Can You Wear Suspenders with a Graphic T-Shirt?

You’ve got this cool graphic T-shirt you’d love to wear with a pair of suspenders, but there’s a nagging doubt in your mind about whether you can get away with it. Is it a fashion win or faux pas? Happily, you can absolutely wear a graphic T-shirt with suspenders. In fact, you can appear super cool in this look. But before you go full steam ahead with it, you should read our fashionable ideas on how to best make this combination work with your collection of boldly designed casual tees.

Color Coordinate Suspenders and Shirt

Even though this is a fun casual look, you should aim to match or contrast your suspenders with at least one main color in the tee to pull it off the right way. This is easier to do when there are only two main colors. For instance, you may have a shirt featuring bold black words on a white background. In this case, your choices would be white or black suspenders.

Many graphic tees have multiple colors, so in that case, you can choose suspenders in a color that matches any prominent graphic color in the shirt. Let’s say you own a mustard colored T-shirt with lots of red. Consider choosing suspenders in complementary red hues such as dark red or maroon.

The Graphics are the Star Attraction

Suspenders come in a variety of graphic print styles, so is it okay to pair graphic suspenders with graphic tees? Well, while we won’t tell you to not do it, we suggest you follow the rule of always making sure the graphic on the shirt is the star attraction of your outfit. Suspenders with colorful graphics can easily clash with your shirt, competing with the bigger print, which can be too much of a good thing. Solid suspender colors work best but you can wear some patterns, depending on the style.

How to Make Patterned Suspenders Work

If you want to wear patterned suspenders with a graphic tee, you can do it under certain circumstances. The pattern should complement, and not detract from, the main graphics on the shirt. Look for classic patterns in two-color combinations. Patterns that may work well with graphics are stripes, jacquard and pin dot polka dots. These pattern choices add a touch of extra visual appeal to the look. Avoid novelty suspenders that clash with shirt graphics.

Choose Bottoms Wisely

Now that you’ve paired your T-shirt with suspenders for a cool look, it’s time to consider what bottoms to pick. Jeans are always a great pairing with tees, of course. If you’re going with a mostly black shirt and black suspenders, you can pair them with dark blue or black jeans. But your shirt may have different colors, offering different bottom options. So, let’s say you’re in the mood to wear that mustard T-shirt with the bold red and black graphics. You’ve already decided on dark red suspenders, so what bottoms are best?

How about going with red washed out jeans? This is within the red color scheme and you’ll stand out in the best way. Other fashionable alternatives to blue and black are khaki, olive green, grey, orange and purple. Experiment to find bottom colors that take your look to the next level.