Deborah, thank you!! Your opinion of all others is important on this, for exactly the reason you mention.
You know, I'm undecided as yet. I do think orange is an amazing "mixer" with my predominant blue, taupe, and grey wardrobe. Like wow! But I'm unsure how I feel about so much colour.
I'm really glad I took the time today to try so many variations. My first outfit was the first photo, with the navy sweater, and I actually wore that one day. And you know what? I wished I hadn't cut the tags on the pants! I hated it. It just felt,,,,ugh. Too bright, too garish, too intense, not enough of an ensemble, somehow.
Trying them so many ways, I'm surprised to find that I actually quite like them (in the photos, at least) with the intense colours like turquoise and fuchsia, though I'm not sure how they look IRL or whether I'd feel comfortable going out of the house in them.
I do like them quite a lot with the white or cream tops, and also with the jacquard jacket, and I did not feel at all uncomfortable in those outfits. So simpler and more neutral and possibly lighter tops seemed easier to me.
I may end up ordering these pants in navy and/ or cobalt as well -- I think the cobalt would be less "mixable" for me, but I'd be happier wearing it than the orange. Ultimately, I think I'm moving more towards a refined look with a lot of neutrals and monochrome or tone -on -tone looks -- and bright orange pants don't really fit all that well with that. Still, this is a really great experiment.
Thank you all for your thoughts on this -- it's super helpful.