Matching your t-shirt with the proper clothes


Matching your t-shirt with the proper clothes are often tough. Not only does the shirt need to match your pants, shoes, jacket, and other accessories, it also has got to look good together with your skin and eyes. That’s tons for a man who wants to only throw on his favorite tee and run out of the house.

Thankfully, picking a tee, and eventually, an entire outfit that appears great doesn’t need to be complicated. Just follow these simple guidelines and your style is going to be upgraded from drab to fab in no time.


The Basics

Before we dive too deeply into fashion, let’s start simple. When it involves looking great, you would like to possess a basic understanding of color theory and the way different colors work—and don’t work—together. And it’s not just our opinion. consistent with the Smithsonian, it’s science.

Take a glance at this color circle. it'll be your handy guide until you get this color thing down:

Complementary Colors

This is the scheme we'll mostly be that specialize in as it’s the foremost foolproof. Any color located directly across from the opposite is complementary. meaning these colors—plus their shades—tend to seem good together. for instance, any shade of red goes great with green. Oranges and blues are an ideal pair.

Complementary colors work well because of contrast. Allowing the various elements of your outfit to face out creates an eye-pleasing visual balance. Can’t wait to rock those slick new khakis? Since that color is going to be within the lighter yellows or golds, pair them with darker indigo or purple tee, tie, or another accessory.

Analogous Colors

These are colors that sit directly next to every other on the color wheel. For blue, this is able to mean any reminder indigo and teal. Analogous colors are the foremost harmonious to at least one another, but using some contrast is important to avoid matching colors too closely. It can get really sloppy really fast without an honest eye. Also, ensure one color is employed because of the focus color with the opposite two actings as support.

Monochromatic Colors

As you'll probably guess, this is often using an equivalent color for a whole outfit. Though this is often possible to tug off, it also can be easy to make both boring and/or an awesome look. Unless wearing black on black, avoid this scheme if you’re a beginner in producing looks.

How Do I do know What Color Works for Me?

Between skin tones, eyes, hair, and more, not all colors look great on everyone. Though there are always exceptions, here are some general guidelines on the way to pick the proper color for you.

Skin Tones

Remember: Contrast is vital. the sole hard and fast rule is to avoid matching your clothes too closely to your skin tone. If you've got a light-weight or pale complexion, avoid lighter shirts like white, beige, pastels, and yellow. These colors will wash you out. Aim for darker colors like browns, dark reds, and violets.

For darker skin tones, the other is true. Too many darker colors will muddy your look. However, anything bright can really assist you with pop. cash in.

If you've got olive skin and/or land somewhere within the middle, lucky you! most colors should look great against your skin as long as you retain some contrast between your clothes and you.

Eye Color

To find the proper colors to go with your eyes, take a glance back at the color wheel. Colors that look best together with your eye color will sit next to your eye color. If your eyes are green, then a light-weight blue or yellow will work rather well.

If you’re really eager to make your eyes pop choose a complementary and rock that contrasts. For those blue eyes, an orange or gold will look amazing.

Choosing a color supported your complexion is a perfect thanks to narrow down your outfit options. Now that you simply have a thought of how color theory works for clothing, and for you, it’s time finally to find out what to wear.

Practice What Works For You

Believe it or not, even the foremost fashionable men amongst us will try countless colors and clothing combos before deciding what to wear before an evening out. only a few are born with the insight of magically having an eye fixed for fashion.

Therefore, make just like the experts and experiment. This doesn’t necessarily mean wearing an outfit for a whole night to ascertain if you get the feedback you would like. Instead, substitute in front of a mirror while mixing and matching the big selection of tees, buttons, jackets, etc. that you’ve collected throughout the years.

Don’t worry about literally trying every shirt on. Just hold all up over your torso and quickly process your initial reaction. Flashing these different shirts ahead of you not only makes it easy to ascertain what base colors work—and what colors don’t—it also helps your eye practice picking out for what looks great on you.

Most of the time, you’ll be surprised how quickly your brain will tell you what to stay and what to toss. As you “try on” each shirt, ask yourself these three questions:

Does this shirt look great?
Does this shirt make me look great?
Does this shirt work for a specific occasion?
Make three piles—Yes. No. Maybe. I feel you'll find out what to try to to with these, but being the great guide, we’ll break them down for you.


  • Yes: This shirt hits all the marks. it's great, causes you to look great, and totally works for the occasion.
  • No: This shirt may fit one or maybe two of the categories. Still, if it doesn’t hit all three, it's to be a no.
  • Maybe: Sometimes you’re on the fence. That’s ok. Put shirts that slot in this category to the side for now. As you check out other tees, it should assist you to make the proper choice.

Eventually, you ought to greatly narrow down your options to a little number of the shirt. Continue this process until you've got a final winner. This shirt is going to be the color you’ll base the remainder of your outfit decisions on.

