
“Do grey boots go with everything?” is a question I often get asked. The short answer is: no. No, they don’t. But fear not. If you love grey boots, I’m here to help you figure out what to wear with them. Grey is considered a neutral, so women often purchase grey boots thinking they will be a staple in their wardrobe, but they realize quickly they are not actually that versatile and want to know how to wear grey boots. The main issue is most grey boots are a non-neutral shade of grey. They are often more taupe than grey or have a tint of purple or green to them. This muddy grey color usually looks dirty and is hard to pair with other colors unless your wardrobe is full of other confusing earth tones. (I go over all the confusion of taupe boots too, in my post How To Wear Taupe Boots.)
The other issue is most grey boots are suede, which doesn’t pair well with thin, flowy, or silky fabrics, making grey boots more of a winter shoe, whereas a leather shoe can be worn year-round. This doesn’t mean you need to skip grey boots though. You just need some guidance for them to look “right.”
For more stylish and versatile boots, check out my post, Stylish Ankle Boots – Best Booties For Women.
Most Versatile Grey Boots

First, let’s get you the right boots. To be crass, charcoal grey boots look dirty and boring. They work with moody wardrobes, but overall, I skip them. Instead, I love a medium to light grey boot. Pictured above is a versatile grey boot that is available right now. It is a deep medium grey — not excessively dark or too light — so it can pair with many different tones without excessive contrast. And it is a true grey. It doesn’t have an awkward tint that would sabotage normally complementary color pairings. To add to its versatile glory, these grey ankle boots are leather (not suede), so they are seasonless. Lastly, this pointed-toe silhouette pairs well with dresses, skirts, and pants.
If you prefer suede and only wear grey boots in winter, here are the most versatile grey boots in suede…
- Lisa Vicky Sunny-V Pointed Toe Bootie (
$99.95$59.70) - Pelle Moda Colsen Pointed Toe Bootie (
$194.95$79.70) - Vince Silvana Bootie (
$395$197.50) - Steve Madden Delvie Bootie (
$129.95$77.98) - Camper Kiara Knit Bootie (
$190$142.50) - Bella Vita Wilma Bootie ($124.95)
- THEO The Label Phoebe Contrast Bootie (
$575$402.50)
What Colors Go With Grey Boots
Above are my favorite colors to wear with grey boots, and below I have a list of how those colors play out garment-wise…
- Tan coats or jeans
- Cream Dresses
- Medium to Dark Blue Jeans
- Burgundy Leather Pants + Skirts + Dresses
- All clothing in other greys
- Black Pants/Jeans + Dresses
- Dark Olive Green Anything
Most Versatile Light Grey Boot

Light grey boots are fresh and practically as versatile as a medium grey boot. Featured above, is a Vince light grey ankle boot – my personal favorite grey boot this season, as you can see in the feature image. It pairs with:
- Most Other Greys
- Cream Sweater Dresses + Tops
- Sage Green Jacket + Dresses + Tops
- Medium Blue Jeans
- Camel
- Faded Black jeans + Dresses
- Pastels (more on that below)
Do Grey Boots Go With Pastels?
Generally, grey boots do not go with pastel colors, but blue-toned light grey boots can! Basically, you need a brighter and lighter grey so it can compete with the brightness of your pastels. The boot in the picture above has a light blue tint that enables it to complement most pastels. The Vince Silvana Bootie featured above would also work with pastels.
How To Wear Grey Boots – Sweater Dresses
Grey boots, whether suede or leather, look amazing with sweater dresses, preferably a cream sweater dress or light grey sweater dress for light grey boots, and a light-to-dark grey sweater dress for medium grey boots. This is my absolute tried-and-true favorite look with grey boots. Here are a few of my favorite sweater dresses for pairing with grey boots this season:
- Treasure & Bond Cabled Long Sleeve Sweater Dress ($99.50)
- Jessica Simpson Austyn Long Sleeve Cardigan Dress ($54.51)
- Caslon Long Sleeve Button-Up Rib Sweater Dress (
$89.50$49.22)
Grey Boots Outfit – Jeans

Ah, jeans. The ultimate stabilizer. Grey boots look fantastic with the right pair of jeans. You can’t go wrong pairing a versatile medium blue jean with grey boots, but I also love a good black jean.
What To Wear With Grey Boots – Graphic Tee

When pairing a grey boot with jeans, top it off with a grey or white graphic tee or a tee that has some grey tones in it. Below are some of my favorite graphic tees with grey tones in them that would pair beautifully with grey boots. Just make sure the shade of grey in the t-shirt matches the shade of grey of your boots…
- Re/Done Just Bring Wine Classic Graphic Tee ($150)
- Daydreamer New York Tee ($66)
- Letluv Have Fun Short-Sleeve Graphic Tee ($78)
- Clare V Oversized Sweatshirt ($165)
View more of my favorite graphics tees in my post on the Best Graphic Tees For Women.
How To Wear Grey Ankle Boots – Sweater

My favorite sweaters to pair with grey boots are grey, cream, or printed. Of course, if you go with a printed sweater, it must have some kind of grey in it to pull in the grey color of the boot. Pair it with black or blue jeans for the best look.
Grey Boots Outfit- Grey Leggings

A grey legging in a different shade of grey is a chic look indeed. Pair your grey leggings with a longer sweater in cream or another shade of grey to create a yummy monochromatic look as pictured above. I adore creating monochromatic outfits by playing with various shades of the same color and using a similar shade of another color to break it all up. As you can tell, I used white to break up all the grey in this outfit and my Make Up Forever True Red (8c) lipstick to spice up the neutral pallet. Here are my favorite grey leggings right now:
What To Wear With Grey Boots From Years Past
I originally wrote this post on how to wear grey boots years ago and update it regularly due to its popularity. I’ve left these photos below for nostalgic purposes. Whenever I update older posts, I love to hold on to a collection of images as a bit of a time capsule so we can watch how our style evolves.





Photos by Dayley Photography
London Photography by David McClory