Happy hump day, guys! I wanted to kick off the new year together by talking about one of the most important aspects in finding your personal style – your color. I thought it would be beneficial to all of us to tackle those parts of our personal style that are hard to determine. I have always felt like it’s easy to know what you like and what you want to wear, but it’s not always easy to know what color actually looks good on you.
I have to admit that until recently, the only time I even pondered what color looked best on me was on college game days because yellow. I mean, Baylor’s colors (green and gold) aren’t that bad. Green looks fab on everyone. Gold though? Gold looks fab on next to no one when you’re sweating bullets in 100+ degree heat.
Over the past couple of years however, I’ve been trying to really hone in on what fabrics work best for my body type, what styles fit my body the best, and which colors look best with my skin tone. In part of my research for this post, I found a really helpful article from InStyle on how to find the most flattering color for your skin. I would definitely check out the article for more detail, but I’ve summarized their main points below. I love that this article breaks down your skin tone into three categories: warm, cool and neutral. It’s a great way to start getting to know your skin tone and from there you’ll be better able to pick out your best colors.
WARM SKIN TONE:
- hair color – dark brown – dark blonde
- skin tone – greenish or yellow/gold undertone; olive skin
- go-to warm colors – oranges, reds, golden yellow, amber, honey gold
- go-to cool colors – warmer greens and blues, olive deep turquoise, fern, pesto, red-purples
- go-to neutrals – taupe, hot chocolate, creamy white, winter wheat, latte
- colors that are hard for you to wear – icy shades, jewel tones
COOL SKIN TONE:
- hair color – very dark – light blonde
- skin tone – blueish undertone; very fair – very dark
- go-to warm colors – shocking pink (versus hot pink which is warm), cerise, ruby, bright rose
- go-to cool colors – bright blue, royal blue, sapphire, emerald, amethyst, deep purple, lavender, lilac snow
- go-to neutrals – grey, navy, pristine white
- colors that are hard for you to wear – oranges and yellows
NEUTRAL SKIN TONE:
- hair color – combo of colors – blonde with ashy streaks or brown with warmer tones
- skin tone – hard to know – you can’t tell between warm or cool
- eye color – hazel
- go-to colors – light peach, dusty pinks, soft rose, peony pink, placid blue, jade green, cameo green
- go-to neutrals – taupes, grays, off-whites
- colors that are hard for you to wear – anything bright or vibrant that can overwhelm like reds or yellows
Truth be told, there are so many tips and tricks to finding what if you have warm or cool skin tones. The easiest one I found though was about how your skin reacts to the sun. They say if your skin turns golden-brown in the sun, you are warm skin toned. If your burn and/or turn pink first then you are typically cool skin toned. All this to say, once you have your skin tone nailed down, you can start to tailor your closet toward colors that look best on you. Tailoring your closet is not an easy task or something you can do overnight. But, over time you can gradually start to weed out those colors that don’t look good on you and more of what looks good.
BEST COLORS FOR WARM TONES: GOLD, OLIVE, CORAL, CREAM
BEST COLORS FOR COOL TONES: BLUE, LAVENDER, ROSE, GREY
BEST COLORS FOR NEUTRAL TONES: MEDIUM BLUE, JADE, RED, WHITE
If you’re looking to add some new items to your closet today, I would look at the following stores for great items at a great cost: LOFT, Ann Taylor, Asos, and Nordstrom.
photography: fort lion studio
