What Color Pants Go With A Mustard Yellow Shirt? (Pics)

It isn’t always the easiest item to color coordinate, but it sure is fun to wear. 

So, here are the best pants colors to wear with a mustard yellow shirt:

• Grey
• White
• Blue
• Khaki
• Brown
• Olive Green

We’ll look at these combinations later on. But first, let’s talk through a few crucial tips for color coordinating mustard yellow shirts with pants in the most effective way possible. 

Let’s get to it. 

How To Color Coordinate Mustard Yellow Shirts With Pants

Right from the start, it’s worth highlighting this: 

A mustard yellow shirt should only be worn in casual or smart-casual settings. It should never be worn to formal, business-professional, or even business-casual settings. 

Having said this, there are always going to be smart-casual events that are “dressier” than others. 

Take this into account when choosing your pants. Certain pants colors will make a mustard yellow shirt look more casual, while others will make it look less casual. 

Let’s dig deeper. 

1. Stick To Neutrals

When wearing a mustard yellow shirt, try to stick to neutral-colored pants. Mustard yellow is a vibrant and dominating color. 

You’ll want to make sure the other items you wear with it are subtle and muted enough to not make the entire outfit too loud overall. 

While the true neutrals are white, grey, and black, there are other colors that aren’t technically neutral but are often labeled as such due to how muted they are. 

So, in men’s style, the following colors are also often considered “neutrals”: 

• Olive green
• Khaki
• Navy

I like to call them neutral-adjacents or neutral-ish colors. 

Either way, they’re incredibly easy to coordinate with other colors no matter how vibrant or bold they might be. 

Mustard yellow shirts are no exception. 

Here’s an example on Amazon:

Here’s another example on Amazon. As you can see, neutrals work incredibly well. 

2. Consider The Contrast

Now that we’ve gone through some great neutral or neutral-ish pants colors you could consider, it’s time to choose one. 

When choosing, consider how much contrast you want between the shirt and the pants. 

Mustard yellow is pretty light and bright in color. 

If you want a high-contrast combination, consider a black, navy, or charcoal grey pair of pants. 

If you’d prefer a low-contrast combination, consider a light grey, white, olive green, or khaki pair of pants. 

Both options could work. It’s just worth noting that high-contrast combinations are generally more eye-catching and attention-grabbing. 

If you’d prefer a more subtle aesthetic, consider a low-contrast combination instead. 

3. Consider Your Other Items

While the casual/smart-casual combination of a mustard yellow shirt and pair of pants would be perfectly fine to wear alone, you may want to top it off with a couple of other items. 

A blazer or sport coat would definitely be one to consider. 

If you do choose to pop on a blazer or sport coat, try to make sure it’s suitably neutral enough, just like the pants. 

Grey, black, and olive green blazers work especially well. They’re subtle and muted enough to not conflict with the bold shirt color. 

Your shoe choice should ideally be just as simple.

For example, a pair of tan brown dress shoes or minimalist all-white sneakers if you’re going more casual. 

Much like with the blazer and the pants, you want to keep things subtle with the shoes and let the mustard yellow shirt take center stage. 

Mustard Yellow Shirt And Pants Combinations 

OK, so you’ve learned a few tips for pulling it off. But actually seeing the combinations is the best way to get a feel for what you want. 

Here are some great options you could consider. 

Mustard Yellow Shirt With Grey Pants

A mustard yellow shirt can be worn with both light and grey pairs of pants for a relatively dressy smart-casual aesthetic. 

Grey pants work especially well with a mustard yellow shirt and tends to make it look a little dressier. 

This is a testament to just how neutral the color grey really is. 

But it’s important to not confuse “neutral” with “boring” or “basic”. 

It’s a combination that just works without having to be fancy. 

You could either choose a light grey pair of pants or a dark grey pair of pants, depending on how much contrast you want between the two items. 

A mustard yellow shirt with a dark grey pair of pants tends to be a little more eye-catching due to the level of contrast. 

You could consider wearing a blazer in a shade of grey that’s different from that of the pants. 

For example, a mustard yellow shirt with a light grey pair of pants and a dark grey blazer. 

The blazer and pants would obviously coordinate effortlessly, with a pop of mustard yellow blocked between the two. 

Mustard Yellow Shirt With White Pants 

Mustard yellow shirts can be worn with white pants pretty effortlessly. The combination of yellow and white works especially well in summer smart-casual settings. 

The neutrality of the white pants adds a lot of balance to the warm undertones of the mustard yellow shirt. 

The outfit looks great for those summer-casual events where you want to dress up just a little. 

A garden party, a beachy wedding reception, and so on. 

A pair of light brown shoes would work really well here. This could be a pair of brown loafers (consider suede). 

Or you could consider a pair of espadrilles if you wanted a more casual, summer-friendly alternative. 

Mustard Yellow Shirt With Blue Pants

Blue pants can be worn with mustard yellow shirts in the right setting. 

The combination won’t look quite as dressy as more neutral options such as grey or white, but it would usually look more eye-catching. 

If you were going for a bolder and more colorful outfit in any case, a light or medium blue pair of pants could potentially look great. 

If you do want to keep things a little more subtle, consider a muted shade of blue or navy blue to keep things simple. 

As mentioned earlier, navy is a neutral-ish color that would combine perfectly well with a mustard yellow shirt. 

Mustard Yellow Shirt With Khaki Pants

A mustard yellow shirt can be worn with khaki pants if you were looking for a summer-friendly combination filled with warm undertones. 

Pairing warm colors (i.e reds, oranges, yellows) with other warm colors isn’t always as easy as it may seem at first. 

The result is often pretty loud and in your face – not always in the best way. 

So, when wearing a mustard yellow shirt, choosing a pair of pants in a similarly vibrant warm color may end up a little too bold. 

A simple solution to this would be to choose a pair of pants in warm but muted color. 

Khaki, while neutral and incredibly versatile, does have noticeable warm undertones that are hard to ignore. 

While a pair of khaki pants (a business-casual favorite) can be worn with practically any shirt color you can think of, these warm undertones will usually shine through. 

However, they’re still subtle enough to pair with a bold mustard yellow shirt and not get a result that’s overbearing or too bold. 

Mustard Yellow Shirt With Olive Green Pants 

A combination of a mustard yellow shirt and olive green pants would make for a great smart-casual outfit, especially in a setting where there isn’t a risk of underdressing. 

While olive green is a muted shade that’s often considered neutral, the combination won’t be quite as dressy as the first couple in this list. 

It’s a great option if you were looking to make more of a statement. 

Green is a “cool” color and would add a lot of balance to the heavy, warm undertones of the mustard yellow shirt. 

So, while it’s a more casual option than wearing a pair of black, white, or grey pants, it may be exactly the right level of casual you were looking for. 

Conclusion 

When it comes to choosing a pair of pants for a mustard yellow shirt, keeping things simple and neutral is the key. 

This may restrict your options, but sticking to them is essential when color coordinating vibrant colors such as mustard yellow. 

Hopefully, you’re now several steps closer to choosing the right combination to suit your needs. 

Enjoy.