While somewhat rare, olive green trousers and suits are very elegant when properly coordinated with your outfit. Whether green tweed or olive trousers, they can be difficult to match well with your shoes but look great when done well.
In this guide, you will learn how to match your shoes with olive trousers. The following menu can be used to jump ahead:
- Olive Green Trouser Coordination Overview
- Matching Olive Green Trousers With Different Shoe Colors
- Printable Shoe & Trouser Coordination Download
Alternatively, scroll down to read it all! If you want to learn about different shoe or trouser color coordinations, head to menu below.
Matching Shoes With Olive Green Trousers Overview
Olive green is a tricky color in menswear. The term covers dress trousers that are just as much brown as they are green, and it also covers lighter greens.
Either way, it’s a brownish green. That’s the important takeaway. It’s a surprisingly versatile color, but you have to be very careful in terms of what shoe color you select.
Keep your level of dressiness in mind in addition to the actual shade, and you’ll be golden. Our guide below will provide a framework for how to pair these trousers with different shoe colors.
NOTE: There are exceptions to every rule.
Use your good judgement, and feel free to leave us a comment if you have questions!
Read on for full explanations and reasoning of the above coordination suggestions. Or, click here to go see our Ultimate Shoe & Trouser Color Coordination Matrix showcasing how to match any color shoes with any color trousers.
How To Coordinate Olive Trousers With Different Shoes
Best Shoe Matches
Beige
Casual beige shoes will work wonderfully with a casual olive trouser. Think of an army green color here, maybe a shade or two lighter. This will open up your options up top as well, so have some fun with your shirt in this scenario.
Burgundy
Burgundy shoes work especially well as dress shoes with dressy olive trousers or suits. Try this combination if you have an olive suit laying around, as it provides a fun alternative to a plain brown dress shoe.
Dark Brown
This is the most natural pairing with olive dress trousers. You can’t really go wrong, and it translates well to dark brown casual shoes with olive chinos. This is a perfect example of Earth tones playing really nicely together.
Navy
In a casual setting, navy shoes make a wonderful complement to olive pants. Try some casual moccasins with casual olive trousers for a cool, off-the-beaten-path look.
White
As always, keep it in the summertime. As always, white shoes will look sweet with a casual outfit, and lighter-colored olive trousers are no exception. Try it with a simple blue shirt and a Panama hat for some serious summer style points.
Acceptable Shoe Matches
Grey
A little tougher to pull off and less forgiving than other colors, grey shoes are still acceptable with olive trousers. Keep the shade of grey in keeping with that of the olive.
Light Brown
This pairing absolutely has to happen with lighter olive chinos, but when it does, it’s quite a sight to behold. Throw on a simple white shirt and you’re ready to step out.
Orange
This is a tough one. The shoes should be a burnt orange, preferably with a brown undertone. If you can make that happen with a not-too-bright olive trouser, you’ll be successful.
Purple
Purple and green isn’t just for Donatello, my second-favorite Ninja Turtle. If it’s a deep, subdued purple, it’ll work against nearly any olive trouser. Just make sure the trouser isn’t too dressy.
Red
It is imperative that the olive and red be subdued in this combination, unless of course you’ve got a Christmas theme going on. If this is your Christmas-themed outfit, the jury is still out as to whether or not you should wear your ugly sweater.
No-Go Shoe Matches
Black
We really, really don’t care for black and green. We’re not saying it can’t be done, we’re just not recommending you do it.
Free Printable Download For Reference At Home
If you want your own copy of our trouser and shoe coordination matrix, you can download it below:
What Next?
Now that you have read about the how to match olive green trousers with shoes, check out some related guides below:
- Shoe & Trouser Coordination Homepage
- Top 10 Best Men’s Dress Shoes
- Most Comfortable Dress Shoes For Men
- Bespoke Unit Shoe Homepage
"I have an olive green suit. I love it but was wearing black shoes and couldn't understand why it wasn't working. This guide really helped me understand that."Rating: 5.0 ★★★★★
Shoe Content
Thank you! My first day of medical school and I was unsure whether my black or dark brown shoes would be best with the dark olive trousers I was wearing. Went with brown. Thanks for the tip!
Hi Mason,
Glad we could help, that’s great that you went with brown! Thanks for commenting, and best of luck in med school!
-Michael
Really helpful material for me. I like to wear black and brown both shoes but with my olive trouser now I would like to wear brown shoes which looks really wonderful. Thanks!
Hi John,
Thanks for reading, and we’re glad you found the information so helpful. Try burgundy shoes with your olive trousers too, they look fantastic!
Thanks,
Mike
Will light pink go with olive green?
Hi Brock,
It’s very bold but it could work!
Best,
CP
Black certainly goes.
In the article it says that white could go with white light olive green trousers but would white sneakers go with dark olive chinos?
Hello,
White sneakers should pair well with dark olive chinos, but your choice of top here will be critical. A navy shirt is probably your safest bet.
Best,
Rafael