As men get more playful with fashion, the humble suit is often on the receiving end of more unusual colour options. From the office to the summer wedding, green is a colour featuring prominently in tailoring; together as a matching jacket and trousers, or split – teamed with neutral trousers or jeans.
As unconventional as green suits are, the colour of the earth is a great alternative to blue, grey and brown, especially for the gent who wants to wear something a little different.
So, how do you wear a green suit? To get your sartorial juices flowing, we’ve found 50 ways to wear a green suit. Taking visual notes from real suited men in green, you’ll be looking dapper – and different, in no time. Even Kermit the Frog, the Green Lantern and Gumby have something to learn from this lot.
In This Story…
Simple Rules To Follow When Wearing A Green Suit:
- As a general rule, darker shades of green can be worn where neutrals (navy, charcoal, brown) are worn, while brighter, bolder shades work best as statement pieces, against natural and neutral shades.
- Look to light greens (mint) for summer and leafy, dark shades for winter. And apply the rule for day (light) and night time (dark) dressing.
- For work, look to military greens (olive and khaki), keeping the rest of the office outfit classic. Add a camel topcoat in winter to make the green pop.
- Green is ripe for summer weddings. Go bold: a two-piece pastel suit with chunky-soled brogues. Or interchange the green trouser for a cropped, neutral chino and green suede loafers for a play on textural and tonal colour.
- Biscal bay (a mild oceanic green) is the green suit colour this season. Paired with navy trousers, dark blue woven tie and crisp white shirt, you’ve got a contemporary office look. Or don a chambray denim shirt, daffodil pocket square and mid-wash jeans slim-cut jeans – with sock-less tassel loafers – for a smart casual affair.
- An emerald green velvet dinner jacket – with contrast black grosgrain lapel – is the perfect party season jacket. Pair with inky-black trousers and matching velvet loafers. Keep the shirt black with a black silk tie, for a change up from the typical white shirt.
- Green fits well with the felt-y finish of cashmere-wool blend fabrics for winter or a textural olive Harris tweed. A green linen slub in jade or crisp mint green is beautifully fresh for spring. Mohair suits in dark green are very work-ready, while nylon-y unstructured suits – designed to be paired with a t-shirt and sneakers.
- Finally, patterns play well with green, especially plaids. A blackwatch check is a stylish heritage option for the outlandish man. For a touch of green, pair a blackwatch waistcoat with a navy suit. The adage “blue and green should not be seen…” proving old-hat in modern menswear.
Expert Tip On Wearing A Green Suit
“Bottle green, army green, turquoise green, mint green, dirty south green, canton jade green, kermit green: there is no such thing as the ‘in colour’. Only the colour everyone is wearing at one point in time. I usually select colour depending on the season/weather. For example, in winter I would bring out more duskier and harder greens and summer the greens would be a little softer, vibrant and playful.
“Shirt: white, and go with your style of collar and cuff. Fabric choice will depend on the formality of the event and season. Ties: darker greens, all-greys, dark browns, and even black. I love textured ties, especially knits.
Pocket square: white will pick up the shirt, but you can scale the colour-off with a whole range of tones. I wouldn’t try and perfectly match the pocket to the tie.
Shoes: no tans or greys, please! Simply black or dark brown, and for the gents with an amazing green shoe that will kick-off the suit, green could do. Play around with the season and style of foot wear. Socks: I either match up the colour to the shoe or the trouser. Otherwise, I wear my ‘socks from god’!
“Where I come from, there are no rules. Saying this, a particular cloth texture, pattern, colour and fit may look terrible on you, but along as you’re receiving the right energy when wearing it, who cares? I personally don’t tell my clients what to wear or how to wear it. Simplistically, we chat for about 10 minutes, this opens ‘pandoras style box’ and in no time they’re showing me their real colours (pun intended).” – Roger Shamoun, owner and creative director at Zimma Tailors
Green Shoes FAQ
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