Buy Now
9 Purple Shirt Matching Pant Ideas For Men To Look Stylish
Fashion is a matter of personal preference, and color preference varies from person to person. While many men tend to favor neutral tones such as black, white, and grey for their shirts, it’s essential to explore beyond the ordinary. Wearing colors like blue, red, and purple can create stylish and unique outfit combinations. To elevate your fashion game and stand out on various occasions, experimenting with different hues and mixing and matching is key.In this article, we’ll give you great ideas on purple shirt matching pant to help you find the perfect outfit that suits your style. Explore and enhance your fashion sense!
Purple is a versatile colour and goes nicely with colors like white, pale yellow, cream, and olive green when it comes to purple shirt combination pant. However, the right pant color depends on the shade of purple you choose. For richer purples, shades like olive and sage green work well. When matching purple shirts with pants, silver accessories are a safe bet for almost any purple shade. Here are some pairing options to consider.
Purple Shirt with White Pants
Whether you opt for white chinos or simple white trousers pants, this will be the perfect pick for a purple colour shirt matching pant combination. Especially during summer and in spring purple shirts look awesome when paired with white pants. Purple itself is a vibrant and eye-catching colour option while white looks contrast and give a light and airy feel. Men can try this purple shirt combination pant in white colour to look appealing without looking too formal.
THUNDER PURPLE SUBTLE SHEEN SUPER SOFT PREMIUM COTTON TUXEDO SHIRT
Buy Now
WHITE SUBTLE SHEEN FORMAL PANT
Buy Now
Purple Shirt with Grey Pants
Whether it’s a red, blue, white, or purple shirt, pairing it with grey pants always exudes a timeless charm. Grey pants are a go-to choice for both formal and casual occasions. To achieve a professional and polished look, opt for dark purple shirts with grey pants – a perfect combo. For a formal appearance, light purple shirts with grey pants are also an excellent choice, suitable for office meetings or a night out with friends.
TOLOPEA PURPLE SUBTLE SHEEN SNAKE PLEATED SUPER SOFT PREMIUM COTTON TUXEDO SHIRT
Buy Now
PORPOISE GREY SUBTLE SHEEN WOOL BLEND PANT
Buy Now
The 12 Best Colors to Pair with Purple, According to Designers
You just may be surprised by some of our experts’ favorite color combinations.
By Lauren Wicks Published: Jun 2, 2022
Henry Prideaux Interior Design
Some colors seem to have endless pairings (think: sky blue, hunter green, and stormy gray), while others may seem to constrain our decorating scheme when using them. Purple can often be one of those colors for design enthusiasts, though many designers have found myriad ways to incorporate the color into their projects. This may need to begin with expanding our knowledge of purple shades as the word often conjures up a classic Crayola crayon color (and possibly an endearing boy named Harold to go with it).
Designer Renvy Graves Pittman says at the far end of the spectrum, you have rich aubergines—which Mario Buatta was famous for using in his work. At the opposing end is lavender, while mid-range colors like amethyst establish a base point even better than a true, royal purple. Designer Henry Prideaux notes that it is quite a versatile, “sometimes regal” color, which makes purple a great option when designing traditional and contemporary interiors alike.
“When selecting the key colors for a scheme, like many creatives, I am often subconsciously influenced by nature where there are absolutely no rules,” says Prideaux. “When used in interior design, however, different colors will enhance the mood within a space and the specific tone used will be the key to determining whether the room feels vibrant or more serene.”
Once you’ve determined the feel you’re going for—a lively spot for entertaining or a soothing retreat from it all—that can navigate your decision to finding the right shade of purple. From there, it’s all about finding the right color pairings that will make the color sing, whether it’s used in the form of accent pillows or lacquered onto the walls. We asked top designers to share their favorite colors that go with purple to inspire a purple room of your own.
Shades of Purple
It’s useful to remember that purple comes in a variety of shades or gradations, some with more red or pink in them, others containing tones of brown. It’s fairly easy to wear maroon or burgundy, which can be seen as reddish purples, in menswear, but we want something new, not easy, so we’re talking more about the other colors in the chart below.
General Principles for Wearing Purple
Many of the guidelines for wearing purple pertain to any bright or unusual color in clothing. First, such colors should be combined with contrasting muted hues. If your tie is green with purple stripes, wear a dark grey suit. Purple socks? Wear beige pants and brown suede shoes.
If you wear one item that’s purple, it’s risky (but not impossible) to wear any other bright colors; you take the chance of looking clownish. Instead, you can wear purple readily alongside navy, gray, and beige. In other words, it’s compatible with three of the most classic and versatile menswear colors out there and with other staid colors like olive green. Blue, which is a cousin color to purple, makes for particularly stunning combinations.
