When dressing down, consider more casual styles of outerwear such as denim jackets and cardigans. Black dress shoes would also be an option, but would usually be a little too formal for the jeans. In addition, consider a pair of dark brown dress shoes to add a touch of sophistication.

with a grey blazer) would usually be easier and give you more options. While you could choose a blazer in a more vivid color such as maroon or olive, keeping things neutral (eg. When dressing the combo up, consider popping a relaxed, unstructured blazer on top. You can dress a navy shirt and jeans combination up or down with the other items you choose to wear. If, on the other hand, you’d prefer a more striking and attention-grabbing aesthetic, consider a pair of jeans in a lighter color. While it’s true that darker jeans have a naturally dressier appearance to them, they’ll also produce a more subtle and understated low-contrast pairing with a similarly dark navy shirt.Įven if you weren’t necessarily dressing up, if you just prefer a more subtle look, wear a dark pair of jeans with your navy shirt. Here, you’d be combining the navy shirt with a dark pair of jeans such as black, dark grey, or dark blue.Ī high-contrast combination would be one where you’re combining a navy shirt with a light-colored pair of jeans such as light grey or light blue. Low Contrast Vs High ContrastĪ low-contrast combination is one where the colors are similar in ways such as brightness. Combining it with a black or dark grey pair of jeans would usually produce the ideal smart-casual combination.

Navy is a dark and muted color with quite a formal appearance to it. In contrast, when dressing down and going more casual, consider a pair of jeans in a lighter color such as light blue, light grey, or even white.ĭark colors will generally have a dressier appearance than lighter colors. When dressing your navy shirt and jeans combo up a notch, consider a pair of jeans in a similarly dark and muted color such as black, dark grey, or dark blue (eg. “Smart-casual” can range from very smart to not-so-smart. While a navy shirt and jeans combination should only be worn in casual and smart-casual settings, there are certain events where you’ll want to dress up a notch.

Black shirt light blue jeans