How To Wear Black/Navy Blue T-shirts

[ChrisT]

After deciding to do a bit of clothes shopping recently I started looking into style generally, and really took a lot of things to heart, particularly with reading through the "fashion basics" sections on this site. I've now invested in some new shoes (brown loafers and smart white trainers for starters), and started looking at colour matching and how to wear the shirts I own to better effect (tucked in and sleeves rolled up).

My staple dress used to be jeans and T-shirt, and because of this I have a lot of black and navy blue T-shirts in my wardrobe. I've always hated "funny" T-shirts, so there aren't too many outright abominations in there, although the majority of them have a design on them. I'm just wondering what I can do to possibly wear some of these and look good. Any ideas?

[Nath6644]

Personally mate, when I was going through the style "re-invention" stage a while ago, I was brutal and threw out or sold everything I wasn't 100% sure I was going to keep wearing. That said, you may be able to work with these.

T-shirts hardly ever look good on their own in my view, but a well fitting blazer or some nice knitwear can do them wonders. My style is quite formal but when I do wear t-shirts, I pair them with chinos and a fine knit cardigan. As for colours, black always works with grey or burgundy. For navy, any shade of brown is going to compliment it.

Generally though, I always find it hard to dress up tees that have any kind of design on them, minus a simple breton stripe.

Sorry I havn't been more specific, but hope that helps!

[_Ben_]

I think t-shirts can be worn smartly on their own if the design is right. They have no collar and are extremely streamlined, so actually offer cleaner lines than a shirt if worn smartly.
For example, I recently purchased the t-shirt in this look (from COS):
Now I wouldn't wear my trousers this high usually, but I do think t-shirts can work very well.

When it comes to navy and black, the key I think is to pair them with lighter-coloured clothing. Nath's already given a great example for black, and with navy you could pair it with a pair of jeans and a grey merino cardigan; or perhaps a light pair of chinos (maybe stone or white).

I also have some t-shirts that I simply don't wear on their own: A&F ones, Ralph Lauren ones, Tommy Hilfigger etc all with some form of a logo on it. They might make acceptable beach-wear items or under-garments, but I too never know how to style them.

[ChrisT]

Matching with cardigans or navy blazer is a good idea, thanks guys. Another suggestion elsewhere is to wear them layered under shirts, and a have a few buttons undone to show the design.

At the moment I'm just being aware of my spending limits, which is why I'm trying to utilise as best I can what I've already got.

[_Ben_]

Wearing them as undergarments is what I do. Some of my A&F t-shirts are so comfy I don't want to sell them, and if I have to take the shirt off I do fit in with my age group.

[Pete]

I would invest in navy's and grey's to layer if moneys tight, this gives you neutrals that can work with a wider variety of combinations