How To Wear A Navy Blazer With Jeans (Outfits, Tips)

A blazer and jeans combination is incredibly versatile, but there are plenty of ways of getting wrong. The question is, can you really wear a navy blazer with jeans? 

A navy blazer can easily be worn with jeans in a variety of different colors, although blue, grey, and black would be the most traditional and easiest options. The combination should only ever be worn in casual and smart-casual settings. 

That’s the brief answer. It’ll serve you well, but there’s a lot more to it. 

After going through a few examples of outfits to try out for yourself, we’ll run through specific and actionable tips for getting the combo right every time. 

Let’s get to it. 

3 Navy Blazer And Jeans Outfits To Try

Here, we’re going through three very different navy blazer and jeans outfits, going from the dressiest to the least dressy. 

Enjoy.

Dressy

Items: Navy Blazer, White Dress Shirt, White Pocket Square, Dark Wash Blue Jeans, Dark Brown Derby Shoes

Firstly, it’s important to note that a navy blazer and jeans outfit should never be considered anything other than casual. 

In casual or smart-casual settings, it can be perfect. 

Even within the world of casualwear, you’ve got dressy options and not-so-dressy options. 

When dressing up a navy blazer and jeans, consider the following: 

Go for a dark wash pair of jeans – either dark blue or black. 

A white dress shirt would work a treat, but consider a broadcloth or poplin shirt if you don’t want one that looks too “professional”. 

A pocket square in a simple straight or puff fold is a great way to add a touch of sophistication. 

Finally, consider a pair of dress shoes in a shiny grain of leather. Black ones can work well, but dark brown is often better suited to the smart-casual aesthetic. 

More Casual

Items: Navy Blazer, Tan OCBD Shirt, Black Or Grey Jeans, Navy Blue Suede Shoes

Here, you’re dressing down a notch. 

Instead of a dress shirt (or a similarly formal-looking shirt), consider a chambray, OCBD, or linen shirt. 

The rough and rugged texture of these shirt fabrics/weaves will always come across as more casual. 

In addition, consider a more vivid color. If you didn’t want to go for white, consider a light blue or light pink shirt. Here, we’ve gone for tan. 

They’re a little more exciting than white but still dressy enough to be appropriate in smart-casual settings. 

In addition, always remember that a turtleneck sweater can make for a great alternative to a shirt during the colder months of the year. They look great when worn under blazers. 

You could go for any jeans color you wanted, but to produce a bit of contrast with the navy blazer, consider a pair in black. 

Black and grey jeans are great because they’re neutral colors that are easy to pair with other items. 

Finally, consider a pair of suede shoes. The napped texture is a great way of showing you’ve made an effort, but you’re still going for a laid-back aesthetic. 

To really take things to the next level, consider a pair of suede shoes in navy to seamlessly coordinate with the blazer. 

Most Casual

Items: Navy Blazer, White Or Pink T-Shirt, Blue Jeans, White Sneakers

The blazer over T-shirt look is a common favorite, simply because it’s an easy and effective way to dress up even the most casual-looking T-shirt outfits. 

You could go for any T-shirt color you wanted. 

Ultimately, navy is so dark and muted that it’ll color-match with pretty much anything. 

In the image above, we’ve gone for a white T-shirt to keep things simple, but you could easily go for maroon, pink, or anything else. 

When you’re dressing down, feel free to experiment with splashes of color. A single pop of color is a good rule of thumb to stick by when it comes to casual outfits. 

Finish up with a pair of minimalist all-white low-top sneakers. It’s hard to go wrong with them. 

The reason we’ve gone for a relatively dressy pair of sneakers is that it’s important to make sure they’re “formal” looking enough for the blazer. 

5 Tips For Wearing Navy Blazers With Jeans

Here are some great tips for wearing this combination. They’ll serve you very well no matter what you’re dressing for. 

Always Make Sure It’s Appropriate 

A navy blazer and jeans outfit should only be considered casual or smart-casual. Which one depends on how you’re wearing it. 

In other words, what style of navy blazer and jeans you’ve gone for, as well as what other items you’re wearing them with. The outfit ideas above give you a range to choose from.

