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What Color Pants Go With A Salmon Shirt? (Pics)

December 22, 2022
What Color Pants Go With A Salmon Shirt? (Pics)

It’s a color that immediately pops out given how bold and vibrant it is. While this can be appealing, it does make color-matching pants a little more tricky. 

So, here are some great pants colors you can wear with a salmon pink shirt: 

  • Black
  • Grey
  • White
  • Blue
  • Olive
  • Khaki

That’s the short answer, but there’s more to it. 

After going through a few essential tips for color-coordinating salmon shirts with pants in the best way possible, we’ll run through those combinations in more detail (with pics). 

What Color Pants Go With A Salmon Shirt

How To Color Match Salmon Shirts With Pants

While eye-catching shirt colors such as this can be great, it’s important to consider a few important factors before you put together your outfit. 

salmon pink shirt with black pants
Image From Deposit Photos

1. Neutrals Work Best 

Salmon is usually a medium shade of pink with a distinctive orange hue. 

Referring to the color wheel, it would definitely be considered a “warm” color, along with reds, oranges, and yellows. 

Color wheel
Image From Deposit Photos

Given how bold and vibrant salmon shirts can be, it’s best to keep things subtle and understated when it comes to the color of your pants. 

This is usually better than combining it with another bold and vibrant color. It would usually just be too much. 

In general, neutral and muted pants colors work best when wearing a salmon shirt. Black, white, olive, khaki, navy, and the others mentioned earlier on – they’d all fall within this category. 

2. Consider The Season

When choosing a pants color, it’s also worth considering the season. 

Salmon pink is a warm color and is generally better suited to the spring and summer months. 

This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, however, as you could quite confidently wear it during the colder months of the year as well. 

If you do choose to wear it during winter or fall, consider wearing the salmon shirt with a “cool” colored pair of pants. 

For example, olive or sage green. Navy blue also works well. 

During the warmer summer/spring months, salmon pink shirts work especially well with light and neutral-colored pairs of pants. Light grey and khaki pants look great. 

Regardless of the time of the year, salmon pink shirts shouldn’t be worn with similarly “warm” colored pairs of pants unless you were looking to make a serious statement. 

For example, a pink shirt + orange pants would be a very in-your-face look that would usually be considered too much. 

3. Consider The Dress Code

Salmon pink shirts should only be worn in casual or smart-casual settings. They should never be worn in business-casual, business-professional, or formal settings. 

They’d simply look too casual for any of these settings. 

As a caveat, very light pink dress shirts can often be worn in professional settings. Unfortunately, salmon pink would usually be too dark and bold to be considered appropriate. 

However, even within the spectrum of “casual”, there will still be settings where certain pants colors would be more appropriate than others. 

The “smarter” the casual setting is, the more likely it is that a pair of neutral-colored pants would be appropriate. 

When dressing your salmon shirt up, consider a dark and neutral pair of pants such as charcoal grey or black. 

Light and neutral pants such as khaki or light grey would be slightly less dressy, but still neutral enough to work in most settings. 

Pants in muted, yet slightly more vibrant colors such as olive/sage green or medium shades of blue would be more appropriate when dressing your salmon shirt down. 

salmon pink shirt with blue pants
Image From Deposit Photos

6 Pants Colors You Can Wear With A Salmon Shirt

Here are some great salmon shirt and pants combinations you can try out for yourself. You’ll likely find one or two options that suit your needs a little better than the others. 

It comes down to personal preferences, as well as the setting you’re dressing for. 

Salmon Shirt With Black Pants

dark pink shirt +  black pants
Images From Deposit Photos

Salmon shirts can easily be worn with black pants. The combination is a great option when you’re dressing up, making it ideal for smart-casual settings. 

But remember – no matter how dressy those black pants may be, they would never be appropriate for any dress code more formal than smart-casual when wearing a salmon shirt. 

The style of the black pants you choose does also depend on whether you’re dressing up or down. 

If you’re dressing down, consider a salmon linen or Oxford cloth shirt paired with black jeans, linen pants, or chinos. 

Alternatively, if you’re dressing up, consider a salmon dress shirt with a pair of black chinos or dress pants. 

