The secrets to pairing brown and blue for your outfits

Personally here at Acorn, we’re pleased to be living in an age where people are taking ever bolder risks with their personal style. Arguably though, brown and blue is still a colour combination that’s widely under-utilised, especially in the world of men’s style. And that’s a shame, because the right shades paired together can give almost any outfit an air of understated elegance. We’ve got plenty of brown and blue cotton shirting fabrics to choose from here at Acorn, and over all our decades in the business, we’ve picked up a few ideas on how you can use them!

Why do blue and brown work well together?

If you’re familiar with the theory of the colour wheel, you’ll already have a bit of a headstart in this explanation. Essentially, blue and orange are on opposite sides of this colour wheel, which means they contrast strongly but complement each other as they do it. Since brown isn’t too far from orange, the same applies to this pairing, too. They naturally work well together, creating a subtly pleasing effect.

Blue is already a highly versatile colour (as we’ve noted before), ranging from the light, informal powder blue to the darker and more serious navy tones. Since shades of brown are neutral, it provides a great way to exert a finer control over blue’s formality; a touch of brown can take the edge off an otherwise serious dark blue suit, making it better suited to casual occasions.

There’s plenty of choice within the two colours, too. You can take your pick from chocolate browns, as well as medium shades, lighter ones, or even pastel colours. With blue, meanwhile, you can choose your favourite from navy, medium blue, royal blue, sky blue, and plenty more. As long as you steer clear of matching up the extremes (such as navy blue with deep chocolate brown), you might be surprised at the effects you can create!

A few ideas to get you started

When it comes to personal style, there’s an argument for considering your skin colour. If you’ve got dark skin, for example, high contrast elements like a navy suit and white shirt can be matched very well with tan brown shoes. (However, we should stress that most experts say that this consideration is completely optional – you can incorporate it if you want, but you shouldn’t prohibit yourself from wearing certain items or tones just because of the colour of your skin.)

A dark navy business suit can provide an excellent template for experimentation with these two colours. When paired with a white shirt and black oxfords, it’s the epitome of formal wear. However, if you switch things out for brown suede boots and a brown knit tie, you can transform it into something else entirely – an outfit far more suited for socialising, and smart nights out. A brown suit is equally famous for its ability to be dressed up or down; a smart charcoal suit, for example, can be lightened up with a jovial blue pocket square.

These ideas may or may not appeal – we’re just providing some inspiration! Whatever you think works best, you can count on us to have fabrics to suit it right here at Acorn. We’ve got a huge range of blue and mid blue coloured fabrics, complementing our range of brown and tan fabrics. You can browse them at your leisure right here on our website, or if you have any questions or need any advice, feel free to give us a call on 01282 698 662!