# Menswear: Dark dress shirts with dark suits - is it ever OK? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 12, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menswear-dark-dress-shirts-with-dark-suits-is-it-ever-ok/535855 "2010-04-12T17:22:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menswear-dark-dress-shirts-with-dark-suits-is-it-ever-ok/535855/61 "2010-04-14T14:50:00Z")
Black suit, red shirt is da bomb. Likewise, for women: red dress+black hosiery. Having tons of confidence and personal flair helps to carry it off. Not for the timid. Regardless, the khaki pants+blue shirt look needs to die. NOW. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menswear-dark-dress-shirts-with-dark-suits-is-it-ever-ok/535855/62 "2010-04-14T16:14:48Z")
I like it, but lately I’m a lot more likely to see “shirt, jacket and jeans” than “shirt and suit”. In Spain right now, a guy in a suit has a 99.999% probability to work in sales or personal finance (which is just “sales for people with lots of money”), and I may have left out a few nines. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menswear-dark-dress-shirts-with-dark-suits-is-it-ever-ok/535855/63 "2010-04-14T17:15:03Z")
Wow, a lot of folks work in weird fields. I’ve worked in very high profile U.S. government and business jobs. The look is common, and can easily be executed well. I personally wear plenty of royal blue shirts with dark suits, it’s a good look. Dark purple will work as well, but that’s admittedly a more bold choice. That said, you won’t see black shirts. That’s a casual look, or an “alternative business” look, i.e. you’re not going to find a lawyer/banker/broker wearing that. Done wrong, yes, it’ll look like the stereotypical mobster look. As far as the rules are concerned, the rules are meant to be broken, with confidence. That said, _as a general rule_, you don’t wear a shirt darker than the suit you are wearing, and you don’t wear a tie lighter than the shirt. However, I routinely pair ties with the same color shirt-- that’s a simple bold look, nothing unprofessional about it. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menswear-dark-dress-shirts-with-dark-suits-is-it-ever-ok/535855/64 "2010-04-15T23:15:57Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > I like the way Chuck Bass dresses, too. Chuck Bass has _fantastic_ fashion sense. It’s definitely not conservative, though. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menswear-dark-dress-shirts-with-dark-suits-is-it-ever-ok/535855/65 "2010-04-16T16:01:30Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > I wear my black suit with a wine-ish red shirt and get complements. Those would be white and light yellowish-green, amiright? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menswear-dark-dress-shirts-with-dark-suits-is-it-ever-ok/535855/66 "2010-04-16T16:07:27Z")
The look can be done, but it shouldn’t be done regularly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menswear-dark-dress-shirts-with-dark-suits-is-it-ever-ok/535855.md?page=3)