When Choosing Pants, Basic is best

When producing a classic fashion style for pants, basic is nearly always better. Don’t think this makes it easy though. This still leaves plenty of styles, colors, and cuts to settle on from. However, if you’re a relative newbie to complementing your tees, we recommend sticking to those three basic colors:


  • Black Jeans
  • Blue Jeans
  • Brown/Khakis


Anything outside of these three is typically meant for collared shirts, nicer outfits, or more advances fashions. As mentioned in our T-shirt Matching Article, there are some basic rules to matching your pants together with your shirt. Here’s the essential information:

Black + Brown = Never

Nope. Never. Forget it. If you would like to wear a black t-shirt, don’t even believe wearing those khakis. If you've got a brown t-shirt, hide your black jeans far distant so you’re not even tempted. This look simply never has and never will work.

Instead, consider blue jeans for a brown tee. For a black shirt, consider either black jeans or blue jeans.

Another general rule is to never match an excessive amount of. this suggests if you’re wearing a blue shirt, avoid blue jeans. If you’re wearing brown, skip the khakis. Contrast usually works in your favor.

However, there are always exceptions to the principles. one among those is wearing black on black. In terms of colors, it’ll always look great—and will certainly offer you a badass edge.

Black + Navy = Probably Not

This isn’t as hard a rule as black + brown. Combining black + navy has turned somewhat trendy and more people are pulling it off successfully. Still, it’s incredibly easy for these colors to seem sloppy in a moment if you don’t have an expert eye.

As a reader of this blog, let’s assume you aren’t the foremost fashion-forward (yet). For that reason, we’d suggest you avoid wearing black + navy together until you’ve become easier putting styles together.

Blue Jeans + (Almost) Anything = Cool & Casual

It doesn’t get far more classic than blue jeans. and fortunately for the fashionably challenged among us, it’s pretty easy to seem great when pairing jeans with a tee.

The most important rule is that the contrast. this is often an excellent time to use that complementary wheel as your guide. for instance, with navy jeans try a lighter shirt. For lighter jeans, do the other. For all those jeans right within the middle, simply avoid colors that match too closely thereto shade of jeans.

Keep Shoes Simple

Like with pants, an easy shoe typically is that the best answer. Sure. Those Nike sneakers with 30 colors, 14 straps, 8 springs, and an eject button are really cool, but the probabilities of them actually wealthy together with your outfit are about one during a million.

Look. Shoes are tricky. With numerous options, they’re a touch of a wildcard and that we all have our preferences. If you’re trying to find easy-to-follow rules though, keep it simple and find a few of reliable pairs that you simply can always depend upon.

Keeping your kicks basic also will make it easier to place the remainder of the outfit together and not need to stress much about matching footwear also. Therefore, we recommend owning:


  • 1 Pair of Brown Shoes
  • 1 Pair of Black Shoes


Now, don’t think sticking with black and brown has got to mean dress shoes or boots, although we’re always advocates of classing it up. Those classic black Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars work great with many looks. Or try brown Sperry’s Boat Shoes to stay up that relaxed, yet still stylish, vibe.

Also, always match your shoes to your pants. That’s easy enough if you've got brown or black pants, but what about blue jeans? Really, it’s a toss-up and most jeans will go fine with either color.

Instead, confirm the shoes work together with your shirt. for instance, don’t wear brown shoes with a black shirt. Also, ensure your shoe color and/or tone matches the remainder of your accessories on the color wheel.

Let’s Get Fancy

All right. We’ve got the fundamentals down by focusing totally on your basic t-shirt. which will be an excellent place to start, except for most folks, we can’t live life wearing only tees.

Now that you simply have gotten a master color theory, classing up the design slightly is going to be easy peasy. All that always takes maybe a slick jacket, sportscoat, or blazer to place over your nice t-shirt or button-up.

Essentially, if you’ve used all of above the rules to make your look, all it should take maybe a great jacket contrasting in color to your base shirt, khakis, or a pleasant pair of jeans and boom! You’re able to hit up the town a la mode.

Here are a couple of popular combinations that we love:


  • White Shirt + Brown blazer + navy Jeans + Brown Shoes
  • Light Grey Shirt + Jean Jacket + Black Pants + Black Shoes
  • Blue Shirt + Grey Blazer + Black Pants + Brown Shoes
  • Pink Shirt + navy Blazer + Khaki Pants + Brown Shoes


Everything Else maybe a Complement

Any additional accessories like hats, jewelry, ties, etc. should be complementary to thereto perfect t-shirt you’ve chosen. Take a glance back at another time thereto color circle and every one those extra apparel pieces should correspond with the complementing colors. If the accessory you would like to wear is black or brown, then like your shoes, base it on the pants.
Overall, looking great in any shirt really isn’t that tough once you break it right down to 4 simple essentials: Your Look, Your Pants, Your Shoes, and Your Accessories. once you consider each option carefully, you ought to be ready to make the shirt you would like to wear appear as if 1,000,000 bucks.

As you are feeling easier with colors, clothing, and fashion, start experimenting with more risk-taking combinations. The wealthy should be fun! in any case, aren’t rules meant to be broken?

Most importantly though, be yourself and be confident. which will shine through quite any fashion faux-pas. Now get out there and show the planet how damn good you look in your new custom printed t-shirt.

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