In terms of seasonality, purple is particularly versatile because it exists “at the meeting point between warm red and cool blue.” So, depending on whether your item leans more toward the maroon and magenta side (hot) of the purple spectrum or more toward the violet and lilac side (cool), you can wear purple all year long. Interestingly, maroon and the hotter shades work best in winter while a cooler violet is perfect for spring.
Purple doesn’t have too much impact when worn by those with light skin, though it can bring out more pink in your face if you wear a lot of it close to your head, as in a bright purple shirt or sport coat, though this is not usually recommended. Stronger versions of purple are worn better by those with browner skin, which is also true of any bright colors, as there is less of a harsh contrast in tone.
Accessories: The Easiest Option
1. Pocket Squares
Like most bright or atypical colors, purple is best (and most easily) worn first as an accent in small doses. You can think of yourself as maintaining the traditional scarcity of the color and begin with a pocket square that contains just a smattering of purple mixed in with other tones rather than a completely purple one. In the charcoal pocket square from Fort Belvedere pictured directly below, the purple is there but completely subtle, especially when peeking out of your jacket’s breast pocket.
Afterward, as you gain confidence and get excited about the color you can increase the amount of purples, such as in a pocket square with a purple border or one that contains purple as the main color.
2. Purple Ties
From there, you can take purple out of your pocket and put it front and center in the form of a bow tie or necktie. The same principle applies–start with a dash of the color, like a purple paisley or stripe before you go for a tie that is mainly purple unless you like to jump in with both feet, in which case, go for it! Be careful never to wear a shiny satin silk tie, however, as it will come across looking cheap. Always select a high-quality silk, which will be worth the investment.
3. Purple Flowers and Shoelaces
Two unique accessories that will elevate your style are a purple boutonniere and purple dress shoelaces. A purple flower in your lapel buttonhole is special because it reminds us that purple is a natural color.
If you want a boutonniere that is maintenance-free, one from Fort Belvedere that is made of a realistic silk will do the trick. It’s also a great way to inject a dose of springtime into your outfit when purple flowers are not in bloom and therefore not easy to find.
Something you won’t see every day is purple shoelaces, which are an inexpensive way to show personality while still appropriate to dress shoes. Like a pocket square these are a small dose of the color, but in an unexpected place, and for under ten dollars they liven up a pair of black shoes without looking too aggressive. Showing the flexibility of the color, purple laces are also special as a sign of springtime, paired with a warm weather shoe, like a pair of white bucks.
4. Purple Socks
Continuing on the subject of footwear, we at The Gentleman’s Gazette aren’t fans of bright “crazy socks,” but ribbed purple socks are surprisingly low-key in the right shade, combined with another tone, such as the purple and dark green shadow stripe pictured below. They won’t immediately direct everyone’s attention to your ankles like cheap neon purple ones but will offer an added bit of interest to your look. You can capitalize on the versatility of purple by wearing them with a variety of pants and shoe combinations: brown, beige, navy, gray, and others.
Intermediate Difficulty: Purple Shirts and Sweaters
1. Shirts
To bring a larger and more visible amount of purple in your wardrobe, try wearing it on your torso in the form of a shirt or sweater (cardigan or knit vest), ideally under a sport coat or suit jacket. The first rule with purple shirts is to go light.
Bright solids make you look like you’re a twentysomething playboy ready for the club. If you want to wear a solid, what you desire are shirts commonly labeled “lavender,” but an even better choice is a white shirt with a light purple windowpane grid or thin stripe over the top. In other words, keep the purple in the pattern. All of these are actually conservative enough that they are fairly common as business wear in the UK, though you’re less likely to encounter them in North America.
A shirt with a lavender tattersall check, perhaps combined with a second color in the pattern, adds a dose of spring color to any outfit. In the example below, the main grid is in a classic navy, and there are fewer purple lines interspersed. Tattersalls are perfect for a “smart casual” or “business casual” look, as they straddle both urban and country style.
If you’re talking more casual shirts, the field opens up, again with the caveat that lighter, subdued purples are preferable to loud ones that hurt your eyes. In warm weather, especially, a lavender gingham or Bengal stripe shirt can fit the bill nicely.
2. Knitwear
On the other hand, in winter, bright knit cardigans or vests have been traditional for some time within usually staid British style. Having a shock of orange, cobalt blue or purple is accepted as a way to bring some happiness into cold winter days. In such cases, the hot color on the sweater is still covered by a jacket and accompanied by otherwise sober clothes. For instance, the image below, two purple items appear conservative under a gray jacket. The outfit at below left might be worn similarly beneath a brown or olive tweed sport coat.
