The Perfect Companion to the Navy Suit and What to Wear with a Gray Suit. 

Blues and Grays are by far the most popular colors when it comes to men's suits and are recommended for about any situation. Not only are both colors incredibly versatile they are typically great pairings together. Owning a gray and blue suit in shades that compliment each other creates more options for you to extend your wardrobe.  

However, the dilemma for most men comes after the fact. You have gone home, slept a few times and have no memory of what the sales person told you to do pair with that gray suit you just bought. We're here to help- read on to get some ideas how to style your gray suit. 

Download our color guide cheat sheet here.  

The Suit: Business Professional

Creating a business professional look that will impress your co-workers is not a difficult task. The first priority is fit- (learn more here). Picking out the perfect color can feel like an art because there really are endless options. It's hard to go wrong with a color or pattern, trust your gut on what you like visually. However, here are a few tips to help you. Solid is the safest and most versatile, naturally. If you're looking for a pattern go with a subtle pattern, it will still be extremely versatile and give you the look you're going for.

Look for fabrics what have some texture to them- this can be true in a solid, a textured fabric or subtle patterns can give you the same effect. In a full suit that texture will give the suit depth and help it look richer. 

Shirts: Business Professional 

Since we're talking about Business Professional attire stick to light colored solids and light colored or subtle patterns. Do you like louder patterns and colors, not a problem, but save those for more casual days. 

White shirts and light blue shirts can be worn interchangeably. I say treat your light blue shirts as a white shirt in the sense of pairings. They provide a slightly different look, but are extremely versatile and go with literally anything. Make sure you have a handful quality shirts in each color. 

A few other colors to consider with gray: purple, pink and subtle patterns. Again, sticking to the lighter and pastel shades. These are almost as versatile as the solids mentioned above, but they add a little bit of personality and depth. 

Ties

The great thing about ties, is that they are an easy and fairly inexpensive way to make your wardrobe feel bigger. Your options are generally open here as it’s your personality.

For a more business professional look I wouldn't get an incredibly loud pattern. However, don't fear patterns- they are actually better then a solid. You gain multiple colors and some depth to the look when you have a nicely selected tie with a pattern. 

Recommend color of ties depending on the shade of gray: 

• Light Gray- any shade of blue, purple, red, green, orange, black, pastels
• Charcoal Gray- lighter blue, yellow, purple, red, orange, black, pastels and green

Shoes

Deciding what color to wear with your suit can be overwhelming. Gray is a very versatile color overall so in general either brown or black will work. The really only limitation is if you have a really dark shade of gray, like charcoal, generally go with black shoes. Otherwise, brown, black or even a navy shoe would work well with gray. 

• Light-Medium Gray: Brown or black shoes
• Dark Charcoal Gray: Black shoes

Date Nights, Happy Hours and Mix and Match

A buttoned up business professional look is a very common way to wear a suit, but it's not the only way. When looking to wear your gray suit to a wedding, date night or in a more casual situation- the options are still endless. Everything I mentioned above still applies and can be used. But here are a few more ideas to mix it up. 

• Ditch the tie- wear the suit with a nice button up, sans tie for a put together but relaxed look
• Different pants- wear the gray jacket with a different pair of slacks, for example a blue pant or patterned pant. 
• Don't wear a button up- But wear a shirt when in public. A common misconception is that you must wear a button up shirt, not necessarily. Pair it with a nice pair of chinos or jeans, a henley or nice "t-shirt" and a nice pair or tennis shoes.