What colours go with grey?
The figure wears mid-grey trousers with an ivory shirt, the engine’s top pairing for grey. Shuffle to keep the trousers and try other tops, or tap a piece to recolour it.
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This look
Ivory shirt, grey trousers and white sandals
Casual, right for 24 °C.
Why this works
- The ivory shirt against the grey trousers gives a clear light-and-dark contrast, which people tend to like.ResearchSchloss & Palmer (2011)
- Light pieces for 24 °C, about as much as people typically wear at that temperature.StandardHavenith et al. (2012)
- This leans dressier than casual; fine if your setting allows it.Less sure · ConventionStylist convention
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How this works: Method, 7 sources,
How this works
Method
With no wardrobe it builds a look from colour schemes; with yours it picks from what you own, leaving out pieces archived, in the wash or worn recently. A pick must suit the occasion and the weather, then it is scored on colour harmony (the Ou–Luo model and scheme rules, in OKLab), light against dark, warmth (garment insulation summed as in ISO 9920, against the UTCI clothing model), formality and rotation. The same day and wardrobe give the same pick until you shuffle.
Sources
- Ou, L.-C. & Luo, M. R., "A colour harmony model for two-colour combinations", Color Research & Application 31(3) (2006)
- Schloss, K. B. & Palmer, S. E., "Aesthetic response to color combinations", Attention, Perception & Psychophysics 73(2) (2011)
- Ottosson, B., "A perceptual color space for image processing" (OKLab) (2020)
- ISO 9920, Ergonomics of the thermal environment: estimation of thermal insulation of a clothing ensemble
- ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy (garment insulation table)
- Havenith, G. et al., "The UTCI-clothing model", International Journal of Biometeorology 56(3) (2012)
- MET Norway, Locationforecast 2.0 (weather data, CC BY 4.0)
Changes
- Added 21 pages: what colours go with navy, black, grey, beige, olive, burgundy, brown, white, denim and pink (each table from the engine), and what to wear from 40 to 80 °F and 5 to 25 °C.
- First published.
How grey with ivory scores
The engine scores a pair of colours as a top and trousers, with the parts of its outfit score that depend only on colour. Grey has a lightness of 0.69 and a colourfulness (chroma) of 0.00; ivory has 0.95 and 0.02.
- Light against dark: the lightness gap is 0.26, which earns 1.00 of 1.
- Harmony: the Ou–Luo model gives 0.90; blended half and half with the all-neutral scheme’s credit of 0.94, that is 0.92.
- One statement piece: 1.00 of 1.
(0.22 × 0.92 + 0.08 × 1.00 + 0.07 × 1.00) ÷ 0.37 = 0.95
The weights are the ones the tool uses for these parts of every outfit. The harmony model was fitted to people’s ratings of flat colour patches on a screen, not clothes, so treat the score as a strong hint rather than a verdict.
The 8 best partners for grey
Ranked by the engine, best first. The evidence column says how sure each reason is: research, design theory or stylist convention.
| Colour | Why it works | Evidence | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| ivory | Two neutrals: grey and ivory go together easily, with a clear light-and-dark contrast. | Convention | 0.95 |
| charcoal | Two neutrals: grey and charcoal go together easily, with a clear light-and-dark contrast. | Convention | 0.89 |
| light grey | Two neutrals: grey and light grey go together easily, with a clear light-and-dark contrast. | Convention | 0.89 |
| black | Two neutrals: grey and black go together easily, with a clear light-and-dark contrast. | Convention | 0.89 |
| brown | Two neutrals: grey and brown go together easily, with a clear light-and-dark contrast. | Convention | 0.83 |
| plum | Grey is a neutral, so plum can be the one colour in the outfit. | Convention | 0.80 |
| yellow | Grey is a neutral, so yellow can be the one bright colour in the outfit. | Convention | 0.79 |
| blue | Grey is a neutral, so blue can be the one bright colour in the outfit. | Convention | 0.78 |
Which grey you have matters most
Grey runs from near-white to near-black, and its partners change with it. The mid-grey here sits at 0.69 on the lightness scale, right in the middle, so it contrasts with both light colours and dark ones. That is why ivory and black both appear near the top of the table.
Charcoal behaves more like navy or black: light partners work best. Light grey behaves more like white or cream: it wants a darker partner, such as navy, black or brown, to give the outfit some definition.
Grey with colour
Grey has no hue, so it never competes with an accent. Plum, yellow, cobalt and burgundy all look calm against it, which makes grey trousers or a grey knit one of the easiest backgrounds for a colourful piece.
Grey with brown is a softer, warmer mix than grey with black. Both are neutrals, so the tool counts the pairing as all-neutral, a stylist’s convention it labels as such.
Frequently Asked Questions
What colour shirt goes with grey trousers?
White, ivory, light blue and pale pink are the safe choices: they give a clear light-and-dark contrast. Navy and black work too and look more serious. For colour, try burgundy, plum or a muted green.
Do grey and navy go together?
Yes. They are both neutrals and a common business pairing: a navy blazer with grey trousers is a classic. The lighter the grey, the more contrast you get.
What shoes go with grey trousers?
Black is the most formal, burgundy or dark brown leather adds warmth, and white sneakers make it casual. With charcoal trousers, darker shoes look tidier; with light grey, almost anything works.
Do grey and brown go together?
They do. Both are neutrals, and brown warms up the coolness of grey. Dark brown shoes or a camel coat with grey trousers is a common pairing.