Advanced: Pants, Sports Coats and Suits
1. Trousers
When talking purple pants and jackets, we’re entering more treacherous territory. Purple trousers will inevitably be of the extreme “go-to-hell” variety, and those in the grape family can be especially shocking. Really, the best chance of pulling off purple pants is to lean toward the maroon side of the spectrum. These will still get a lot of attention but are less “in your face.” As a bonus, maroon pants play really well with navy and gray and look more formal.
2. Purple Jackets
Even more daring is the purple sport coat. Because it is often a top layer, it is guaranteed to be noticed and can quickly make you the center of attention. This goes against Beau Brummell’s often quoted maxim that a man who is truly well dressed isn’t noticed for his clothes, only for the general aura he projects of being well put together.
Unless you’re an entertainer or want to be looked at, uphold the same principle used for purple shirts and keep color in the form of a windowpane check, like Wei Koh does in the photo above. Your jacket’s base color or pattern, such as a Prince of Wales check, will then be conservative, and you’ll just have some purple lines–an overplaid–on top of it.
3. Purple Suits
The most purple you can wear would come in the form of a suit. This is also the most difficult to achieve successfully. You can very easily look like a large grape or the Joker. For those who feel compelled to go so far, one key is to get the absolutely right shade of purple, and the other is to have the right skin tone.
Just search Google for images of purple suits, and you’ll quickly realize that men with brown skin rock the purple suit. Of course, once you wear a purple suit, you have entered into the world of contemporary fashion. You can still apply the principles of good tailoring, but, strictly speaking, you’d no longer be wearing classic style.
Conclusion
Once a forbidden color reserved for royalty, then commonly associated with dandies and showmen (all of the above in the case of Prince), purple has a lot to recommend it for classic menswear. It can be worn in a number of ways and coordinates with a surprising range of other colors. Purple really offers something for everyone. If you have conservative taste, you can wear it in the form of an accessory or in the pattern of an otherwise staid dress shirt, while the bold can experiment with the boundaries of traditional style with larger doses of the color.
Which camp do you fall into about wearing purple–and do you wear it yourself? Share with us in the comments below.
Outfit Rundown
I’m wearing just about as many purple garments as I could get my hands on. I probably wouldn’t normally wear this many purple garments in my outfit at one time but I am illustrating the principle that if you follow the guidelines we’ve outlined today, it is possible to wear multiple purple garments at once and still look harmonious and put together.
The most prominent purple element in my outfit today is probably my sweater, which is in a warmer berry shade when combined with my jacket, which is more muted the effect is still overall harmonious. Underneath the sweater is my shirt, which is also purple but in a fine Glen check pattern. Since the shirt isn’t solid purple in color but rather just incorporates the color into its pattern, the overall effect, again, is subtle. My vintage tie also incorporates a warmer purple to harmonize with the sweater and features a repeating geometric pattern that also has blue orange and a greenish-yellow color. I wear this tie often as I do appreciate repeating micropatterns and I find that this warmer purple goes with multiple outfits. My cuff links feature Paisley in shades of purple on a fabric that is inset into silver-colored metal and as you might have guessed, all of my other purple elements in my outfit today are from Fort Belvedere.
Blue Cornflower Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower Silk
Madder Silk Pocket Square in Purple with Green Diamond Motif and Red Paisley
Shadow Stripe Ribbed Socks Dark Green and Purple Fil d Ecosse Cotton
We’ll start with my pocket square which is a purple madder silk that also features a repeating green diamond motif and red paisleys in its border. My boutonniere is a cornflower, which while commonly referred to as blue, does feature some purple in its color and therefore harmonizes with the other elements in my outfit, and my socks are dark green in color but feature purple in their shadow stripes. You can find these socks, the boutonniere, and the pocket square in the Fort Belvedere shop here. As for the other elements in my outfit, I’ve taken cues from our lessons today and made sure that they’re more neutral in color. My sport coat features a herringbone weave but its overall charcoal in color, though it does incorporate tones of brown. Similarly, my trousers are taupe in color, meaning that they are essentially also gray-brown, and my shoes, which are cap-toe Oxfords are dark brown suede and therefore, harmonized with both my trousers and with pops of color in my jacket. We didn’t happen to have any purple shoelaces on hand in the studio here today that I could put in my shoes, but rest assured that we do offer purple shoelaces, as well as boot laces in the Fort Belvedere shop, and you can find them here.
