What color tie to wear with a navy suit
Burgundy and red are the classics. Gold, green, brown and pink work too. Below: every good tie color, the shirt to wear under it, and the navy, the shirt and three ties for each of the 12 color seasons.
By Jane MitchellCertified color analystPublished
The short answer
- Burgundy or red: the classic choice, for work, weddings and interviews.
- Gold, mustard or yellow: warm and friendly, best by day.
- Green, from olive to emerald: a quieter accent.
- Brown or rust: relaxed, good with brown shoes.
- Pink or lavender: soft, and good with a white shirt.
- A navy tie works too, if it has a pattern or a clear difference in shade from the suit.
The shirt under the tie
- A white shirt goes with every tie.
- A light blue shirt suits red, burgundy, gold and brown ties.
- A pink or lavender shirt suits navy, burgundy and darker green ties.
The navy, shirt and ties for your color season
Each season's own navy, a shirt and three ties from the same palette.
- Your navy suitBright navy#1A3A5C
- ShirtBright ivory#FFFDF5
Ties
- Bright violet#651FFF
- Bright orange#FF3D00
- Hot pink#FF4081
- Your navy suitSoft navy#4A5C78
- ShirtSoft white#F4F1EC
Ties
- Soft raspberry#C2739A
- Soft denim#6C97BF
- Your navy suitCool navy#2F4058
- ShirtSoft white#F0EFEC
Ties
- Rose red#D81B60
- Cool lavender#9575CD
- Periwinkle blue#7986CB
- Your navy suitSoft navy#3F4A57
- ShirtSoft white#EDEAE4
Ties
- Soft berry#A5677A
- Dusty rose#C08497
- Your navy suitDeep petrol#154360
- ShirtWarm cream#EDE0C8
Ties
- Deep amber#B9770E
- Tomato red#A93226
- Deep plum#6C3483
- Your navy suitMidnight navy#12243D
- ShirtPure white#FFFFFF
Ties
- True red#B71C1C
- Sapphire#0D47A1
- Magenta wine#880E4F
- Your navy suitNavy#1A237E
- ShirtPure white#FFFFFF
Ties
- Vivid purple#AA00FF
- True red#D50000
- Cool fuchsia#C51162
- Your navy suitBright navy#0D1B3E
- ShirtPure white#FFFFFF
Ties
- Bright violet#651FFF
- Electric red#FF1744
- Vivid azure#2979FF
No navy by our rule in the palettes of Light Spring, True Spring, Soft Autumn, True Autumn. Those seasons wear a different dark suit color; the ties on this page still show what works with navy.
For the full outfit, see what to wear to an interview and the capsule wardrobe for men.
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.
Suit: the season’s own navy (hue 240° to 310°, L* under 40, C* 8 or more). A season with no navy by that rule is listed under the cards. Shirt: its lightest neutral with C* under 20. Ties: palette shades with C* 25 or more and L* 25 to 65, at least 15 apart from the suit in CIEDE2000, spread 35° of hue apart.
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, the shirt and the ties in each season's palette. It cannot see your suit or its exact navy, and it cannot tell you which season you are. 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 tie goes best with a navy suit?
Burgundy and red are the classic choices. Gold, green, brown and pink also work. Pick the shade from your own palette.
Can I wear a black tie with a navy suit?
You can, but it can look heavy and close to the suit in dim light. Burgundy, red or a deep green gives more contrast.
What shirt goes with a navy suit?
White or light blue goes with almost every tie. Pink and lavender are softer choices.
Which tie colors suit my season?
For example, a Deep Winter wears midnight navy with true red or sapphire ties, and a True Summer rose red or cool lavender. This page lists three ties for every season whose palette has a navy.
What you can do on this page
This page answers what color tie to wear with a navy suit: the classic and the softer choices, which shirt to wear under each, and the black-tie question. It then shows, for each color season whose palette has a navy by a stated CIELAB rule, that season's navy, a shirt color and three tie colors from the same palette with hex codes, picked by a stated CIELAB rule. The free photo analysis finds a season from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.