Matching neckties to shirt and suit.
Most men wear a dark gray suit with a white dress shirt – the most common color combination in business. If you are a daily suit and tie wearer, then switch it up a little: Match more colors, and wear different patterns. Not sure how to match the pieces of clothing correctly? No problem! It is quite easy if you follow the steps below, and keep a few things in mind. Matching your suit, shirt, and tie depends on three main things: The colors, the patterns, and the fabrics.
Step #1: Choose your suit, then shirt, and finally find the matching tie.
Start with the largest piece of clothing first: The suit. Pick the suit you want to wear for the day and lay it on your bed. Second, pick a shirt, and finally the tie. The reason for this is simple: The larger the piece of clothing, the more expensive it typically is, and the less variety most men have in their wardrobe. Once you picked your suit, you have a wider range of options for your dress shirt. The average man in the US has 7 ties in their wardrobe. The more ties you own, the more variety and more options you have in matching your clothing. Having many different ties is the easiest, and least expensive way to vary your look each day.
Step: Find matching colors
Finding the right colors is quite simple for men’s fashion and formal attire. The most common suit colors are charcoal gray and dark blue, followed by a light gray. Beige, tan, dark olive green, and brown suits follow. Let’s start with the most popular suit color: Dark gray. The dark gray suit combines with almost all colors. Since picking your shirt is next, choose a color that is still on the classic side. This will give us more choices to find the matching tie. Besides the white dress shirt, other shirt colors that always match are: Light blue, yellow, and gray. For a dark blue suit, light blue and light yellow dress shirt are good choices. Look at the color chart below to find what colors will match together:
| Suit Color | Dress Shirt colors | Best necktie colors |
| Charcoal Gray | White | Any necktie color |
| Light Blue | Dark blue ties
Yellow ties Orange Ties Red Ties Olive and forest green ties Pink ties |
|
| Dark Blue | Burgundy red tie
Mustard yellow tie Gray and silver ties |
|
| Light Yellow | Any shade of blue tie
Slightly darker yellow tie Light green tie |
|
| Pink | Light blue ties
Pink ties |
|
| Dark Blue | White | Almost any (except black and dark gray ties) |
| Light Blue | Burgundy red ties
Orange/copper ties “Sunflower” yellow ties |
|
| Light Yellow | Light blue ties
Dark red ties Dark blue ties |
|
| Light Orange | Blue ties | |
| Tan, and Cream | Yellow ties
Burgundy red ties Brown ties |
|
| Tan and Beige | White | Almost any except: (back, dark gray, dark blue, silver and white ties) |
| Light Blue | Orange ties
Pink ties Red ties |
Matching patterns:
Matching different patterns is often times thought to be complicated. Most men don’t even bother trying to match a tie to a striped or checkered shirt. How about a pin striped suit, checkered shirt and striped tie? Impossible you may think? It actually is quite simple if you consider one basic rule: Vary the size of the different patterns. In other words, combine large with small patterns.
Let’s take a pin-striped suit for example with fine stripes that are about ½ inch apart. If you want to wear a non-solid colored dress shirt, choose a pattern that is much larger. It doesn’t matter weather you choose a checkered shirt or striped shirt, as long as the pattern is different in size. A checkered dress shirt with wide spread pattern is a great choice. Now, what about a matching tie? Once again, vary the size of the patterns. If you chose a checkered dress shirt with wider spread pattern, choose a tie with small patterns. A tie with tiny polka dots would be a great fit. If you are unsure, you can always choose a solid color tie with a checkered or striped dress shirt.
Matching the fabrics
Fashion designers create collections for each time of the year. Not only colors are picked based on the season, but the types of fabrics also take a large part. Keep this in mind when combining your suit, shirt, and tie. For example, a yellow or pink necktie, suited for the spring and summer, should be matched with a suit made from a lighter “summertime” fabric.
Match your neck ties to your suit and shirt: Easy to follow instructions on how to match your ties. Advice on how to match colors, patterns, and fabrics when wearing suit and tie.