The dress usually gets picked first, so by the time you shop for a prom suit, you’re matching. Good news: you don’t need an exact match, and you have two ways to get it right. This guide goes dress color by dress color, with the suit and tuxedo colors we carry for each one, plus the shirt, tie and shoes that pull it together.
Match or frame: the only two rules
Match the dress. Wear a jacket in the same color family. Not the identical shade; aim one step lighter or darker, so the two of you look coordinated instead of blended together in photos. A burgundy dress next to a wine jacket reads as planned. Two identical burgundies read as a uniform.
Frame the dress. Wear a neutral (black, white, ivory or navy) and bring the dress color into one small spot: the bow tie, the tie, the pocket square or the vest. This is the safer route, it works with every dress color, and it keeps group photos clean. It’s also the move when the dress is a color we don’t carry as a suit.
Pick one. Doing both, a colored suit plus a colored tie plus a colored pocket square, is where prom outfits go wrong.
Dress color by dress color
| Her dress | Match it (same color family) | Frame it (neutral + accent) |
|---|---|---|
| Black | Black suit or tux; add a black bow tie or one in silver or gold. | Any color you like: black goes with everything, so this is the dress that lets you wear burgundy, red or royal blue. |
| White, ivory or champagne | White or ivory jacket, matched to her shade: white with white, ivory with ivory. | Black tux with a white pocket square, or a champagne suit like the Sharkskin Three-Piece. |
| Red | Red velvet tux or red dinner jacket, one shade off the dress. | Black tux with a red bow tie and pocket square. The most classic prom pairing there is. |
| Burgundy or wine | Burgundy: 17 styles, from a $149 two-button to velvet. | Black or navy with a burgundy bow tie. |
| Navy | Navy suit or tux a shade lighter or darker. | Black tux with a navy bow tie, or a light grey suit with a navy tie. |
| Royal blue | Royal blue three-piece or velvet tux. | Black or white tux with a royal blue bow tie. |
| Light blue, dusty blue or baby blue | The Pastel Windowpane Three-Piece in baby blue or turquoise, the Sharkskin Three-Piece in dusty blue, or the Shawl Collar Color Suit in celeste or beau blue. | Navy suit with a light blue tie, or ivory with a light blue bow tie. |
| Emerald, hunter or sage green | Green: emerald velvet sequin, hunter green suits, a sage jacquard tux. | Black tux with an emerald bow tie, or a tan suit with a sage tie. |
| Pink, blush or dusty rose | Pink: dusty rose suits, a blush paisley tux, a bright pink studded suit. | White or ivory jacket with a blush bow tie; black tux with a pink pocket square. |
| Lavender or purple | Lavender or purple in the Sharkskin Three-Piece, the Paisley Three-Piece with Bow Tie, or a lavender Velvet Wide-Shawl Tuxedo. | Black or navy with a lavender bow tie. |
| Gold or champagne | A gold Paisley Shawl Collar Tuxedo, the gold or ivory Sequin Shawl Collar Three-Piece, or a champagne Jacquard Three-Piece. | Black tux with a gold bow tie: an easy, rich-looking pair. |
| Silver or grey | A silver Sharkskin Three-Piece or a silver Shawl Collar Dinner Jacket with black pants. | Black tux with a silver tie, or a light grey suit. |
| Coral, peach or orange | Peach in the Stone-Studded Three-Piece, tangerine in the Shawl Collar Color Suit. | Navy or ivory with a coral bow tie. Coral is hard to match exactly, so framing is the safer call. |
| Yellow | Dijon (a mustard yellow) in the Shawl Collar Color Suit. | Navy with a yellow tie, or a tan suit. |
| Teal | A teal Velvet Shawl Collar Dinner Jacket with black pants. | Black tux with a teal bow tie. |
Every link above opens the page that shows that color on each style.
When the dress is neutral, you bring the color
If her dress is black, white, silver or gold, the usual advice flips: you’re the one who gets to wear color. A burgundy, emerald or royal blue jacket next to a black dress makes the photo, and velvet does it best under evening lights. Keep one thing from the dress on you, a black bow tie with a black dress, a silver pocket square with a silver one, so the two outfits still talk to each other.
Two neutrals together also work, just with contrast: black tux with a white dress, white dinner jacket with a black dress. All black with all black is the one combination to avoid, since you’ll disappear into each other in every photo. If you both want black, let the satin on a tux and a white shirt do the separating, and choose a bow tie in anything but black.
Colors that are hard to match
Some dress colors, like coral, mint, dusty sage, periwinkle and hot pink, vary so much from brand to brand that an exact match is luck. For those, frame the dress: wear black, white, ivory or navy, and get the bow tie or pocket square in her color. Ask for a fabric swatch from the dress shop if you can; a swatch in your pocket makes the accessory shopping easy.
If you really want to match a tricky color, choose a suit one clear step darker. A dusty rose suit next to a hot pink dress looks intentional; a near-miss pink looks like a mistake.
The group photo
When four or five couples go together, two things keep the group photo from looking like a paint chart. First, the guys pick one style and change only the color, like the Slim Fit Three-Piece Suit in 17 colors, so the cut is the same across the group. Second, half the group goes neutral. Two guys in black or navy let the two in burgundy and royal blue stand out, and everyone’s date still gets matched through a tie or vest.
Shirt, tie, shoes, vest
- Shirt: white with anything. A black shirt works under a black, burgundy or red jacket for an all-dark evening look. Skip colored shirts; they fight the dress.
- Bow tie or tie: this is where the dress color lives if you’re framing. If you’re matching, keep the tie black, white or a metallic (silver or gold).
- Pocket square: one color only, and never the same pattern as the tie. The dress color or plain white.
- Vest: a matching vest in a three-piece suit adds more of her color to your look without adding another piece of clothing to think about.
- Shoes: black with black, navy, burgundy, royal blue, red and every tuxedo. Brown with tan, grey, sage and the pastels at a daytime or outdoor prom.
How to check a shade before you order
Screens lie a little, and so do dress photos taken under shop lighting. Three ways to be sure:
- Compare in daylight. Open the product page on your phone next to the dress, or a photo of it, by a window. Bulbs in a bedroom make everything warmer than it is.
- Send us both photos. Message a photo of the dress and the suit you’re considering on WhatsApp. We see the suits in person and can tell you whether the shade is close.
- Order early. Orders ship in 1 to 3 business days, so if you order about 3 weeks before prom, you can hold the suit up to the dress and still swap it. You have 30 days to return anything that isn’t right.
For sizing, our size guide turns a chest measurement into a jacket size in about two minutes. The pants come 6 inches smaller than the jacket and unhemmed.
Quick answers
Do the suit and the dress have to match exactly? No. One shade lighter or darker looks better than an exact match, and a neutral suit with the dress color in the tie always works.
What if I don’t know the dress color yet? Order black or navy. Both go with every dress color, and you can add the matching bow tie once you know.
Can a tuxedo come in a color? Yes. Our velvet and sequin tuxedos come in emerald, burgundy, royal blue, red, mauve, lavender and more, and navy and white tuxes are on the tuxedos page. Not sure whether you want a tux at all? Read suit or tuxedo for prom?
What goes with a sparkly or sequin dress? Keep your side simple. A plain black, navy or ivory jacket lets the dress shine; two sparkly outfits compete.
What about a patterned dress? Pick the darkest color in the pattern for your tie, and wear a solid suit in a neutral. Don’t match a pattern with a pattern.
What if she changes the dress? It happens. A black or navy suit survives any change of plan; only the bow tie has to change.