Rossella Migliaccio
Image Consultant
Matching Blue and Black: The Ultimate Guide
Matching blue and black (is it possible? is it not?) Is one of the great mysteries of fashion.
The total rejection is in fact a legacy of the 1950s: at that time everything had to be maniacally coordinated (clothes, accessories, jewels), so pulling together two dark colors, such as blue and black, was something inconceivable.
But fortunately times have changed: matching blue and black is not only allowed but it also can be extremely stylish.
As long as you follow some rules, that I am going explain right now. Starting with DON’TS:
WHEN DO NOT WEAR BLUE AND BLACK
Absolutely avoid matching black to blue when the latter is very dark and the two fabrics are very similar. I’ll tell you better: I can not match a black jacket on with dark blue trousers, otherwise it seems like I have been choosing my clothes in the dark …
Accessories: if I’m wearing blue, I can match black accessories; conversely, it is already more risky. Unless it is an electric or particularly bright blue.
COATS
We said, if the blue is very bright it is not considered a basic color, so it does not muddle with black.
But anyway, a blue coat is perfectly matchable with a black work outfit. And viceversa.
Are we still asking if you can wear black with blue?
“As far as I know there has never been any historical precedent for not wearing black and blue together,” says the stylist and designer of classic men’s clothing, Chris Modoo. “In fact, when I worked for Savile Row outfit Ede and Ravenscroft, the eveningwear outfits we made for senior members of the Royal Household consisted of a blue tailcoat and black trousers.”
So even at its most conservative iteration, blue and black has long been one of menswear’s most widely accepted colour combinations. Don’t listen to old school diktats. Because, well, the old school don’t even abide by them.
In less rigid places, designers like Kim Jones, Dries Van Noten, Officine Generale, Giorgio Armani, and the late Virgil Abloh of Louis Vuitton often use black and blue to convey modernity. It can be quintessentially British – a navy blue suit with a polished pair of black oxfords is de rigueur for dinner dance types – in the hands of modern designers, it feels fresher, newer and cooler.
Where this rule came from is anyone’s guess. “I’d say that one of the potential pitfalls of wearing blue and black might be it could look as though you got the trousers and jacket muddled up from two different suits,’ says Modoo. “It has to look deliberate.”
Thankfully, getting dressed in 2023 is without slavish adherence to outdated rules. Instead, try to exercise a little bit of judgement – and get ahead of the old rulebook with the points below.
Use black as an accent
“I like to think of black as a sophisticated colour accent on an outfit that’s largely navy blue,” says Modoo, who suggests starting small: switching brass buttons for black, or thinking about collars.
But there are some rules for Modoo. “I would never wear blue shoes with black trousers, it just doesn’t look right.”
Officine Generale’s A/ W ‘23 collection, which used the gloss of black shoes, black belts and black leather jackets to contrast against soft billowing trousers, chunky knits and swooshy long coats in navy blue, is a solid way to use black as a colour accent. Here, it was a masterclass in playing with light. Brightness bounces off black leather to create a contrast. That sort of move is top level menswear.
