What colors clash with burgundy?

Bright red, orange, hot pink and fuchsia, a mismatched maroon or wine, warm tan and rust, and neon brights all clash with burgundy. Bright red and orange are too close in hue and compete; hot pink is too cool and bright; a near-match maroon looks like a failed attempt to match; tan fights the brown in burgundy.

Does red go with burgundy?

Not easily. Bright or true red sits right next to burgundy on the color wheel but is lighter and brighter, so the two look like a mismatch rather than a pairing. If you want red with burgundy, use a deep brick or a blue-based cherry as a small accent only, and keep a neutral between them.

Does orange go with burgundy?

Bright orange clashes, it is warmer and brighter than burgundy and the two compete. The softer versions work: burnt orange, rust and terracotta beside burgundy read as a rich autumn palette, especially with cream or camel between them.

Does pink go with burgundy?

Soft pinks do, blush and dusty pink harmonize with the purple in burgundy and look romantic. Hot pink and fuchsia clash; they are too bright and too cool beside burgundy's brown depth.

Can you wear burgundy with maroon or wine?

Only if the shades match exactly. A wine top with a burgundy skirt in a slightly different shade looks like a mistake. Tonal burgundy works when the pieces are the same color or clearly different in depth, burgundy with a very pale dusty rose, for example.

What colors go best with burgundy?

Navy, cream, camel, sage, blush, dusty pink, mustard, teal, forest green and gray, with charcoal, chocolate, ivory, black and denim as neutrals. Navy and cream are the safest; mustard and teal are the most stylish; blush and sage are the softest.

Colors That Clash With Burgundy & What to Wear Instead

In a sentence: the colors that clash with burgundy are bright red, orange, hot pink and fuchsia, a mismatched maroon, warm tan and rust worn at full strength, and neon brights: swap them for navy, cream, camel, sage, blush, mustard, teal, forest green or gray and burgundy goes from "a lot" to expensive. Skip to the clash list, the swaps, or find out whether burgundy is your color.

Burgundy is one of the most flattering colors in the wardrobe and one of the easiest to get slightly wrong, not because it's difficult, but because it's a near color. It sits next to red, next to purple and next to brown, and every color it sits next to is a potential clash if the shade is a fraction off. A bright red scarf, a rust bag, a wine-colored top that's almost-but-not-quite the same as the burgundy skirt: each one turns a rich outfit into a confusing one. The good news is that the clashes are predictable, and every one has a swap that looks better.

This guide lists what not to wear with burgundy, explains why each combination fights, and gives the replacement. For the full positive palette, see colors that go with burgundy; for burgundy near the face, how to wear burgundy; and for footwear, what colors go with burgundy shoes.

Why burgundy clashes at all

Burgundy is red with brown and a touch of blue-purple. That makes it deep, warm-neutral and muted, it has depth without brightness. Colors clash with it for one of three reasons:

Too close in hue, wrong in brightness. Bright red and orange share burgundy's red base but are lighter and louder, so the eye reads them as a mismatch rather than a family.
Too bright and too cool. Hot pink, fuchsia and neon anything are high-chroma; next to muted burgundy they look garish and make burgundy look dull.
Too close in every way. A wine or maroon that's almost burgundy reads as a failed match. Burgundy needs partners that are clearly different.

The colors that clash with burgundy

Clashes	Why	Wear instead
Bright red, cherry red	Same hue, brighter, competes	Navy, or a deep brick as a small accent
Orange, tangerine	Warmer and brighter, fights	Burnt orange or terracotta, softened with cream
Hot pink, fuchsia	Too bright, too cool	Blush or dusty pink
Mismatched maroon, wine	Near-match reads as a mistake	The same burgundy exactly, or a different color
Warm tan, camel-orange	Fights the brown in burgundy	True camel, chocolate or cognac (deeper)
Rust at full strength	Two warm reds compete	Rust as an accent with cream between
Lime, kelly, bright green	Complement at neon volume	Forest green, sage or teal
Purple, violet	Too close to burgundy's purple side	Deep plum only if clearly darker, else navy
Neon anything	Overpowers muted burgundy	Any clear mid-tone: teal, mustard
Yellow-beige, sand	Dulls burgundy, looks dusty	Cream or ivory

What to wear with burgundy instead

Every swap above comes from this palette, the colors that make burgundy look deliberate and rich.

Color	Hex	Replaces	Why it works
Navy	`#27374D`	Bright red, purple	Deep and cool; makes burgundy look polished. The safest partner.
Cream	`#EFE4CD`	Yellow-beige	Soft contrast that keeps burgundy fresh.
Camel	`#C19A6B`	Orange-tan	A true, neutral camel shares burgundy's warmth without competing.
Sage	`#8A9A7B`	Bright green	Muted green that softens burgundy for daytime.
Blush Pink	`#E8B4B8`	Hot pink	Gentle pink that harmonizes with burgundy's purple side.
Dusty Pink	`#C99A9E`	Fuchsia	Muted like burgundy, so they agree.
Mustard	`#D6A839`	Orange	Golden warmth that makes burgundy glow, the autumn pairing.
Teal	`#2E7D7B`	Lime	Rich blue-green that lifts burgundy.
Forest Green	`#3E5E3A`	Kelly green	The deep complement; festive and elegant.
Gray	`#8B8E95`	Sand	Cool, quiet, modern; gray and burgundy for the office.

Neutrals: Charcoal #36352F, Chocolate #4A3526, Ivory #F4EDE0, Black #1A1A1A and Denim Blue #5B7A9E.

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The exceptions, when a "clash" works

Fashion loves a deliberate clash, and burgundy has two that can work:

Burgundy + a blue-based red. Not a bright orange-red, but a deep cool cherry, worn as a lip or a shoe against a burgundy dress, with nothing else red. The blue in both keeps them related.
Burgundy + rust. Two warm reds as a tonal autumn palette, but only with cream, camel or chocolate between them, and only when the rust is clearly lighter and more orange, not a near-burgundy.

The rule for both: make it obviously deliberate. One accent, not two competing garments, and a neutral in between.

Burgundy outfit formulas that never clash

Burgundy knit + navy trousers + cognac shoes. The formula to trust.
Burgundy dress + camel coat + gold jewelry. Elegant, warm, expensive.
Burgundy skirt + cream blouse + chocolate boots. Soft contrast, autumnal.
Burgundy + mustard + denim. A mustard scarf, a burgundy jumper, mid-blue jeans.
Burgundy + sage + ivory. Muted, modern and unexpectedly pretty.
Burgundy + forest green + gold. The festive pairing; keep both deep.

Which burgundy suits your coloring

Burgundy flatters almost everyone, but the shade matters: warm coloring, Deep Autumn, True Autumn, suits browner, oxblood burgundies; cool coloring, Deep Winter, Soft Summer, suits the purpler, wine-toned ones. Some of the "clashes" above are really temperature clashes with your skin rather than with the burgundy: rust fights a cool person's burgundy, fuchsia fights a warm person's. A personal color analysis tells you which burgundy is yours and which partners belong with it. The colors that go with maroon guide covers the browner cousin.

Putting it together

Keep bright red, orange, hot pink, near-match maroons and warm tan away from burgundy, and give it navy, cream, camel, sage, blush, mustard, teal or forest green instead. If you want a clash, make it one deliberate accent with a neutral in between. Burgundy is a color that looks expensive by default, it only needs you to stop putting its near-relatives next to it.