Choosing The Colors Of Your Clothes According To Your Skin Tone (P)

Have you ever wondered what colors look best on you? Of course, this is something that varies from person to person and is relative, as the best clothes for you are the ones you like and feel good in. But generally, some colors look better on different skin tones. The colors we wear can make us look healthier or pale. Wearing the right colors can also help you hide the areas you wish to camouflage or make your strong point stand out. 

Of course, we encourage you to wear the clothes you like, because with the right attitude, you can make anything work. Our tips are guidelines in case you don’t actually know what would look best on you and want to take your skin tone as reference. Continue reading to find out more.

Choosing the colors of your clothes according to your skin tone can be helpful when you don’t know what to wear or want to try something new.

First of all, you need to determine your skin tone. There are more ways to describe skin tones. A first classification is warm – cool and sometimes you will find “neutral” as well.

It’s important to keep in mind that anybody can be a neutral, regardless of the color of your skin. A “neutral” person is a person on whom most colors look well. Some people are like that, others are not.

This being said, we need to say that “neutral” as a term does not refer to a standard of color to which all other colors relate to.

But how to tell whether you have a warm or a cool skin tone? The most recommended trick is to put a golden jewel or  apiece of  fabric next to your skin and then a silver one and see which one looks best. If gold flattens your skin tone, then you probably are a warm type, and if silver flattens your skin tone, you probably have a cool skin tone. This however, can be a little hard to establish.

Another thing you can do is checking your veins: If they’re blue, then you’re a cool skin tone. If they’re green, and you’ve got yellow undertones, then you a warm skin tone.

Warm toned skin tends to have a golden or apricot undertone. People with this skin tone tend to have hair with hints of orange, yellow, red or gold. The eye color tends to be amber, dark brown, hazel, or green.

Cool skin tones are the most common skin tones, and the easiest to dress. A cool toned skin has a pink or rosy undertone. Cool tones’ hair often contains blue, blue-violet, silver, drab, and ash undertones. The eye color tends to be light blue, gray-green, blue-green, turquoise, gray-blue, black or cool brown. Remember that “cool” or warm does not mean “light” or dark, it simply refers to establishing your tone according to your undertones. 

In terms of “light” and “dark”, there are several scales in the scientific world on which you can relate, such as the Fitzpatric
k scale, which you can see in the picture. This scale puts all skin tones into 6 large categories, ranging from pale to dark. Number one is very light, while number six is the darkest.

Another classification, going deeper than just warm-cool is spring–summer–autumn–winter. The difference between the Fitzpatrick scale and the ‘season’ scale is that the ‘seasons’ scale does not measure how dark or pale you are, it is based on your undertones and establishes if you are a warm type or a cool type.

Summer and winter are cool skin tones, while spring and autumn are warm ones. We will break each down and note what colors flatter each type best.

First of all, there are a few colors that go with almost  all skin tones: bright red, pale pink, eggplant and teal.

Now, let’s get to the ‘seasons’ :

Summer is one of the two cool tones. Summer tones have blue, red or pink undertones. If you are a summer tone, you should wear lilacs and pale blues and should choose pastels and soft neutrals with rose undertones. Summers differ from Winters in that their skin tends to contrast gently with their hair and eye color, and therefore seem softer and less intense. This is why Summers should wear softer colors. Cool-toned people can pull off white, ruby, sapphire and aquatic blues very well. Generally, cool tones go better with the blue half of the spectrum.  Their metal colors are silver and white gold.

Winter is the second cool tone. Winters have blue, red or pink undertones. Their skin can be pale white, olive (Mediterranean or  Asian), or dark (Black). A person who is a Winter should wear colors that have blue undertones. Winters should wear colors that are sharp, such as whites, black, navy blue, red with pink undertones. Silver and grey look good on Winters as well. Winters differ from Summers in that their skin tends to contrast dramatically with their hair and eye color, and therefore seem more intense, so they can wear clothes with high contrasts. Best metals for winters are silver or platinum.

Spring is one of the two warm skin tones. Springs usually have golden undertones and are usually creamy white or peach. Spring people generally have straw-colored or strawberry red hair, freckles, rosy cheeks, and blue or green eyes. The main difference between Spring and Autumn color palette is that the Spring’s colors are based on yellow, in contrast with Autumn’s colors which are based on deep gold. This is why Springs should wear colors that have yellow undertones. Springs look best in wear warm orange-based colors like peach, ochre, and coral in chalky shades.

Autumn is the second warm type. Autumn types have golden, warm or yellow undertones. Autumns should wear colors that have yellow undertones. Usually, the autumn colors are warm, soft, and deep. Some of the Autumn colors are  coffee, caramel, beige, tomato red, and green. Autumns should avoid colors with blue tones, like navy or indigo. Warm skin tones look great in yellow too! Also, colors like olive, moss or jadecan  enhance your natural features as well. Warm tones go better with the yellow half of the spectrum. For autumns, in terms of metals, gold, bronze or copper work best.

In case this is a little much, we can make it shorter by saying that  light skin tones look better in dark colors, medium skin tones look best with the primary colors and darker skin tones pull off whites and pale colors quite well. If it’s too little, we invite you to read our detailed article on Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter skin tones, featuring photos and a more insightful look!

Now that you know all this information, which is a good starting point, we recommend you to read our article “The professional way to choose the colors of your clothes“, where you can learn how to create color schemes and how you can mix colors to make them pop.

Fraquoh and Franchomme

Further reading:

Choosing the best color clothes for dark skin tones

The professional way to choose the colors of your clothes

Coordinating the colors of your clothes

Discover if you are a Spring, a Summer an Autumn or a Winter

Color combinations that work for any skin tone, hair and eye color

Choosing colored contact lenses according to your skin tone and hair color

P.S. Do you think one should dress according to their skin tone? Do you dress according to your skin tone? Which colors go best on you? Share your comments, feedback or questions in the comments below and don’t forget that you can subscribe to our website via e-mail to stay updated with articles that will help you develop your style and you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter!