium, olive, and brown skin tones very well.

For dark blue pants, select a dark burgundy shirt for a stylish appearance, perfect for a date night. If your pants are in lighter shades of blue, go for more vibrant burgundy or maroon tones to maintain a casual and light ensemble.

Choose a navy necktie for contrast that complements your shirt, paired with a navy watch (remember the details are the key to a sophisticated look). For shoes and a belt, opt for either burgundy for a sophisticated look or brown for a more casual yet smart vibe.

Blue Pants With Navy Shirt

Pairing navy pants with a light blue shirt is a classic and timeless choice in men’s fashion. While a light blue pair of trousers might not achieve the same level of perfection when blended with a navy shirt, the combination is still acceptable and looks good enough to be a stylish option. Navy is great if you have pale, fair, olive, or brown skin tones. A navy blazer is also a must with blue pants.

The ideal pairing for a navy shirt is royal blue pants (at least my choice). Royal blue, being a more saturated version of blue, complements the darker navy blue shirt well. To enhance the contrast, consider adding a lighter jacket to complete the ensemble.

A navy shirt pairs well with dark blue pants, especially when complemented by dark brown shoes and a matching belt, which is the optimal color choice. To introduce contrast to the various blue tones, consider wearing a light pink tie, which is particularly effective when working with dark shades of blue.

Blue Pants With Blue Shirt

All shades of blue work well together. Typically, opt for a darker shade for the shirt when pairing it with light blue pants and vice versa. If both the shirt and pants feature dark or light blues, ensure they exhibit distinct shades to maintain visual interest.

Maintain a cohesive look by incorporating blue and navy tones or introducing hints of brown to your ensemble. Optimal choices include pairing blue pants with brown shoes, a brown belt, and a brown leather watch. For a finishing touch, select a navy tie if the shirt is light blue, or opt for a light pink tie if the shirt is dark blue.

Blue Pants With Grey Shirt

Pairing a grey shirt with blue pants may be considered conservative by some, but I find it to be a stylish and professional choice suitable for various occasions, including professional business meetings or a smart casual look. Grey particularly complements skin tones that are black, olive, or medium.

A light grey shirt pairs wonderfully with dark blue pants, but surprisingly, it also looks great with light blue trousers, creating an ideal look for a day out in spring or summer. While a dark grey or charcoal shirt complements light blue pants, my personal preference leans towards combining them with dark blue or royal blue slacks.

Given the grey shirt in your outfit, I suggest maintaining a monochromatic look with all grey elements. Opt for a charcoal necktie, dark grey dress shoes, a matching belt, and a grey, silver, or even navy watch. While brown shoes are a classic choice with blue, the all-grey ensemble offers a sophisticated alternative.

Blue Pants With White Shirt

Pairing a white shirt with blue pants is another classic combination in men’s fashion. A white shirt pairs well with dark blue slacks for a winter ensemble or can be matched with light blue trousers for a summer gathering. The timeless combination of white and blue is widely appreciated by many men.

During spring and summer, complement your light blue pants with beige or brown loafers, a brown belt, and skip the necktie, accentuating the style with aviator sunglasses. In autumn or winter, opt for grey or brown dress shoes, a matching belt, a navy or royal blue necktie, and complete the look with a brown watch.

Blue Pants With Pink Shirt

While pink might not be everyone’s preference, a pink shirt pairs exceptionally well with blue trousers and also with blue suits, exuding a stylish and confident vibe. It’s especially flattering for individuals with brown or black skin tones.

Regardless of the chosen blue shade, a light pink shirt stands out as the optimal choice. It provides a perfect contrast with dark blue or royal blue pants and exudes elegance when paired with light blue pants, creating a stunning spring or summer ensemble. While dark shades of pink also complement blue slacks, the overall preference leans toward the sophisticated appeal of light pink.

Pair a navy tie with a light pink shirt and blue pants for an ideal contrast. Choose between brown or burgundy shoes and a matching belt, depending on the desired style—sophisticated or smart casual. While a navy watch is a great choice, a brown or burgundy one can also complement the ensemble effectively.