Salmon Shirt With Grey Pants

dark pink shirt + slate grey pants
Image From Deposit Photos

Grey pants can be worn with salmon shirts in a variety of different casual settings. 

This goes for both light and dark grey pants. 

The shade of grey you choose may depend on a couple of factors. As mentioned above, dark grey pants tend to look dressier when wearing a salmon shirt. 

Having said that, light grey pants do have a distinctive professional edge to them that does make them look pretty dressy as well. 

Contrast should be another factor you consider. 

Salmon is a medium shade of pink. In general, a salmon pink shirt paired with a light grey pair of pants would be considered a “low contrast” combination, simply because there’s less of a difference between the shirt and the pants. 

Alternatively, a salmon shirt paired with a dark grey pair of pants would be considered a “high contrast” combination because of how stark the difference is. 

Overall, the high-contrast combination would be a little more eye-catching and attention-grabbing. 

If you’d prefer a more subtle aesthetic, consider a light grey pair of pants instead. 

Salmon Shirt With White Pants

dark pink shirt + white pants
Images From Deposit Photos

A salmon pink shirt can be worn with white pants for a gloriously smart-casual aesthetic. The combination works especially well in the summer. 

With most people going for “shades of white” such as beige or cream, real white pants are very underrated. 

Salmon pink works incredibly well when paired with white. 

This is especially true during the warmer months of spring and summer. The colors have a very light and airy look to them, making them perfect for daytime events and sunny weather. 

Consider a summer-friendly smart-casual choice of footwear to go with it. For example, a pair of suede penny loafers, or even espadrilles if you wanted to let loose and dress down a little. 

Salmon Shirt With Blue Pants

dark pink shirt + navy blue pants + medium blue pants
Images From Deposit Photos

Salmon shirts can be worn with blue pants to many different casual and smart-casual events. Consider a darker shade of blue such as navy when dressing up. 

The great thing about wearing a salmon shirt with blue pants is that you get a clear sense of balance. 

Salmon pink is a “warm” color while blue is a “cool” color. 

While a warm color paired with a cool color will produce a noticeable amount of contrast, it also often produces a balanced aesthetic when done subtly. 

The easiest way to pull it off would be to choose pants in a muted shade of blue. 

Nothing too bright or bold – at the end of the day, the salmon shirt should be the bold item taking center stage. 

Let the other items compliment the salmon shirt without conflicting with it or stealing its thunder. 

Navy blue works incredibly well for this reason. It’s dark, muted, and subtle. 

It pairs exceptionally well with salmon pink without getting in its way. 

Salmon Shirt With Olive Pants

dark pink shirt + light green pants
Images From Deposit Photos

Olive green pants look great when paired with a salmon shirt. The “cool” undertones of olive green add balance and harmony to the “warm” undertones of salmon pink. 

Notice how this combination looks more casual than the previous ones. 

Olive green, although muted, isn’t as neutral as black, grey, khaki, or navy. 

It’s a “cool” color that works especially well during the winter and fall months, but can easily be worn year-round. 

A muted “cool” color such as olive green is a great way to add just a touch more color to an already colorful outfit, without making it seem as though it’s too much. 

The same goes for sage green. 

Sage and olive and muted enough to add color to a salmon shirt outfit without making it overwhelming or too in-your-face.

Salmon Shirt With Khaki Pants

dark pink shirt + khaki colored pants
Images From Deposit Photos

Salmon shirts look fantastic when worn with khaki pants. While the khakis do have a “professional” look to them, the combination would still only be suitable in casual and smart-casual settings. 

Khaki is a pale shade of brown. While it’s often considered neutral in the world of men’s style, it does have noticeably warm undertones. 

This is one reason why khaki pants work great with salmon shirts. 

Trying to wear salmon shirts with pants in bold warm colors such as red, orange, or yellow will usually lead to too much color. It’s just too attention-grabbing. 

Khaki, on the other hand, is a more understated and subtle warm color that pairs well with a salmon pink shirt without leading to an outfit that’s too much. 

Conclusion 

To sum up, salmon shirts are pretty versatile but not that versatile. 

Given how bold it is as a color, you need to be careful with your choice of pants color. In general, stick to neutral or muted colors for your pants and let the salmon shirt be the “pop” of color in your outfit. 

Enjoy.