7 Pants Colors To Wear With A Blue Shirt And Brown Shoes

You aren’t short of options, but there are definitely certain colors that tend to work best with this combination. 

So, here are some great pants colors you can wear with a blue shirt and brown shoes: 

• Black
• Grey
• Khaki
• Blue
• White
• Tan
• Green

The one you choose should depend on factors including the dress code, as well as your preferences. 

Let’s go through these color combinations in more detail to help you choose the perfect one for the specific setting you’re dressing for. 

7 Pants Colors To Wear With A Blue Shirt And Brown Shoes

Consider all of these before making your decision. 

Specific combinations and variations will generally suit certain dress codes more than others. We’ll go through that too. 

Black Pants

Black pants look great when wearing a blue shirt and brown shoes. Wear a light blue shirt with black pants in business-professional and business-casual environments, with darker shades of blue being more appropriate in smart-casual settings.

• Business-Professional – Light blue shirt, black pants, dark brown shoes
• Business-Casual – Light blue shirt, black pants, light/dark brown shoes
• Smart-Casual – Light/dark blue shirt, black pants, light/dark brown shoes

Blue and black pair very well together and the brown shoes add a nice sense of contrast. 

If you’re looking for a more formal or professional appearance, a light blue shirt would usually be your best option. 

This would be relevant for both business-professional and business-casual dress codes. 

In “smart-casual” settings where there’s less of a risk of underdressing, consider a medium or dark blue shirt as well. 

The darker the shade of blue, the more casual it’ll look. 

But that doesn’t mean you can’t wear a dark blue shirt in dressy settings. 

In fact, a navy shirt would look great with a pair of black pants and dark brown shoes in dressy evening smart-casual settings. 

It just won’t look as formal or traditional as a light blue shirt would. 

Grey Pants

Grey pants look fantastic when wearing a blue shirt and brown shoes, whether they’re dark, medium, or light grey. Given the neutrality of grey, the combination can be worn in a wide range of settings ranging from professional to smart-casual. 

• Business-Professional – Light blue shirt, dark grey pants, dark brown shoes
• Business-Casual – Light blue shirt with light/dark grey pants, light/dark brown shoes
• Smart-Casual – Light/dark blue shirt with light/dark grey pants, light/dark brown shoes

As you can see, the more formal or professional settings require a light blue shirt and ideally a dark grey pair of pants. 

In these settings, dark brown shoes would usually be the better option as well. 

In more casual settings, you’ve got the option of wearing shirts in a variety of shades of blue and pants in a variety of shades of grey. 

Khaki Pants

Khaki pants can be worn with a blue shirt and brown shoes in business-casual and smart-casual settings. Avoid wearing the combination in business-professional workplaces where black or grey pants would be more appropriate. 

• Business-Casual – Light blue shirt and khaki pants 
• Smart-Casual – Light or dark blue shirt and khaki pants 

Khakis epitomize the business-casual aesthetic. So much so, that for a long time it was tough to consider them in any other context. 

However, nowadays it’s common to see khakis worn in many different settings outside of the workplace. 

It’s an incredibly versatile color given how easy it is to combine with other items. 

Blue shirts are no exception. 

The main question to ask yourself is what shade of blue shirt would work best with your khakis. 

If you’re dressing for a business-professional setting or workplace, a light blue shirt would usually be best. 

In more casual settings, dark blue shirts (eg. navy) look great when wearing khaki pants. 

The contrast between the dark blue and the khaki (which is typically a pale shade of brown) is striking and bound to turn some heads. 

When it comes to the brown shoes you’re rounding this outfit off with, shoes in medium shades of brown tend to work great with khakis. 

Examples include tan, caramel, or light walnut shoes. 

Blue Pants

Blue pants can be worn with a blue shirt and brown shoes to produce an effective monochromatic combination. Ensure that the pants and the shirt are different shades of blue to make this look work. 

• Smart-Casual – Light/dark blue shirt with light/dark blue pants

While it does look fantastic, reserve this combination for casual or smart-casual outfits. 

The all-blue ensemble doesn’t usually fare too well in more formal settings. 

It’s important to make sure that the shade of the blue shirt is noticeably different from that of the blue pants. 

For example, a light blue shirt with a dark blue pair of pants. Alternatively, a dark or medium blue shirt worn with light blue pants. 

The more contrast between the two items, the more effective it’ll look. 

The beauty of wearing a pair of brown shoes with a blue shirt and blue pants is that you break the outfit up a little and prevent it from becoming too monochromatic. 

White Pants

White pants can be worn with both light or dark blue shirts, but only in casual and smart-casual settings. 

• Smart-Casual – Light/dark blue shirt with white pants 

Although neutral pants colors do lend themselves well to formal and professional settings, white pants would be the exception. 

White pants should only be worn in casual or smart-casual settings where there’s no risk of underdressing.

The great thing about them is that they’ll coordinate with any shirt color you can think of given how soft and neutral white is as a color. 

But don’t risk wearing it to settings that are dressier than smart-casual. 

The darker the shade of the blue shirt you’re wearing, the more contrast you’ll achieve between the shirt and the white pants. 

The more contrast you’ve got, the more striking and eye-catching it’ll look. 

A navy shirt worn with white pants will look more attention-grabbing than a baby blue or sky blue shirt would. 

Consider how much contrast you want. If you’d prefer a more subtle and low-contrast aesthetic, go for a light blue shirt instead. 

Tan Pants

Tan pants work well with blue shirts and brown shoes and the combination can be worn to both smart-casual and business-casual events.  

• Business-Casual – Light blue shirt with tan pants
• Smart-Casual – Light/dark blue shirt with tan pants

Tan makes for a great alternative to khaki being a similarly light shade of brown. 

While it’s a little darker than khaki, it’s still generally considered appropriate in business-casual environments. 

However, when wearing it in these settings, do go for a light blue shirt and nothing darker than that. 

Dark and medium blue shirts can easily be worn with tan pants, but only in more casual settings. 

Dark brown shoes tend to work best with tan pants in order to produce enough contrast between the two items to be noticeable. 

Wearing tan shoes with tan pants, for example, generally doesn’t look great. 

Green Pants

Green pants can easily be worn with blue shirts and brown shoes in casual and smart-casual settings, with the combination working especially well during the winter and fall months. 

• Smart-Casual – Light/dark blue shirt with light/dark green pants

Here, you’re blending two “cool” colors (blue and green). Cool colors tend to have a laid-back and relaxed vibe to them, while “warm” colors (eg. reds, yellows, oranges) tend to look more vibrant and energetic. 

Mixing two cool colors is quite easy to do. Wearing a blue shirt with green pants is no exception. 

However, it tends to work best when the pants are in a dark or muted shade of green such as olive, sage, forest, or hunter green. 

Shirts in both light and dark shades of blue could be considered. 

Once again, consider how much contrast you want. If you’d prefer a high-contrast combination, go for a light blue shirt and green pants combination or vice versa. 

Finally, it’s hard to deny that a pair of green pants looks great with brown shoes. The reason for this is that green and brown produce a nice and earthy tone to the outfit when combined. 

Conclusion 

While a blue shirt and brown shoes can be worn with a wide range of pants colors, it’s important to consider the dress code when determining which one would be right for you. 

In addition, be sure to consider the dress code when deciding what shade of the blue shirt and brown shoes would be best.

Enjoy.