How to Wear & Pair Neutrals

Most outfits I put together contain at least one neutral, usually a white shirt, for example but combining only neutrals in one outfit can sometimes be a bit more challenging because you don’t want areas that all look the same. You want to provide enough contrast yet still keep that tonal range very limited.

Neutrals are very popular because they’re very easy to combine with other colors such as red, navy, or black yet when just combined on their own, it’s a little more tricky. You’ve probably seen many celebrities pulling off monochromatic looks and that means a look containing all the same color. I always think of Christian Bale at the Oscarsand he always looks bad.

The Dapper Way To Wear Neutrals

Why Should We Wear All Neutrals?

The good thing is chances are you already own a bunch of neutrals because they’re just a staple of every man’s wardrobe. You probably have those khakis, white or off-white shirts, and solid brown shoes in your wardrobe. These colors are classy because they never go out of style and they’re also not bright and bold but rather mellow.

Now that being said, you can still make a statement out of it. Wearing this gray jacket with an off-white or ivory pair of pants combines two neutral colors yet it really stands out and pops. (Refer to photo below)

“Neutrals” Defined

It is a color that works well with other colors that are stronger and contrasting yet it doesn’t really draw the attention to itself. They help tone down other colors and make them stand out and they’re basically grouped in two:

• Warm Neutrals: Tan, taupe, beige, ivory, khaki, or any shade of brown under the sun.
• Cool Neutrals: Shades of black, gray, and white.

Sometimes, you also find people who expand that look a little bit and include tones of navy and blue, as well as olive green, however, strictly speaking, they’re not neutrals. That being said, they pair quite well with neutrals. On the other hand, just think of denim for a moment, it has become so prevalent and the blue is so standardized that I think it can definitely be called a neutral color.

How To Wear Neutrals Together

First of all, start with something that is close to your skin tone. Once you’ve chosen the right colors, you simply combine them. The goal is to have a certain amount of contrast between your items, otherwise, it just all blends in together, it’s too monochromatic and boring.

For example in this outfit, I’m pairing a tan turtleneck sweater with a dark brown and ivory houndstooth suit. Now apart from the color, you can also see there’s a difference in texture. The suit is a slight flannel but the knit of the sweater is a lot more hairy and it has a pretty much uniform color but a fuzzy finish when you touch it, that helps to provide the right amount of contrast. The pocket square, on the other hand, picks up the ivory of the houndstooth and combines it with brown of the sweater using a different pattern once again. You can see, I have this solid neutral for my sweater, I have the houndstooth which is a small pattern paired by with a bigger pattern which is the Paisley.

That’s how you want to combine a neutral; you’ll have different canvasses, you have patterns, and you have them in different sizes. That way, it’s visually interesting yet the color palette is so neutral that it’s all very harmonious. Whenever neutrals are too close in color, everything looks washed out.

For example, if I wore this jacket with a gray turtleneck sweater, it would simply look boring. At the same time, if I wear the same turtleneck sweater with let’s say a charcoal flannel, you can see there’s a certain amount of contrast yet it looks very sophisticated.

Now, the further you move away from your face, the easier it gets to play with other neutrals simply because your face has that skin tone right next to it and it’s more clashing than if you have different pair of shoes or a pair of pants, for example.

So with this ensemble, I opted for a brown pair of suede boots. Again, they have a different texture that is matte and works with the overall softer and fuzzy textures in this outfit. They are also contrasting enough, they are in the brown family yet they’re not quite the exact shade of brown as my sweater. Could I have worn the exact same brown? Absolutely, but sometimes it’s hard to coordinate the color of your shoe exactly to your sweater or your shirt. On the other hand, if I would have worn a gray pair of boots, everything would have looked more washed out and it would not have been as good as this pair of brown boots.

If you don’t want to wear a sweater, a great way to implement a neutral is to have a waistcoat in a buff color or kind of a tan color. If you combine it with a white or off-white shirt and a tie in a brown grenadine, it’s very easy to create a harmonious outfit that is warm, that works through the colder months of the year but it is not boring.

In my opinion, one of the most underrated neutral colors is ivory for pants simply because it makes a bolder statement and admittedly, it stains more easily but as a gentleman of taste, wearing it with a brown sportcoat whether it’s something like this houndstooth jacket or something more of a medium tobacco brown herringbone or even a kind of charcoal brown, it always works. You can even wear it with a navy blazer or you can wear it with a charcoal flannel jacket, it always works, it always provides a lot of contrast, and it looks particularly handsome.

If you feel like you’re all neutral outfit needs a pop of something special but you don’t want to add a really strong color such as red, green, or yellow, I suggest you simply opt for a boutonniere. My favorite is the Edelweiss because it’s off-white, it is subtly textured like a velvet on top so it’s very soft but it’s a perfect neutral accessory that makes you stand out from the crowd because likely, no one else in the room is going to wear it.

Now when it comes to neutrals, you can also wear them in the summer. You can have a kind of gray polo shirt with a darker gray pair of shorts and some blacks sneakers, for example, if that’s your style. Alternatively, you can have summer pants such as seersucker, pair them with a pair of light brown or tan shoes and a polo shirt in brown, for example.

How do you combine your neutrals? Share your outfit ideas in the comments section below!