Black suit jacket with gray pants

Wearing Black suit jacket with gray pants

by Dylan Baker
Updated on

Black suits are a staple in every man's wardrobe they are the best option for any formal event, they can instantly make you look sharp and sophisticated, but they are also quite basic and boring.

There are many ways to add some spark to a simple black suit like pairing it with a fun shirt or adding some colorful accessories like ties or pocket squares to the outfit can make it a lot more stylish.

If you want to dress down a black suit even more or you want to make some stylish outfits using a black suit then there is another option, you can also pair the suit jacket with other pants.

In this article, we will tell you how you can pair a black suit jacket with gray pants. 

Can you wear gray pants with a black suit jacket?

Yes, you can definitely pair gray pants with a black suit jacket, suit jackets can be paired with other color pants without any problem all you have to do is keep the basic color-matching rules in mind and you are good to go.

Black and gray is a classic color combination and you can never go wrong with it, but keep in mind that darker shades of gray work better with dark colors like black and avoid pairing the light shades of gray which are closer to silver with a black suit jacket.

If you are going for a formal event then you should wear the suit jacket only with the matching pants but if you want to dress down a suit and want a semi-formal outfit then you can consider pairing suit jacket with different color pants.

Does your suit jacket have to match pants?

If you are dressing for a formal occasion or for a black-tie event then yes, your suit jacket should match your pants. In a formal event, you should wear the complete suit and stick to the basics but if you are going for a semi-formal event then you can afford to try out different things.

If you are not dressing for a formal event then you can pair a suit jacket with different color pants without a problem.

Suit jackets can be used as a stand-alone blazer but they should not be used in formal outfits.

How to wear a black suit jacket with gray pants

As we have mentioned above it is possible to pair a black suit jacket with gray pants but there are a few things that you should keep in mind before doing that as this is an outfit that is extremely easy to mess up.

Shirt

When you are pairing a suit jacket with another color of pants then you should keep the rest of the outfit relatively simple and avoid over-complicating it.

It is best that you stick to a white shirt or other simple colors and avoid using any vibrant colors as having too many colors in this outfit will just ruin it.

Pants

It is very important that you pair the black suit jacket with the right color of pants. Not all shades of gray work well with black especially in formal outfits. 

Darker shades of gray would work best in this outfit as they work well with black and you should avoid using pants that have a shiny light gray color similar to silver. 

Shoes

The footwear option for this outfit would be some black formal shoes like oxfords or you can also wear black monk straps.

You should avoid shoes of any other color even brown and stick to black color shoes.

Accessories

As we have mentioned above you should not use too many colors in this outfit as we already using two different colors for the suit jacket and pants, the same thing applies here.

It is not necessary to wear a tie with this outfit but if you decide to wear one then you should go with something simple like black or navy blue with minimal patterns on it.

You can be a little more flexible with the pocket square but it would be best to again keep it simple and avoid vibrant colors.

The Bottom Line:

You can pair a black suit jacket with gray pants but it is an outfit that is suited for semi-formal events.  There are a few things that you should keep in mind when you are wearing this outfit and they are all mentioned in this article. With help of the tips given above, you will be able to style this outfit without any problem.

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About the author

Dylan Baker

Dylan is a Men's fashion and image consultant, He is also the man behind Dapperclan. He is extremely passionate about fashion and wants to help men style and look better.

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