What to Wear with Gray Jeans: The Men’s Style Guide
The best jeans are always some shade of blue, right? Wrong. Truth be told, you can wear gray jeans and achieve a new level of style and sophistication as a guy. It’s even easier than you may think to style your outfit with your gray jeans, at least if you start from the right place.
T-Shirts and Gray Jeans
Naturally, T-shirts of all stripes go perfectly with gray jeans, especially those that don't have any graphics on them. Plain T-shirts in dark colors ranging from navy to burgundy to dark green and more are ideal complements to gray jeans because they're roughly the same formality level and the colors usually blend well with the slate shade of gray legwear.
As an example, this Metal Vent Short Sleeve Crew from Vintage 1946 would go perfectly with most gray jeans, especially if you pick the right color. Gray combines very well with darker shades and brighter hues – if burgundy or red is already a good color for you, pairing a burgundy T-shirt with your favorite gray jeans will make you look stylish and casual in equal measure.
However, you can also wear T-shirts that are fairly close in color to your gray jeans of choice. This Garment Dyed Slub Pocket Tee, for example, comes in a dark shade that will pair perfectly with gray jeans, especially if you have a pale skin tone. Bottom line: T-shirts are great articles to wear with gray jeans in almost any setting.
Go Classy with a Blazer
Alternatively, you can style your gray jeans with a blazer. This will help elevate your aesthetic and be a little more suitable at a college or in any other social environment with a similar level of formality. Blazers can be worn with button-down shirts, nice shoes, and your best accessories to elevate your style. Consider this if you want to wear gray jeans to the office or to an educational seminar, for example.
Adding a Coat to the Mix
Coats also go well with gray jeans, especially when you choose coats with the right colors. Just be sure not to wear a coat in gray – otherwise, you’ll look too monochromatic from head to toe, which can ruin the grounding effect that gray jeans normally bring to your appearance.
Note that this principle applies to any layering you do with gray jeans whatsoever. Take this Ultra Suede Jacket, for example. You can wear it with gray jeans, but you'll want to choose an underlayer that's a different shade so you don't go fully monochromatic. Then, the jacket and the jeans will complement each other, and a different color undershirt will add volume to your overall outfit.
The same goes for more casual layering adventures, like wearing this Double Knit Slub Hoodie. Choosing a lighter color underneath will make the darker colors of your upper layers appear that much more dramatic, vibrant, and masculine all at once.
Pairing Shoes and Gray Jeans
What about shoes? Truth be told, you can pair lots of different shoes with gray jeans depending on the formality level of the rest of your ensemble.
For example, if you are wearing gray jeans with a blazer, oxfords or other nice shoes are the perfect fits. Alternatively, sneakers could be the best things to wear with a T-shirt and a pair of gray jeans, especially if the shoes themselves are a similar color to your chosen upper wear article.
Just try not to wear shoes with too much white. White shoes will contrast too much with the clothing articles they are closest to: your gray jeans.
Color Coordination Considerations
You’ve probably noticed that we’ve spent a lot of time on color coordination, and for good reason. With a color as dark and “heavy” as gray, choosing the right colors to complement your jeans is key.
Ideally, you should choose shirts, accessories, and shoes in colors that are dark like your jeans. Dark shades of blue, red, and green are perfect, and brown can work in some contexts. Brighter, flashier colors like pink, yellow, and orange don't usually go very well with gray, so try to stay away from those with any of your other clothing articles.
Wrap Up
All in all, you can wear a lot with gray jeans and look phenomenal, whether you are dressing for success on an important date or just hanging out with your friends. Keep these tips in mind so you always know what to don with your dark gray jeans!