Why Some of Your Clothes Look Bad on You: On Color and Knowing Yourself

"Black is the answer to nearly everything [dressing-related]."*

“Big prints look terrible on everyone.”

“I just can’t do color.”

And piles and piles of other lies that society might have been right about, but regarding which is probably making audible, knee-jerk responses. Society loves to tell us all kinds of things: you’re too fat, you’re too skinny, your appearance shouldn’t matter, your appearance is all that matters. It touches everyone. No gender is safe. Whether what they’re saying is this week’s trend, or this century’s slant, there is a way to block all of that out, or at least filter out the majority of it. It’s a combination of knowing yourself—what suits you best—and pure self-confidence. This is not for women only. I’ll do my best to help you with the first so that you can build the second on your own.

*”Plus it’s so slimming.” might have been added, either verbally or internally to this statement. (Guess what? Dark, monochromatic color is just ONE way of many to highlight/hide in personal styling. All-over pattern is a much more fun way to do this.)

Check out the bold color and large-scale patterns swaddling this handsome baby! It's safe from society so far...

This woman is A) wearing black and B) carrying something orange very close to her face. They're both washing her out. She's much better suited for pastels, cream, greys, and medium-tone cool colors.

Can your clothes wear you?

There is such a thing as clothes wearing you. Often times this can be due to patterns, silhouettes and other fashion risks that make people notice the outfit before they notice your face. (The best dressers are actually highlighting and doing for their face what some of the best makeup can do.) Glowing is good. It’s what we’re after. It’s not just for expectant mothers. It’s for all people—granted they’re wearing the most flattering version of clothes for which their features, coloring, and body shape were made.

The Bell Curve of Clothing Colors

For every person, let’s say there is a bell curve. At the height of the curve there is the range of wearable objects that they look best in (they should glow, look energized, etc.), there is a decent amount that still hits the curve and is pretty good. Then on either “flat side” there is an elephant graveyard of off-scale prints, colors that cast that instant shade of sickness, and all kinds of ill-fitting in-betweens. There is the kind of color, pattern and scale they look best in, there is a range. There are also adjustments that can be made in hair color, makeup, and other details that can smudge the border for someone’s palette.

By darkening and emboldening her makeup, this blonde woman is able to pull off her ultra-dark, winter palette outfit.

For example A redhead can go blonde if he wants to look more natural wearing a light blue oxford shirt, rather than an olive green one (which should make him look his best otherwise).

A blonde can wear darker eye makeup and/or bold lipstick to “punch up” her look to pull off harsher colors like pure white, navy, or black. Usually when dark-haired people lighten their hair to blonde, it has a tendency of washing them out, no matter what they put on.

Color and Artful Dressing

Some image consultants and personal stylists make a big deal about your color palette as a foundation. Some say you should only focus on what you like best, and throw out all the rules. I say that it’s good to know the general guidelines, and follow them as you feel most comfortable. The goal is not to stress you out about always picking the exact perfect shade for you.

Color is one of the main building blocks of clothes. When I studied fine art photography, one of the first things we learned in photo composition was the elements of art: form, line, space, shape, color, texture and space. I see artful dressing as my own personal way of life, and I want to spread that to other through The Queen Midas Touch. In future posts, we can go into some of these elements that also correlate to the design of clothes—and the composition of your outfits.

You may never have heard this before, you may have had a natural sense of it, or this may be the first time you’ve ever considered it, but there is actually a correlation to your own hair color, eye color, and skin tone, with the colors that look best on you. When I’ve travelled in Israel or South Korea, for examples, I noticed in malls there that the clothes are overwhelmingly painted in black, white, royal blues, fire engine reds, emerald greens, etc.—toward what is commonly known as a winter palette—which makes sense because the majority of populations in both countries has dark hair and eyes. Pro tip: oftentimes, image consultants will encourage clients to but all their clothing within “their season.” This can help simplify outfit coordination, but it’s not always that simple.

On the Four Main Color Palettes: Winter, Summer, Autumn and Spring

At this point, it’s considered rather old school to talk about what season someone’s coloring is considered. However, I still find this to be the most helpful base for people to understand “their colors.” The majority of the population fall within the winter palette (myself included). Statistically there are far more winters, then summers, then possible a tie for last between autumns and springs.

Winter (~80% of global populations)

What their coloring is like:

Higher contrast and/or bolder than most of the population, or bolder looks—brunette or raven-haired (or can be silver foxes or salt-and-pepper haired folks) with skin tones from ebony to alabaster. Usually have brown eyes, but can have piercing blue eyes. Winters are the bulk of the world population, including the majority of Asia, Africa, Latin America, India, and many other populations.

