What shirt and tie go with a grey suit? Six combinations, drawn
Updated September 2026 · Sam’s Menswear editorial team
A mid grey suit is the most adaptable colour after navy. It is neutral without being severe, a little less formal than charcoal, and it takes blue and warm colours equally well, which means more of your shirts and ties work with it than with any other suit.
The drawings are the same mid grey suit on the Drawing Board, with only the shirt and tie changed.
The rule: grey borrows its colour
Grey has no colour of its own, so it takes on the character of what you wear with it. Blue shirts and navy ties make it cool and businesslike; pink, oxblood and green make it warmer and friendlier. Keep the shirt lighter than the suit and the tie darker than the shirt, and choose the temperature to suit the day.
Six that work
- White shirt, navy tie. The safest combination there is. Nothing about it can go wrong. Draw it
- Sky blue shirt, oxblood tie. Blue and red on grey is the classic pairing for a reason: it is balanced, warm and entirely correct. Draw it
- Pink shirt, navy tie. Softer, and particularly good on a grey suit, where pink looks deliberate rather than bold. Draw it
- Bengal stripe, navy tie. A bold blue stripe with a solid navy tie: pattern without fuss. Draw it
- White shirt, forest green tie. The less expected one. Green on grey is quietly distinctive, especially in autumn. Draw it
- Blue end-on-end, open collar. A textured blue shirt and no tie: the grey suit at its most relaxed. Draw it
Light grey: the daytime suit
A lighter grey is a summer and daytime suit, and one of the best colours for a groom at a daytime wedding. It wants a white shirt and a darker tie, navy most of all, so the tie gives the outfit an anchor. Best wedding suit colours goes further.
The one to avoid
A dark shirt and a black tie. On grey it looks moody in a way the suit was never meant to be, and it hides the thing grey does best, which is to show off colour. Keep the shirt light.
Shoes and the rest
- Shoes: brown or black, genuinely both. Brown is warmer and less formal, black sharper. Black shoes or brown has the rest.
- Pocket square: white linen, or one that picks up the tie.
- Which grey: mid grey is the everyday one; charcoal is darker and more formal.
Other suit colours
The same six questions for navy, charcoal, brown and black.
Draw your own
On the Drawing Board you can put any of a dozen shirts and six ties on a grey suit, or on the cloth you are actually considering, and see it before you commit. Send the drawing to Sam and the appointment starts from it. Sam makes grey suits at his studio in Vaughan in three to four weeks, with one fitting on the finished garment.