How To Choose The Best Suit Color for Your Unique Characteristics

There’s no denying the importance of choosing a suit color. Regardless of the event, showing up in the right suit can keep you both looking and feeling great. But, different occasions and even your hair and skin color call for different suit colors.

In this article, we’ll discuss the fundamentals of crafting your suit style, when and how to wear each suit color, how to choose the right suit color for your own coloring and other key factors that play an important role in looking great in a suit.

Building Out Your Suit Collection: The Fundamentals

Choosing a suit isn’t always straightforward, and when you factor in suit color, it can get even more complicated. However, having a range of suit colors is important when building a wardrobe fit for a variety of occasions and events.

The Basics: Suit Colors Every Man Needs

Shades of Blue

Blue suits offer versatility, and are largely seen as a safe suit color option. Some would even say they are an essential component for any thoughtfully-curated suit collection.

There is a large variety of shades of blue to choose from when deciding on a suit. Navy blue suits, in particular, are a hugely popular option among men, but, depending on the occasion, light blue or bright blue might also be an apt choice.

Blue suits can be used and recycled for a variety of occasions, both formal and informal. For example, light blue suits are a good color choice for spring and summer weddings, including beach weddings where the natural backdrop of the sea and sand can complement it.

A navy blue suit is considered to be one of the more traditional forms of blue suit. Because of this, navy blue is the ideal color for a business suit, as well as for formal occasions, such as functions and formal dinners. Pairing a navy suit with a crisp and classic white shirt will create an air of uncomplicated yet sophisticated style.

To dress up a blue suit and white shirt, consider a bow tie or a long woven silk tie. If you want to opt for a smart casual look, you can think about switching the shirt for a t-shirt when the weather is warm or a polo shirt in the cooler months.

Shades of Gray and Black

Gray suits and black suits can work well in the most formal events like a black tie affair, as well as less formal occasions. There are various shades of gray suit colors, including light gray, charcoal gray, and black.

A light gray suit, one of the most casual shades, is perfect for business meetings as well as less formal events. A charcoal suit is endlessly versatile and can look just as refined as a black suit for black-tie optional events as well as social events.

Black suits can be worn on a number of occasions, including events with a black-tie dress code, weddings, and funerals, or when a tuxedo might be called for over a suit, for example.

Shades Of Brown

Brown suits in every shade, including light brown, dark brown, and tan, are easy to style for everyday wear, business settings, or for events like casual weddings.

When it comes to color combinations, a light blue shirt can work very well with a range of tones, including a dark brown suit or even a tan suit. A navy tie, coupled with a colored shirt, such as light pink, would also amplify just about any tone of brown suit.

Shades of White

A white suit can provide a cool and comfortable look, especially in the spring and summer months, and works well as a wedding suit. A beige suit is perfect for creating an alternative take on the more traditional suit colors and is ideal for beach weddings and other daytime casual events.

Bolder Colors: When Do They Work?

If you want to make a statement with your suit, bolder colors may be the way forward. Bold colors can allow you to stand out from the crowd, allowing you to display both your confidence and creativity when it comes to your fashion. However, it’s a good idea to build out your suit collection with subtler suit colors, like light blue, for example, before investing in more elaborate pastels.

When paired with a white or black dress shirt, more muted colors like maroon, burgundy, or even an olive green suit can be just as versatile as navy blue and work for both casual and formal events.

If you don’t want to venture into buying bolder colored suits just yet, there are plenty of ways to jazz up more traditional suits with a splash of color and personality. Opting for a tie or pocket square in pastels always looks fun yet decided, or you could opt to get creative with a brightly colored shirt instead.

Choosing The Best Suit Colors For Your Closet

It can be challenging to choose the right shades for your own look amidst countless different colors and shades, alongside building a wardrobe fit for a wide variety of events and occasions.

Matching Suits To Your Hair Color

Matching your hair color to your suit’s shade is a foolproof way to show up looking for your very best.