Blue Pants With Green Shirt

Green, being an analogous color to blue, makes pairing a green shirt with blue pants an excellent choice. The specific shade of green matters less, as all shades complement blue well. Green color harmonizes best with pale, fair, and medium skin tones.

Opt for a dark green shirt with dark blue pants for a subtle look, and with light blue slacks for a more significant contrast. Olive, sage, forest, or army greens also pair well with dark blue or royal blue slacks. Olive is particularly suitable for light blue pants. Choose darker greens in winter and lighter greens in summer to complement the season.

Green and blue paired together give off a casual vibe. You can skip the necktie and go for a pair of cool sunglasses and classic green sneakers, along with a green belt (or brown if you don’t have a green one). Opt for a brown or navy watch to complement the overall color scheme of the outfit.

Blue Pants With Brown Shirt

While not the most traditional choice, a brown shirt paired with blue pants embodies a modern, fashion-forward look, making a statement for the contemporary man. If you have a pale or fair skin tone, brown shirts are more flattering for your complexion.

While pairing a dark brown shirt with light blue pants isn’t my favorite choice, it looks acceptable. For a better combination, opt for dark blue pants and reserve the light blue ones for pastel tones of brown. There’s a certain appeal to the combination of light brown with light blue that I find captivating and aesthetically pleasing.

While you could opt for navy dress shoes, I’d recommend dark brown shoes for a more cohesive brown-blue-brown ensemble, creating a stronger contrast. Complete the look with a brown belt, a navy watch, and perhaps a pair of sunglasses for added style.

Blue Pants With Beige Shirt

Beige, resembling a greyish-tan tone, complements well with light blue slacks, creating an ideal ensemble for a casual summer day, especially when you have a tan. A beige shirt also pairs well with royal blue trousers and is an acceptable match for darker blue shades.

To maintain a consistent pastel theme, opt for beige shoes, a brown belt, and a brown watch. If you choose to wear a necktie, make a bold statement with a burgundy one to enhance the contrast between the shirt and tie.

How To Match A Shirt With Blue Pants?

When picking a shirt to pair with your blue pants, it’s important to consider factors like color coordination, contrast, the use of patterns, how the shirt complements your skin tone, and dressing appropriately for the specific occasion.

Colors

When deciding on the ideal shirt color to complement your blue slacks, it’s helpful to consider the analogous colors of blue, which are the colors adjacent to blue on the color wheel and share similar undertones, creating a harmonious effect, making green or purple shirts great options in this context.

Orange is the complementary color of blue, providing the highest level of contrast as they sit opposite each other on the color wheel. You can also create a monochromatic look with different shades of blue in your shirt and pants.

Contrast And Patterns

Many men, myself included, often seek contrast by pairing blue pants with a shirt of either light or dark color, choosing a dark color shirt for light blue slacks and a light color shirt for dark blue trousers, creating a visually striking and balanced ensemble.

When opting for a patterned shirt with your blue pants, it’s essential to pair it with plain slacks, and vice versa, if you’re wearing patterned blue trousers, opt for a non-patterned shirt to maintain a balanced ensemble. Also, if your blue patterned pants include a shade like green, a plain green dress shirt would emphasize the color connection within your outfit.

Skin Tone

When selecting a shirt to pair with your blue trousers, it’s crucial to consider not only the best color combinations for your overall look but also how the chosen colors harmonize with your skin tone, as the right colors can accentuate your natural features and complement your undertone, ultimately enhancing your appearance.

No need to worry if your skin tone doesn’t precisely match the ones in the image. You can simply choose the skin tone that you feel is most compatible with yours and select the colors that you believe look best (ensure that those colors look good with your blue pants).

Dress For The Occasion

While navy leans towards formality, blue is versatile for casual, smart casual, and business casual settings. The crucial aspect is selecting a shirt color that complements blue pants, considering the event’s formality, be it formal or casual.