What Color Shirt With A Navy Suit? (Outfit Ideas)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
Choosing the right shirt color to pair with a navy suit can make a significant impact on your overall look. Whether you’re dressing for a business meeting, a formal event, or a casual outing, selecting the ideal shirt color is key to creating a polished and cohesive ensemble. So, let me help you decide what color shirt with a navy suit is right for you.
What Color Shirt With A Navy Suit?
The shirt colors that best complement navy suits are white, pink, blue, grey, purple, and green.
Certainly, the specific shade of your navy suit can indeed influence the ideal shirt color. Shirt colors can vary in how they pair with different shades of navy, but some colors consistently complement any navy shade.
Navy Suit With A White Shirt
A white shirt is an essential piece in every man’s wardrobe due to its versatility. Whether you’re pairing it with navy pants, navy shorts, or a navy suit, it always looks sharp. I love a white shirt because of its neutral tone that complements any shade of navy, making it a reliable and stylish choice for various outfits.
When it comes to ties, you can opt for a subtle look with a navy tie or make a bolder statement with a burgundy one. Brown shoes are the top choice for pairing with a navy suit, complemented by a matching belt, but navy dress shoes are also an excellent alternative. Complete the ensemble with a watch in navy, brown, or burgundy for a polished finish.
Navy Suit With A Pink Shirt
It’s no secret that many men have been hesitant to wear pink, but fortunately, this trend is changing, and pink shirts are becoming increasingly popular. While I may not be a huge fan of bright pinks, I firmly believe that a light pink shirt is an essential addition to any man’s wardrobe. Pink shirts are also great if you have a darker skin tone. or decide to wear a white suit.
When pairing with a navy suit, my go-to choice is a light pink shirt as it complements any shade of navy perfectly. In my opinion, the lighter the pink, the better. That said, a darker pink shirt can also work well if that’s your preference. However, I would steer clear of bright pink shirts with a navy suit, as they tend to draw too much attention away from the overall outfit.
I love mixing brown with navy and pink, so I often pair a navy suit and a pink shirt with brown dress shoes and a matching belt. A navy necktie is my top choice to complement a pink shirt, but you could also opt for a different shade of blue or even a grey tie. Finish the look with a noticeable brown leather watch.
Navy Suit With A Blue Shirt
Pairing a navy suit with a blue shirt is a classic choice for men (also great with a burgundy suit), particularly for business meetings where you want to project professionalism and confidence. Blue is my favorite color, so I might be a bit biased, but I’ve asked friends and they all agree this combination is a winner. A blue shirt will also look great if you have a pale, fair, olive, or black skin tone.
For the best contrast, pair your navy suit with a light blue (which is my favorite option by far) or royal blue shirt. This ensures a clear distinction between the darker navy suit and the lighter shirt. While a dark blue shirt can work, it’s crucial to ensure the shades are distinct enough to avoid a muddled appearance.
I love pairing a burgundy tie with blue shirts, and it also complements navy suits beautifully. However, if burgundy isn’t your style, you can opt for more understated choices like grey or green. For shoes, brown or navy are always safe bets with a navy suit. But, if you’re embracing the burgundy tie, why not go all out with burgundy dress shoes, a matching belt, and a burgundy watch?
Navy Suit With A Grey Shirt
For a subtle yet professional look, a grey shirt with a navy suit is a solid choice. Grey offers a more understated alternative to black, providing a polished and refined appearance without drawing excessive attention. A grey shirt is a reliable option that I always fall back on, though it’s not my favorite.
For a navy suit, a lighter grey shirt provides the best contrast and a balanced look (which is what you probably want). While charcoal and dark grey shirts are also excellent choices, they work best with a darker navy suit (the darker the navy the better). Keep in mind that darker grey shirts tend to lend a more formal and sophisticated touch to your outfit.
For a more cohesive look, choose grey throughout the outfit. Go for grey dress shoes, a matching belt, and a grey or silver watch. Pair a charcoal tie with lighter grey shirts, and a silver tie with darker grey shirts for a better contrast between your shirt and necktie.
Navy Suit With A Purple Shirt
Purple shirts often get overlooked by men, with many only associating them with bright shades. However, the subtle elegance of purple paired with navy can create a striking combination that’s worth experimenting with. Purple is a great color for medium or olive skin tones.
The contrast between a light purple shirt and a navy suit is undeniably striking, making it a fantastic alternative if pink isn’t your style. I particularly favor a navy suit that’s not too dark paired with a light purple shirt. While light purple is the standout choice, medium to darker shades of purple can also work well, provided the navy suit has a deeper hue.
While brown and grey are solid choices, I prefer keeping the entire outfit in navy for a cohesive look. If you choose navy dress shoes, make sure they’re a different shade from your suit to create some contrast. Complete the ensemble with a navy belt, a navy watch, and a navy necktie, which pairs beautifully with purple shirts.
Navy Suit With A Green Shirt
Green pairs exceptionally well with navy, regardless of the shade. Although many prefer light green shirts with navy suits, I favor medium to dark greens, such as forest, khaki, and army green. These deeper hues create a richer and more sophisticated look.
For footwear and accessories, navy is the way to go. Choose navy dress shoes, a matching belt, and a navy watch to maintain a cohesive look. When it comes to ties, navy and blue are ideal choices for pairing with a green shirt. While a black necktie is an option, I recommend sticking with navy or blue ties to avoid clashing with the navy suit.
How To Match A Shirt With A Navy Suit?
When choosing a shirt to match your navy suit, factors such as color coordination, contrast, pattern usage, skin tone compatibility, and dressing according to the occasion are all crucial considerations.
Colors
When deciding on the ideal shirt color to complement your navy suit, it’s helpful to consider the analogous colors of navy, 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. When pairing an orange shirt with a navy suit, there are better color shirts as you know. If you’re aiming for a casual look you can go for it. Just remember to choose either lighter or darker shades of orange, and avoid vibrant orange shirts to keep the ensemble balanced.
Contrast And Patterns
Many men, myself included, often seek contrast by pairing navy suits with a shirt of either light or dark color, choosing a dark color shirt for lighter navy suits and a light color shirt for darker navy suits, creating a visually striking and balanced ensemble.
When choosing a patterned shirt to wear with your navy suit, make sure to pair it with a solid-colored suit to maintain a harmonious look. Conversely, if you’re sporting a patterned navy suit, go for a plain shirt to keep things balanced. Additionally, if your navy patterned suit features a color like white, a plain white dress shirt will highlight the color coordination in your outfit.
Skin Tone
When selecting a shirt to pair with your navy suit, 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 navy suit).
Dress Code
It’s equally important to consider the occasion whether it’s formal or informal, whether you’ll be among friends or clients, the season (summer or winter), and the nature of the event (celebratory or more formal).
A navy suit is versatile enough for any event, whether formal or casual. For formal occasions, classic shirt colors like white, black, blue, and grey are ideal. For business or casual settings, other colors can also work very well with a navy suit. In the end, it all depends on how each color shirt complements the navy suit.
NAVY COLOR GUIDES