Guides

Which tie for a grey suit?

Grey is more neutral than blue and therefore takes stronger ties. Which colours carry — and why grey on grey is difficult.

Grey is a background, not a player

Unlike navy, grey has almost no colour temperature of its own. It steps back and lets the tie go first. That is the practical difference between the two most-worn suit colours: with a blue suit you choose a tie that fits in; with a grey one, a tie that sets something.

It follows that colours which would be too strong for a blue suit often work well with grey.

The combinations that hold

Red and burgundy are even clearer against grey than against blue, because no second colour argues back.

Blue at any brightness is the quiet choice — here it may even be the same blue as the shirt, as long as the brightness differs.

Green and bronze look more grown-up against grey than against blue. Mid-grey with a muted green is one of the most discreet good combinations there is.

Violet and purple get along better with grey than with most other suit colours.

What is difficult

Grey on grey is the most common misstep. If the tie does not match the suit tone exactly — and it almost never does — it looks like an accident. If grey, then with a clear difference in brightness and ideally with texture, a grid pattern for instance.

Black with a light grey suit looks hard. With a dark grey suit, on the other hand, it is the right choice for a funeral.

Light grey or dark grey

Light grey suits are daytime and summer clothing; they suit lighter, warmer ties — gold, bronze, mid blue.

Dark grey is the more formal version and behaves almost like navy: it takes dark burgundy, silver and deep blue.