Purple shirts are striking, simply because they aren’t as common as more traditional or “professional” colors. Coordinating them with blazers can sometimes be tricky as a result. What you don’t want is an overwhelming amount of color up top.
So, here are some great blazer colors you can wear with a purple shirt:
- Black
- Grey
- Navy
- Blue
- Brown
The combinations can be a great way to stand out from a crown, but they need to be worn the right way.
First, we’ll go through the factors you need to consider when choosing the right blazer color to wear with your purple shirt.
Then, we’ll run through that list of blazer colors in more detail (with pictures to boot).
How To Color Coordinate Purple Shirts With Blazers
These tips should really help you pick the right combination for your specific circumstances.
1. Consider The Dress Code
First, consider whether this combo would be suitable for the setting you’re dressing for in the first place.
A blazer and purple shirt combination should really only be worn in smart-casual settings and some business-casual settings.
It shouldn’t ever be worn in truly formal or business-professional settings.
One reason for this is that a 2-piece suit should really be worn in these settings – an unmatched blazer and pants combo of any sort usually wouldn’t be appropriate.
But another reason is that purple shirts are generally too casual for these settings in any case.
A very light purple shirt can sometimes be worn with a blazer in business-casual settings.
However, it would often come across as too casual. A white, light blue, or light pink shirt would usually be better options.
The combination we’re discussing here would usually be most suitable for smart-casual settings where there’s simply less of a risk of underdressing.
The lighter the shade of the purple shirt, the less casual it’ll look. Dark purple shirts will always look more casual and striking than light purple shirts, no matter what blazer color you may be wearing with it.
2. Neutral Blazers Are The Easiest To Pull Off
When wearing a purple shirt, neutral blazer colors are generally the easiest to coordinate.
That goes for both dark and neutral colors (eg. black, charcoal, navy), as well as light and neutral colors (eg. light brown, light grey).
The reason for this is that purple is pretty eye-catching as a color.
It’s generally best to keep things subtle with your other items because of this – the blazer is no exception.
Let the purple shirt be the “pop” of color in your outfit and let the blazer take a backseat – a neutral foundation.
Going for a bolder and more vibrant blazer color (eg. burgundy) wouldn’t look awful – but would often be considered too much.
The darker and more neutral the color of the blazer is, the more dressy the combination will look overall.
So, when dressing up, consider a light purple shirt and a dark/neutral blazer.
When dressing down, feel free to experiment with dark purple shirts and light/neutral blazers too.
5 Purple Shirt And Blazer Combinations
Here are those color combinations described in more detail. Notice how the darker and more neutral blazer colors will look dressier than the lighter ones.
Purple Shirt With A Black Blazer
A purple shirt can easily be worn with a black blazer in smart-casual settings. A light purple shirt can sometimes be worn with a black blazer in business-casual settings, as long as there’s little risk of underdressing.
Black blazers are incredibly versatile, mainly because they’re so dark and neutral that you never have to worry about whether they’ll coordinate with your shirt color.
It’ll always work.
The purple shirt will pop out against the backdrop of the black blazer. The darker the shade of the purple shirt, the more casual the combination will look as a whole.
While a purple shirt wouldn’t be ideal for a business-casual setting, wearing one with a black blazer would be one of the more appropriate ways to make it work.
However, in these more formal and “professional” settings, make sure the shade of the purple shirt is as light as possible (eg. lilac) and that you go for a dress shirt.
A more casual shirt style (eg. OCBD/linen) in purple would almost always look too casual to wear in a business-casual setting, no matter how dressy the black blazer may look.
When it comes to the color of the pants, it’s generally best to keep things neutral here too.
Let the black blazer and the neutral pants form the muted foundation over which the purple shirt can be allowed to pop out and catch the eye.
Consider how much contrast you want between the blazer and the pants. If you’d prefer a low-contrast, subtle, and dressier look, go for a dark/muted pants color such as charcoal, navy, or dark brown.
Purple Shirt With A Grey Blazer
Grey blazers can easily be worn with purple shirts, with dark grey blazers generally looking dressier and more “professional” than light grey alternatives.
A grey blazer would have the same benefit of a black blazer – it’s extremely neutral and effortless to pair with shirts in any shade of purple.
But it’s hard to deny that this combination of colors can look very different depending on what shades you go for.
A dark grey blazer worn with a light purple shirt would be the dressiest way to wear it. This combo would usually be appropriate in business-casual settings.
A light grey blazer worn with a light purple shirt would look more casual, but possibly appropriate to wear in business-casual settings where the vibe is a little more relaxed.
Once you start throwing dark purple shirts into the mix, the combos start looking a whole lot more casual and really only suitable in smart-casual settings.
Purple Shirt With A Navy Blazer
A navy blazer can be worn with a purple shirt in smart-casual settings and some of the more relaxed business-casual settings too.
Navy may not technically be neutral, but it’s dark and muted enough to pair with any purple shirt you can think of.
But once again, if you’re looking to wear this combination in dressier settings (eg. business-casual), go for a light purple shirt.
While navy is extremely muted, the “cool” undertones of the underlying blue are still noticeable.
As a result, here, you’re technically combining one “cool” color (purple) with another “cool” color (dark blue).
Combining “cool” colors is easy to do – they coordinate well and often produce a nice, laid-back aesthetic.
It’ll be more eye-catching than simply combining a light purple shirt with a black or dark grey blazer, but it’ll still usually look dressy enough for some business-casual settings.
Purple Shirt With A Brown Blazer
Brown blazers can be worn with purple shirts in smart-casual settings, with the combination working especially well during the months of fall.
Blazers in any shade of brown often have a natural and earthy tone to them.
It makes them an ideal addition to any fall wardrobe, working well with other fall-friendly colors such as green and deep shades of red.
But brown blazers do also work well with purple shirts.
The “warm” undertones of the brown do complement and add a nice sense of harmony and balance to the “cool” undertones of the purple shirt.
The lighter the shade of the brown blazer, the more casual the shirt/blazer combination will look overall.
Purple Shirt With A Blue Blazer
Purple shirts can work well with blazers in many shades of blue, ranging from sky and baby blue to medium shades such as steel blue and teal. The combinations have a fantastic laid-back aesthetic but would only be suitable in smart-casual settings.
This is arguably the most casual option on this list, simply because the blazer color is the least neutral.
Notice how different a blazer in a light/medium shade of blue looks from a navy blazer when combined with a purple shirt.
It looks several times more casual but is still effective and easy to coordinate.
As mentioned earlier, you’re combining two “cool” colors – this is easy to do and rarely ever comes across as too much.
It’s just important that the setting you’re wearing this combination to is casual enough to allow for it.
Ready Sleek founder. Obsessed with casual style and the minimalist approach to building a highly functional wardrobe. Also a fan of classic, vintage hairstyles.
