Black suit with pattern shirts and ties

[grjones]

I recently purchased a slim fit black suit (and looking for a gray and navy) and was wondering what some opinions on black suits with pattern/plaid/gingham shirts are? I have a bunch of solid shirts but would like to change it up a bit with some more color and pattern. All opinions are welcome!

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Black suits are hard to find anything to go with them and look too stark to wear in the daytime. Save it with a white shirt and gray tie to wear to funerals. Otherwise I can't see much more going with in than black white gingham, black and red gingham or a white shirt. Maybe some textured whites, but those usually end up looking tacky. Everything usually looks too fashiony to wear seriously.

 

[AB01]

Light blue shirt works.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Originally Posted by AB01

Light blue shirt works.

Black and blue should never go together unless it is black shoes with a blue suit.

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]

I agree with AB.

 

[ktrp]

I think light blue shirt can work with black.

I also agree that black is a pain to match too. Its easy to make black look fashiony, its easy to make it look formal, it doesn't do anything in between very well.

 

[Beatlegeuse]

Originally Posted by grjones

I recently purchased a slim fit black suit (and looking for a gray and navy) and was wondering what some opinions on black suits with pattern/plaid/gingham shirts are? I have a bunch of solid shirts but would like to change it up a bit with some more color and pattern. All opinions are welcome!

You will find that most here do not like black suits, with good reason. They are very hard to match with most other colors without looking costume-y. I think a light blue or maybe lavendar could work with a black suit...but they have to be very light, to the point where they almost look white at first glance.

 

[AlexE]

Be careful when asking for advice for anything related to a black suit here. You will get plenty of "burn it", "throw it away", etc answers from the notorious black suit haters. I admit I am not a huge fan of black suits myself (navy and grey just look soooo much better), but I think a black suit can be OK for "late night out"-occasions (clubbing, bars, etc.).

What kind of an occasion are we talking about here? Generally black does not conflict with too many colors, but you gotta be prepared that mixing black with anything will result in a high contrast ensemble - hence I'd not wear it for business. If you are OK with a bold contrast then you can mix it with anything which is not too dark (e.g. black with navy blue looks completely off). Light blue, light pink, ecru, light lavendar solids/stripes/gingham should all be OK.