Have you ever stood in the mirror after dressing and wondered if you chose the right color combination? For men’s clothes, finding the best color combinations comes down to a simple understanding of color theory and how to accentuate your best features.
Here at Perk Clothing, we’ve got your back - let’s talk about outfit color coordination and how to find the colors that go together best. Clothing doesn’t have to be complicated!
Use Color Theory for Outfit Color Combos
If you ever took an art class, you remember learning about color theory. For those of you who didn’t, here’s a quick refresher.
If you look at a color wheel, you can see the three primary colors, along with the secondary colors. Grab a color wheel or take a look at the link for this next section so you’ll know what we’re talking about.
Complementary Outfit Color Combination
To find complementary colors, all you need to do is look across the color wheel to see what’s opposite the color you’re looking at. If you want to use complementary colors for your clothes, be sure to get clothing that’s just a shade darker than its original complementary color to make sure it stands out without being too much.
An example of how to do this would be to pair dark blue chinos with an orange shirt, or vice-versa. Switch it up by using a complementary color tint if you’d like instead.
You can also do this for same-color clothing for a similar effect. Color combination for men’s clothes is easy if you just remember this trick.
Spicing Up Neutral Outfits
You can also add a splash of color to an otherwise neutral outfit. Neutral colors you could use include:
- Black
- Brown
- Gray
- Tan
- White
(FYI, we have lots of neutral color options in our selection - take a look if you’re interested!)
Feel free to mix up neutral colors (they go with anything, so they work well with each other) and then add another splash of color. Personally, we think a muted mustard yellow is a fun color combination for men’s clothes if you’ve got neutral colors everywhere else in your ensemble.
Other Color Matching Options
Some other options to try are to choose color shades that are next to each other on the color wheel. Colors that are next to each other are called “Analogous colors,” and an example would be maroon (red-violet) and red.
If that feels a bit more daring than you’re comfortable with, you can match two out of three triadic colors. (If you’re all about a fun-loving look, try to see if you can incorporate all three triadic colors!) For two of three triadic colors, match blue chinos with the mustard yellow shirt we mentioned above. For three, add some red shoes for a fun, eclectic look.
Regardless of which of the above options you choose, remember to create outfits using different hues or shades so the contrast isn’t overwhelming!
Accentuating Your Features with Color
The way you look will play a role in what types of outfits you can nail and which ones could fall flat. How much do your features contrast with one another? Thinking about the contrast between your skin tone, eye color, and hair color will help you determine how much contrast you want in your wardrobe.
For example, if you have light skin and dark hair (or vice-versa), you can choose outfits that contrast more. A simple example of this is to pair a white T-Shirt with a black pair of pants.
If your skin color is very similar to your hair color, you may want to stick to more neutral colors that go together. Clothes that come in complementary colors could work, too. Using the above example, you can wear a dark gray shirt instead of white. You can choose one of the complementary color combinations we already talked about early on in the article as well.
Go with Your Gut
It’s great to learn basic style rules and color theory, but ultimately, you’re the one who will be wearing the clothes. Learn to go with your gut and choose clothing that is classic and fitted enough to look great no matter what colors you wear.
Before we wrap this article up, we want to add a few more helpful style tips. To make no-brainer style decisions, it helps to have neutral-colored pants that will go great with any outfit. Our chinos come in black, blue, khaki, and oak and they look great with suits, dress shirts, T-shirts, and Henleys. Our shirts are handpicked to work well in any ensemble too.
Still not sure what to get? We’ve got super-simple style kits that are comfortable and guaranteed to make you look and feel amazing.
