There’s no doubt that black is a super-stylish color. It’s easy to pull off and gives you a suave mysterious look.
Like most people, I tend to wear black a lot. I wear my black jeans and black denim jacket at least a couple of times every week. Not to mention the black dress pants, shoes, sneakers, and t-shirts that you’ll find in my wardrobe.
But, wearing just black can get boring. And there are plenty of other colors that you can wear alongside this combination. In this article, I’ll look at some of the best colors to wear with black.
What Colors Go With Black Clothes? 9 Easy Ideas
These 9 ideas highlight some of my favorite colors to wear with black. I start off with a few quite conservative choices before moving into more adventurous territory. Use the images and outfit ideas to inspire your own fits.
Gray
Gray of all shades works well with black. If you want to break up your outfit, go with a lighter color. But mid-gray and charcoal can work equally as well.
The color pairing is incredibly common. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen guys out with black jeans and a gray t-shirt—and it’s a look I wear often myself. It works the other way around too, when you pair gray pants with a black sweater, shirt or t-shirt.
The Boardwalk Style Tip 👇
Combine black with various shades of gray for a stylish monochrome outfit. Avoid the outfit looking too dark by experimenting with different textures such as leather, knit, or denim.
White
White and black is another common color combination. In fact, some of the most iconic outfits are black and white.
I’m thinking about wearing a white t-shirt under a black leather jacket or black tie events that pair a black tuxedo and bowtie with a white shirt.
I also think clothes that mix both white and black can also work well. For example, gingham checks in black and white, or checkerboard style patterns.
More Black
Sometimes the best thing to wear with black is more black. Some common black-on-black combinations include black pants with black boots or shoes. Or black jeans with a black jacket.
If you want the best examples of how to wear black on black, then look no further than Robert Pattinson’s outfits during his recent promotional tour for Batman. The black suit, shirt, and coat in this outfit are a great example of how to make the look work.
Red
Ok, ok, I know that our color choices have been pretty tame so far. But that’s only because these combinations work so well. But this next color is a lot more exciting. Red goes well with black quite simply because it pops so much.
How you match the two colors is up to you. Personally, I like to use red sparingly to add a pop of color. A red sweater or t-shirt with red patterns is a good example. You could go further and make red the base of your look like the outfit on the right of the collage above if you dare!
The Boardwalk Style Tip 👇
The rule of three is a design rule that says you choose three complimentary shades and stick with them in your outfit. Any more than that risks your look becoming too busy. Pretty much all the fits in this article follow this rule.
Blue
Blue is a controversial color when worn with black, but it can work. Blue and black work best when there is some contrast between the two shades. Anything from light blue to mid-navy can work well.
An obvious example of this in action is when you wear mid-to-dark wash jeans with a black t-shirt or jacket. But it can work in other ways too, for example, wearing black jeans with a blue denim jacket, or pairing black dress pants with a light blue shirt for work.
Yellow/Gold/Orange
Black and gold is a well-known combination. Yellow and orange have a similar hue to gold and can work equally well when paired with black.
Key to this look is to either use the yellow super sparingly or to make it the star of the show like in the images above.
The Boardwalk Style Tip 👇
If you choose to wear yellow or another bright color with black, make the color the star of the show. Bringing in a third color when used as more than a highlight (see the blue in the image above) can cause the fit to become too loud and messy.
Beige
Wearing beige, khaki, or off-white colors with black is an easy-to-pull-off combination. I like to wear my beige shacket with black jeans or my beige chinos with a black sweater.
Brown
Black and brown is another combination that a lot of people choose to avoid. But, it’s actually pretty easy to pull off. As GQ explains, an easy way to pull this look off is to wear a brown top layer over a black base layer. For example, black jeans, dark jumper and a brown coat or jacket.
The key to getting this look right is what you wear it with. Stick with black and brown as your main colors, and maybe add some other neutral, earthy shades. And before you ask, yes you can wear brown shoes with black pants.
Green
Black and green is a relatively unusual color combination but it can work quite well. The key to wearing it well is similar to wearing yellow with black. Avoid wearing other colors except for shades of green or neutral colors like white.
