As a colour analyst, I really appreciate the power of colour. Every day I see clients transform before my eyes as I place fabric swatches in their best colours and combinations o colours next to their faces. Not only can wearing the right colours for your unique colouring make you look younger, fresher and healthier; they can also lift your mood and the mood of those around you.
How you choose to wear your colour palette is very personal. Some people like to stand out from the crowd so will be drawn to the more vibrant colours in their palette. Others, who are maybe more low-key, will be more comfortable wearing mainly neutral colours.
What are neutral colours?
Basically. neutral colours are those that work well with lots of other colours. They may not be the most exciting colours in your palette but they can be the workhorses within your wardrobe. Neutrals include white, cream, beige, grey, brown, navy and black. Shades such as camel, taupe, and olive are also often classified as neutral.
Even if you are someone who likes bold colours, including some neutral colours within your wardrobe will help to anchor your other colours and provide maximum flexibility when it comes to putting outfits together.
As well as being versatile, neutrals are timeless so they are a good choice for investment pieces that you want to wear for years to come. For example, a pair of tailored trousers in a neutral colour won’t date and will team with lots of different coloured tops and jackets.
Neutrals are also a really good choice for footwear, belts and bags as they will complement so many different outfits.
So which are your best neutrals?
This very much depends on your colouring and your personal preferences.
Deep, dark colouring
If you have dark hair and eyes, darker neutrals such as dark navy, charcoal and pine will tend to work well for you, whereas lighter shades such as beige will look rather “blah” unless worn away from the face and with a darker shade from your palette.
Light, delicate colouring
If you have light hair, skin and eyes and your overall look is quite delicate, consider soft white, light navy, grey, stone or taupe. very dark neutrals will overwhelm your natural colouring
Warm, golden colouring
If you have an overall golden look to your colouring with a yellow-based skin tone and gold/red/chestnut tones within your hair colour, the chances are that you will look your best in warm-toned neutrals such as creams, camels, browns and and olive tones.
Cool and strong
If you have quite a strong look with ash toned hair (be that steely grey, ash brown/blond or blue-black) and a pink based skin tone (or blue based if a person of colour) then cool, blue-based colours will work well for you. Think dark navy, charcoal, white and pine.
Soft, muted
If your overall look is quite muted with mid-toned hair skin and eyes and little natural contrast to your colouring, neutrals were made for you! Those which are muted and mid-toned will look particularly good. Consider soft white, cocoa, taupe, pewter and light navy and wear them with soft, smokey accent colours to create a sophisticated low-contrast look.
Clear and contrasting
If you have lots of natural contrast to your look (bright eyes, dark hair, fair skin – think Disney’s Snow White!) vibrant colours will really make your colouring sing. Neutrals aren’t likely to be your best look but your most wearable ones will be those that are stronger and more highly saturated, such as dark navy and black brown. White can be used to add contrast to your outfit. If you want to wear more subtle neutrals such as beige, you will need to contrast them with vibrant colours to make them work for you.
A word on black
You may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned black, particularly as so many women wear it. Black does indeed feature in the Deep, Cool and Clear palettes and can be a good choice for skirts and trousers. However it can look quite harsh when worn right next to the face, particularly for those of us who are past the first blush of youth! Substituting navy or charcoal near the face is a more flattering choice for the vast majority of women. In addition, black has a tendency to “kill” soft, warm and light colours when placed next to them, so it’s not the best choice for people with these palettes, even when worn on the bottom half only.
Not sure what type of colouring you have?
If you’re not sure which colouring category you fit into and aren’t yet ready to have a colour analysis, I recommend that you take a look in your wardrobe. What colours are the clothes that wear most and, crucially, feel good in? Are you someone who enjoys wearing pastels? Or do you prefer brights? Do you like fuchsia pinks or are you more drawn to coral tones? Once you’ve determined which colours are your favourites, you can work out which are the best neutrals to go with them. So, for example, if you wear a lot of pinks, you are probably going to find that blues and greys will work well as neutrals, whereas if you’re more into earthy or golden tones like terracottas and corals, neutrals such as camel and khaki will be more complementary. If you’re still not sure, navy, soft white and pewter (a.k.a mink, mole or mushroom) are pretty safe bets for most people.
By the way, the neutrals you wear may also differ depending on the time of year. For spring-summer the lighter neutrals from your palette will probably feel more appropriate, whereas for autumn-winter you will almost certainly find that darker ones will work better.
My own colouring is soft, warm and light so during the summer my go-to neutral is a soft white, cream or stone, whereas in the cooler months I switch to chocolate, taupe or khaki/olive.