Previous Post: Top 5 Hair Loss Treatments for Men
Next Post: Scotch Whisky 101 – A Beginner’s Guide
Reader Comments
don says:
Great article on purple, a favorite color of mine for menswear. Works well for ties for my taste. Women seem hypnotically drawn to it! Also, you show a Pal Zileri jacket in your article. I have several of their jackets, a fine brand that seems to fly under the radar.
Eduardo Escribano García Bosque says:
Where can I buy articles in above images. Not soldalone items The suits, ties, combination shown, etc.
sam says:
I use purple in shirts and pocket squares currently. I have a little olive tone in my caucasian skin. It works well. I like working with colors in general. White (shirts) just too ‘blah’ in my opinion. Love the site!
Steve Ruis says:
Just a note: the word “raisin” in your purple color chart is mis-spelled. I though you would want to know because your presentations are almost always letter perfect.
Franz says:
Love your articles – you’re a storybook mountain (in a positive way) – thanks
Andrzej says:
Bravado!
W ADAM MANDELBAUM says:
Being a pale face, I still have had some success wearing purple ties, always with a dark suit and white shirt for contrast.As far as wearing a purple suit…just say no. Better a paternity suit than a purple suit, unless one is in a profession that drinks from diamond encrusted gold cups and promotes intimate interpersonal relations on a short term lease basis.
Roger Boothe says:
I often wear purple ties and have a purple waistcoat that is a favorite. Also in my city Purple Friday is a tradition as or football team primary color is purple, so purple sport coats and trousers are common.
Jan Erkenbrack says:
I love wearing purple. My purple velvet robes offset my crown nicely. No, wait that was Henry VIII.
I have owned purple shirts before, but these days I mostly wear purple as accessory. Shoe laces, socks, cufflinks, pocket squares and the like. I found a paisley pattern tie with a purple background color at a thrift store, but haven’t put it with an outfit yet. Thanks for the article, even though I’ll need to report you to the crown for wearing it.
Christopher Lee says:
I love it, Jan!
Simon says:
Very interesting article. I wear purple ties with navy suits. That’s about it for me. Not sure if I would wear a purple suit. Probably not…
Simplex Munditiis says:
Don’t.
Alexander_F says:
Indeed purple is an often underrated shade, and one that is astonishingly versatile. I often wear dark muted purple socks, and I find them to work well with almost every color without being too flashy.
Alexander_F says:
And may I say that the second pocket square shown in this article is a mere dream.
DNN says:
I’m humbled to be a proud owner of a lavender-Bordeaux pair of Jordan retro 12 Nike sneakers by Michael Jordan. These are my first few pair of sneakers I’ve ever owned by Jordan a day of my life as I’ve always wanted a pair for the last 28 years but couldn’t afford them. And yes, they do look purpleish to some people although the official color is Bordeaux. I’m not ashamed of wearing that color because I have the jacket to blend with it and it resonates well with some of my other outfits. I have a lavender-Bordeaux sportcoat by Polo Ralph Lorenz with ducks on the inside of the suit jacket. The lavender Bordeaux sportcoat by Polo Ralph Lauren I got as a excellent online deal from Macy’s at the time for if I can recall under $50 or no more than $55.99. And sometimes, I where the lavender bordeaux colored polo Ralph Lorenz sportcoat with the purpleish look in Michael Jordan retro 12 bordeaux sneakers to set my outfit out from the rest in having a special look. 🙂
Tim says:
One big problem I have with purple is that I have the common form of red/green color blindness that affects many men. Purple, unfortunately, is often distorted for men like me. Be certain to ask a woman ” does this work?”. Even if you think you have good color perception, purple can be tricky for us guys .
Sometimes I wasn’t even aware I was wearing a shade of purple. Maroon is often brown in my world!
CraigC says:
I wore a purple shirt yesterday with a gray suit and silver tie. Knowing the history of purple and its association with the Phoenicians and ancient nobility, I have to wonder when exactly it became perceived as a feminine color. Surely sometime in the last century.
styleminded says:
Well done article and thank you. One thing that I have come to understand as well is that many colors are interchangeable and can be easily substituted into your wardrobe. Much how instead of a plain white shirt, one can wear a very very light blue or light grey or even super light yellow shirt. In my opinion, lavender (as variation of purple) can almost always substitute for pink. So if you have mastered the incorporation of pink into your classic wardrobe; lavender (and other light purples) works just as well. This is my version of a “hack” to broaden your color palate, without having to think too much about it.
DNN says:
I own a pair of Bordeaux – Lavender – Purple Jordan retro 12’s and those are “to the best my memory remembers for now” are my first pair of purple footwear.
Mansgazette says:
Great article on mans fashion, pink are favorite color of mine. Works well for ties for my taste. I have several of their jackets, a fine brand that seems to fly under the radar.
