What color shoes to wear with a navy dress
Nude or tan: they go with every navy and lengthen the leg. Below: every good shoe color for a navy dress, what to avoid, and the navy and shoe colors from each of the 12 color season palettes.
By Jane MitchellCertified color analystPublished
The short answer
- Nude or tan: they go with every navy and lengthen the leg.
- Metallic: gold or silver for the evening. Pick the metal that suits you.
- Red or burgundy: a classic pairing with navy.
- White or cream: fresh for daytime and summer.
- Black works too, if the navy is clearly blue. In dim light, the two can look like a near match.
What to avoid
Shoes in a navy that is almost, but not quite, the navy of the dress. A near match looks like a mistake; a clear contrast looks planned.
Shoes with a navy dress, by occasion
- Work: Nude, tan or black pumps or loafers.
- Wedding guest: Metallic or blush heels.
- Casual: White sneakers or tan sandals.
The navy and the shoes for your color season
Each season's own navy, and four shoe colors from the same palette: a light neutral, a dark neutral, the same color in another depth, and an accent.
Your navy dress
Bright navy #1A3A5C
Shoes
- Light neutralBright ivory#FFFDF5
- Dark neutralDark warm brown#3E2723
- Same color, other depthVivid blue#00B0FF
- AccentBright orange#FF3D00
Metallic: bright yellow gold.
Your navy dress
Soft navy #4A5C78
Shoes
- Light neutralSoft white#F4F1EC
- Dark neutralBlue gray#7C8894
- Same color, other depthLight steel blue#B0C4DE
- AccentSoft raspberry#C2739A
Metallic: silver.
Your navy dress
Cool navy #2F4058
Shoes
- Light neutralSoft white#F0EFEC
- Dark neutralBlue gray#5A6B7C
- Same color, other depthCool blue#3F6FA8
- AccentRose red#D81B60
Metallic: silver.
Your navy dress
Soft navy #3F4A57
Shoes
- Light neutralSoft white#EDEAE4
- Dark neutralSoft charcoal#6F6C68
- Same color, other depthSlate blue#6E8CA0
- AccentSoft berry#A5677A
Metallic: brushed silver.
Your navy dress
Deep petrol #154360
Shoes
- Light neutralWarm cream#EDE0C8
- Dark neutralDark mahogany#3E2A1E
- AccentDeep amber#B9770E
Metallic: antique gold.
Your navy dress
Midnight navy #12243D
Shoes
- Light neutralPure white#FFFFFF
- Dark neutralCharcoal#5A5A5A
- Same color, other depthDeep cobalt#01579B
- AccentTrue red#B71C1C
Metallic: silver.
Your navy dress
Navy #1A237E
Shoes
- Light neutralPure white#FFFFFF
- Dark neutralTrue black#000000
- Same color, other depthTrue blue#2962FF
- AccentTrue red#D50000
Metallic: silver.
Your navy dress
Bright navy #0D1B3E
Shoes
- Light neutralPure white#FFFFFF
- Dark neutralTrue black#212121
- Same color, other depthBright sapphire#00B0FF
- AccentElectric red#FF1744
Metallic: polished silver.
No navy by our rule in the palettes of Light Spring, True Spring, Soft Autumn, True Autumn. That is data, not a gap: those seasons wear a different version of the color, or none.
Other dresses: shoes for a red dress and shoes for a burgundy dress. More shades with hex codes are in the neutral color palette.
How we picked the colors
Each season card reads that season's own palette and neutrals on this site, 300 named colors across the 12 seasons, measured in CIELAB: lightness (L*), chroma (C*, how strong the color is) and hue angle. A season's navy dress is its shade that is a deep blue: hue angle 240° to 310°, L* under 40 and C* 8 or more. A shade named plum, aubergine, violet or purple stays out. The darkest one is the dress.
Light neutral: the season’s lightest neutral with L* 55 or more and at least 25 L* lighter than the dress. Dark neutral: its darkest neutral that is at least 15 apart from the dress in CIEDE2000 color difference. Tonal: the palette shade nearest the dress in hue (within 30°) that is at least 10 L* lighter or darker, with C* from 10 to 35 above the dress. Accent: the strongest palette shade (C* 30 or more, L* 30 to 80) at least 90° of hue away from the dress; in a soft palette with none, C* 20 or more and 60° away. The metal is the first metal listed for the season.
Where a palette has too few shades that far apart in hue, the gap narrows to half, then to 12°. No color is typed by hand, and no brand or store is used. The same rule runs on every season.
What this page cannot do
This page lists the navy and the shoe colors in each season's palette. It cannot see your dress, the exact shade of it, or your skin. Our free analysis reads your season from one selfie, in your browser, and gives you your own palette.
How this is different from other color analysis tools
- 01
Your photo stays on your device
Many photo apps upload your selfie and read it on their server (see our comparison). Ours measures it in your browser. There is no upload.
- 02
The result is free
Your season and palette, with no account and no email. At least one app in our comparison takes payment before you see any result.
- 03
A close call says so
Every result names the runner-up season and how close the call was. Borderline is a result we print.
- 04
We publish our accuracy
We tuned the method on faces that experts had labelled by season, then tested it on 410 celebrity photos we collected. The results, misses included.
Questions
What color shoes go with a navy dress?
Nude or tan, Metallic, Red or burgundy all work with a navy dress. The best one depends on the occasion and on your own coloring.
Can you wear black shoes with a navy dress?
Yes, as long as the navy is clearly blue. With a very dark navy, black shoes can look like a near match in dim light, so nude, tan or metallic shoes are the easier choice.
Do nude shoes go with a navy dress?
Yes. Shoes close to your own skin tone go with any navy dress and make the leg look longer.
Which shoe colors suit my season with a navy dress?
It depends on your season. For example, a Bright Spring wears bright navy as its navy, with bright ivory or dark warm brown shoes, and a Light Summer wears soft navy. This page lists the shoes for every season that has a navy.
What you can do on this page
This page answers what color shoes to wear with a navy dress: safe neutral and metallic choices, bold choices, what to avoid, and shoes by occasion. It then shows, for each of the 12 color seasons that has a navy by a stated CIELAB rule, that season's navy and four shoe colors from the same palette (a light neutral, a dark neutral, a tonal shade and an accent) with hex codes, plus the season's metal. The free photo analysis finds a season from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.