Lighter colors such as gray, or deeper colors, such as rich blue wonderfully complement blond hair. When it comes to gray hair, darker suits provide a suave, cosmopolitan look.

Those with light brown and red hair can opt for dark brown or a navy blue suit to subtly highlight the hair tone. A blue, gray, or dark brown suit will work great on those with dark brown or black hair.

How Skin Tone Should Inform Suit Color

Considering your skin tone when choosing a suit color isn’t necessarily a must, but it does help. We know that everyone is different and there’s a wide spectrum of skin tones, but we’ll do our best to offer solid advice here as we’ve gotten a lot of requests for it. 

If you have fair skin, blue suit colors will complement your skin tone, or if you are feeling confident, a white suit with a dark shirt will also look cool and sophisticated against your complexion. 

Those with a medium skin tone may like suit colors that are bright and warming. However, if you don’t want to go for a flashy-colored suit such as reds or more in-your-face colors, you can choose a darker suit and incorporate bolder-colored accessories to complete the look.

Those with dark skin complexions might like a whole range of suit colors. While a lot of different colors will work, navy blue and black are your best bets. 

Think About Frequency Of Wear

It’s important to think strategically about how to build your suit collection to work for your long-term needs. While it’s always important to have a formal option to hand, your main priority should be given to casual suits because these are the ones you will get the most wear out of.

Styling: How To Look Your Best In Any Suit

When it comes to men’s suits, there are some additional styling options that can help the overall look and feel of elegance and sophistication.

Tailoring

Never underestimate the difference a touch of tailoring can make to just about any suit. A suit tailored to your body will improve the overall fit, meaning you are more likely to wear it more often. For this reason, a custom suit is also a great choice, particularly if you want to get your money’s worth.

Undershirts

Wearing a high-quality undershirt is a great way to enhance the look of your suit, while also leaving you super comfortable and able to perform under pressure. UnderFit makes the best undershirt for eliminating bunchiness and the dreaded “undershirt gut”.

These undershirts streamline your body and help you look your best. As well as preventing odor, they can also help you keep cool when the temperature rises and stay tucked throughout the day. If you’re on the fence, we created a guide to wearing an undershirt with a suit to help you out. 

Neckties & Pocket Squares

A necktie, also known simply as a tie, is a piece of cloth worn around the neck, resting behind the shirt collar. It’s tied in a decorative knot that sits at the throat. A necktie is perfect for creating a focal point and formalizing any shade of suit. A pocket square is a small piece of fabric that fits into the breast pocket of a suit jacket, adding some visual interest and sophistication, regardless of which suit colors you decide on.

Generally speaking, ties should be considered a suit accessory where more formal attire is called for, although there aren’t always hard-and-fast rules, meaning often you can decide for yourself when you want to wear a tie.

Pocket ties should be reserved for formal occasions when you want to give off an air of sophistication. There is one golden rule, however: your necktie and pocket square should never precisely match. Doing so makes the look appear over-fussed when the aim of wearing a pocket square should be smart and elegant but not overly considered.

Look And Feel Great In Every Suit In Your Wardrobe

To effortlessly look your best for any occasion, it’s important to build your suit collection based on color. At UnderFit, we know the importance of looking and feeling great in the right suit. But we know it’s not always that straightforward.

Sometimes, we all need a confidence boost, and our undershirts provide just that.

Even when you are clad in the most luxurious suit, sweating through your shirt can be embarrassing. It’s one of those things you don’t always think of until it’s happening, and it’s totally avoidable. A good-fitting, high-quality undershirt can be a lifeline when it comes to perspiring.

Not all undershirts are created equal. Find out why UnderFit is your best bet for an undershirt that stays tucked, protects against odor and sweating and helps you look and feel your best on the biggest days.  

Check out our undershirts page for yourself to see the difference our undershirts could make to your life.

About Leigh McKenzie

Leigh is the owner of UnderFit, a premium men's undershirt brand based in Philadelphia, PA. You can follow Leigh on LinkedIn and Twitter.