But no matter what style you’ve gone for or what other items you’re wearing, the combination shouldn’t ever be worn in formal, business-professional, or even business-casual outfits. 

In business-casual settings, a pair of chinos or dress pants would be more appropriate. 

Jeans are the pinnacle of casual wear. It’s hard to think of a world without them at this point. But it’s important to wear them in the appropriate settings. 

They’re casual enough to make underdressing a very real risk. 

While a navy blazer could be worn in a very wide range of more formal settings, the jeans do restrict this combination to casual or smart-casual events and occasions. 

Consider The Contrast 

The contrast between the navy blazer and the jeans you’re wearing should be considered. 

If you’d prefer a high-contrast combination, consider wearing the navy blazer with a pair of light-colored jeans. 

For example, a navy blazer with light blue or light grey jeans. 

Combining a dark color (i.e navy) with a light color will produce an eye-catching and striking contrast. 

In general, it’ll look more casual. 

If you were looking for a more subtle, understated, and dressy navy blazer and jeans combination, consider a darker pair of jeans and a low-contrast look. 

Dark blue jeans work well here, as do black ones. 

Wear A Tapered, Slim-Fit Pair Of Jeans

While personal preference does play a role here, slim-fit and tapered jeans tend to look better with navy blazers. 

The reason for this is that these fits tend to look dressier. 

Ultimately, a blazer is a “formal” item. Pairing formal items with casual items can work incredibly well, but there’s always a risk of a formality mismatch. 

In other words, there’s always a risk that the blazer will look too formal for the jeans. 

So, try to choose a “dressy” pair of jeans to avoid this. 

While bootcut, wide-leg, straight-leg and skinny jeans have their place, they will usually look more casual than a pair of tapered, slim-fit jeans. 

To sum up, a slim-fit pair of jeans will reduce the risk of a formality mismatch when wearing a smart navy blazer. 

Minimal Distressing (If Any)

“Distressing” is the manufacturing process that’s commonly used to intentionally make jeans look vintage and worn out. 

It could include little rips, frays, and even tears. 

It can also refer to the process of fading the color using techniques such as acid washing or stone washing.

Opinions on distressed jeans are very divided, but generally, they can look great in the right settings. 

But distressing is a very casual feature that can sometimes look quite awkward and out of place when wearing a formal-looking navy blazer. 

Remember, you want a pair of jeans that’s dressy enough to make sense with a navy blazer. 

One way of achieving this is by choosing a pair of jeans with minimal distressing. No rips and no fading. 

Go For Smart-Casual Footwear

Remember, no matter how you wear it, a navy blazer and jeans combination will always be smart-casual at its most formal. 

Trying to wear a pair of ultra-formal black Oxfords with the combination will usually lead to a formality mismatch. 

The shoes just look too formal for the jeans. 

But the navy blazer does up the formality level of the outfit a little, at least to the extent where a pair of Derby shoes or monk straps would look pretty great. 

Smart-casual footwear options such as loafers, Chelsea boots, and chukka boots look great when wearing this typically smart-casual combination. 

It’s always worth considering them. 

As mentioned earlier, suede works well because the napped texture of suede just suits the rugged texture of denim so well. 

Finally, if you were really looking to dress down, consider a pair of sneakers. In general, it’s best to keep the sneaker color simple and neutral – go for white or black. 

Low-top leather sneakers are usually better than bulky canvas ones, simply because we want to be sure the sneakers look dressy enough to wear with the blazer. 

A pair of athletic trainers often looks awkward and out of place when wearing a blazer, no matter how casual the other items you’re wearing may be. 

Conclusion 

While it’s hard to go wrong with this classic combination, it’s important to ensure you wear it in the right settings. 

Restrict it to casual and smart-casual settings. Consider the color of the jeans and how much they’ll contrast with the navy blazer. 

Finally, consider your other items. 

As you’ve seen, there are several different ways of wearing the combination. Some will inevitably look dressier than others. 

The way you choose should depend on what you’re dressing for, as well as your preferences. 

Enjoy.