Maybe you’re tired of wearing the same neutral colors day after day and are looking to mix things up a bit. Or maybe you just want to add some personality to your outfits. Or if you already wear bold colors, you just want to know if you’re doing it right. Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, we’ll discuss how to dress with bold colors for men, so you can radiate confidence and stand out in a positive way.
Do you have to dress with bold colors? No. Many stylish men stick to neutrals or other basic colors. However, adding a dash of boldness can mix up your looks, give some personality to your attire, and exude the confidence that you are comfortable standing out. Clothes are a great way to express yourself, and color can spice up this expression to keep things fresh and interesting.
Sporting bold colors is not as simple as throwing on a bright shirt, however. In fact, it’s easy to get this wrong. And when it does go wrong, it will highlight a bad sense of style. You can see the difference below.
Let’s go through how to dress with bold colors for men, so you can avoid going over the top and looking like a clown.
Determine which colors match your skin tone
First step – you must first figure out which colors look best on you. It’s not as simple as picking a favorite color and then throwing it on. Some colors complement different complexions better than others.
For instance, if you have fairer skin, colors like white and black will wash you out and make you appear more pale than you really are. But cooler, brighter hues like royal blue and kelly green will stand out nicely and complement your complexion.
These articles go much more in-depth on which colors match your skin tone best (darker skin and lighter skin). Read whichever one is relevant to you to determine which bold colors you should add to your lineup.
Start small
Now that you know what colors will work best for your skin tone, it’s time to figure out what items to wear in these colors.
Now, you could go full force into dressing with bold colors by buying a shirt or pair of pants in your chosen color, but this might be a bit of a risk if you’re not used to wearing bright colors. Instead, introduce your colors of choice in smaller ways.
Start with accessories, as they give you a safe path to start testing on a small scale. A nylon watch band, a hat or beanie (for cold weather), a belt, a tie (if you have to wear one), a pocket square, or even a pair of socks can let you play around with bold colors without taking too much risk.
Pattern is another subtle way to add color to your outfit. If you’ve decided that red works well for your skin tone, for instance, then a white button-down with a subtle red tattersall pattern would be a great way to try out adding this color without making too drastic of a statement.
Test casually, then consider the occasion
You can also test out bold colors in lower stakes or more fun/casual situations.
Maybe you sport a pink t-shirt to wear around the house or to run some errands. Or an emerald green workout shirt for the gym. A pair of yellow swim trunks wouldn’t look out of place at the beach or pool.
Better to test how wearing bold colors will work in these lower stakes situations before trying them out for a date, work, or somewhere else more important. For instance, figuring out if pink swim trunks work for you is much less risky than seeing if you can pull off pink chinos with a blazer for your best friend’s rehearsal dinner.
Once you get comfortable wearing bolder colors in these more casual situations, you can start to add color into your everyday attire. When you become a pro, add some color for the appropriate dressier occasions, like a date, a night on the town, or that rehearsal dinner. Sporting bold colors in these higher stakes situations will show a fun, confident, and at-ease side of your personality.
For the most serious situations, like weddings, business meetings, and religious ceremonies, or anything requiring a suit, however, it’s safer to stay away from bolder colors, with the exception of maybe a small accessory.
Keep it to one piece
The biggest key when thinking of how to dress with bold colors for men – keep it to only one piece in your entire outfit. That’s right, boldness does have a limit.
If you combine too many bold colors, or wear an outfit that is predominately one bold color, you can visually overwhelm anyone looking your way. You risk resembling a clown more than a gentleman, which will not impress anyone.
Pick one part of your outfit for a bold color – shirt, pants (here’s a guide to the best chino colors), shoes, or an accessory – then wear neutrals for the rest. This will allow your one bold piece to stand out better, show that you have the taste to show some restraint, and will keep you from standing out in a negative way.
The picture below outlines this point perfectly. The guy on the right has some decent individual pieces that would be considered bold (pink jacket, patterned loafers, white pants, light blue pocket square). But when you combine all of these items, the whole outfit becomes too loud and overwhelming. The gentleman on the left does sport a very bold pair of mustard pants, but that’s the only part of his outfit that stands out. And the rest of the outfit highlights this one bold piece, the color complements everything else (including his skin color), and his outfit looks more tasteful and confident because of it.
While there are a few exceptions to this one bold piece rule (maybe you have the sauce to pull off a burgundy suit?), most men should follow this principle.
Outfit ideas
- Casual: navy overshirt, white t-shirt, denim jeans, red sneakers
- Casual: emerald green t-shirt, khaki chinos, white sneakers
- Rugged casual: red buffalo check flannel shirt jacket, grey t-shirt, denim jeans, workwear boots
- Smart casual: grey polo, olive or burgundy chinos, brown suede chukka boots (lightweight navy sport coat if you want to dress it up a touch)
- Smart casual: navy chore coat, denim jeans, casual yellow OCBD, chukka boots
- Stepped-up casual (fun): madras print shirt, casual navy sport coat, khaki chinos, brown leather loafers
- Stepped-up casual (traditional): white button-down, grey chinos, brown and navy checked sport coat (best sport coat colors here), brown bluchers
- Dressed up: navy suit (check out the best suit colors), white shirt, burgundy and black grenadine tie, dark brown oxfords
Match your personality
This part comes with practice, but you can follow some basic guidelines if you’re just getting started.
For instance, if you normally wear neutral colored t-shirts with jeans, you wouldn’t want to suddenly wear a mustard yellow sport coat. That would be too drastic and it also wouldn’t fit your personality.
Sure, this look could work if you routinely sport tailored attire. But if you don’t, you could try a brighter colored t-shirt, or throw on a red-checked flannel shirt-jacket, or even a pair of pine green corduroys or olive green chinos.
Only you know your personal style, and whatever you try out should fit with your current aesthetic but in a bolder, skin-tone appropriate color.
Consider seasonality
The seasons can affect your mood, and your attire can do wonders to get you out of a cold weather funk. It can also match the vibe and mood of different parts of the year.
For the warmer months, consider brighter colors that better reflect your surroundings and the optimism of Spring and Summer. These colors will also help keep you cooler in the hot parts of the year.
For the cooler months, warmer, richer colors can match the beauty of the changing seasons, as well as bring some visual warmth to your outfits.
Each season has a set of bolder colors that will work with your skin tone that will allow you to reap the benefits of dressing with a bit of color and personality.
Wear with confidence
Bold colors should complement your appearance, not compensate for insecurity. There’s a big difference. Add bold colors to improve every other part of your outfit and look, not so you can stand out just for wearing something colorful.
You should also feel comfortable in your clothes, not too worried about what impact dressing with bold colors will have on those around you. This will impart confidence rather than breed insecurity, which will make your overall vibe even more attractive.
It’s easy to stick with neutral colors and blend in. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you know how to dress with bold colors for men, even if it’s every now and then, you can show that little bit of extra self-confidence and swagger.