What kinds of colors best suit winters?

Strong black, sharp navy, bright white, bold red, greys, cool-but-bright gem tones, etc.—and cooler metals, too, like silver and white gold.

For this first woman, don't be distracted by the spring palette colors in the background. This woman is a true winter, and wearing high-contrast black and white. Hint: adding texture is a great way to wear black! And yes, that's me in the leopard print.

Summer (~17% of population)

What their coloring is like:

Usually blonde or lighter-brown hair, often-but-not-always with light eyes that are cooler, and their cheeks can have a natural pink tone

What kinds of colors best suit summer?

Browns (more blue undertone than red/yellow), medium-to-light toned blues, greens and pinks (including all pastels), cream, grey—and cooler metals, too, like silver and white gold.

This summer blonde is pretty in light grey. Notice her jeans are very dark, but they're not close to her face, so this works well, down to her backdrop!

Autumn (~1-2% of population)

What their coloring is like:

Usually red-headed, sometimes a brunette with strong reddish tint to the hair, eyes can be any color, and skin is often light and freckled

What kinds of colors best suit autumns?

Browns (more red/yellow than blue), deep and warm greens, oranges, warm reds and yellows, cream—and warmer metals, too, like pure gold, rose gold, and bronze

Autumns can wear orange easily—unlike most of us.

Spring (~1-2% of population)

What their coloring is like

Usually platinum blonde or warmer blond tones, often with light eyes; sometimes with freckles

What kinds of colors best suit springs?

Medium-tone browns (more red/yellow than blue), bright and warm colors with more yellow in them, such as marigold, violet, camel, peach, etc.

This spring has a pop of her palette via headphones, and is wearing a great hat for her complexion. She could have amped up her glow by picking a warmer-toned shirt, though.

Fun aside: There are colors I like to “sneak” from the spring closet. Mostly fluorescent yellows, greens, and golds—sometimes even a khaki trench coat. The further away from my face I can get them, the less likely I am to look sick. Sometimes we cannot help but love colors that are not “the best” on us. Guidelines can be helpful, but don’t have to be permanently stitched into our every decision.

On Gold

Ironically, yes, you may have noticed that, by the books, this means that most people look better naturally in SILVER rather than gold. But so many more of us are drawn to gold over silver—whether in theory or practice. This is worth keeping in mind as to when and how to surface either one all in a day’s clothes.

Instead of white and black layered tanks, this girl would have looked much more natural in greys or medium and cool blues/pinks/greens, or brown, etc.

An Example of Not-So-Great Coloring Change

In high school, I hung out with a fair amount of friends in the punk scene. I remember thinking that some of them who were natural blondes with lighter features who looked really washed out, despite their brand new hair shades of electric blue or hot pink. The ones who were naturally brunette just looked so much more “natural” or naturally dynamic in those looks. At the time I didn’t know why it was, but the thought occurred to me almost every time I looked at one of them. For the former-blondes, even though their ensembles of mostly-black matched the extremity of their hair coloring, their getup wasn’t doing them any favors. And of course, a pastel punk army wouldn’t have been very well respected. Ironically, it would have been an amazing twist to really highlight them as individuals.

This natural winter looks amazing in high contrast makeup, black leather, and bright hair.

An Example of Better Coloring Change

One of my childhood friends, who was born with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, and glowed when she would wear silver jewelry, light blues, and other summer palette colors, made a drastic change, too, in high school. She dyed her hair auburn red. Instantly, it brought more (great) color to her face and morphed the colors she looked best in to autumn tones.

Don’t Panic about Color

The most important things to get right are the ones closest to your face. Think about some of the shirts, scarves, ties, hats, necklaces, vests or other wearables that have been close to your face that you’ve gotten consistent compliments on for how it makes you look. For example, “That red looks amazing on you,” not, “That red color is really crazy and bright.”

This guy looks dynamite in his bold, red shirt. The lady with him has colors on that are pretty good on her, but overall the high-contrast is "wearing her." You notice the clothes before you notice her. It's the opposite for him.

On the other hand, this light blue shirt is wearing this guy—you notice it before you notice him, and he doesn't look as good as he could if it were the red shirt from the gentleman above, for example. This guy and his lady friend would both look better if they switched shirt prints.

On Cheating

Even though some colors (or patterns, but that for another day), don’t look best on us, some colors can be “makeup-ed away.” Blondes do this all the time, because even though some gentlemen may prefer blondes, it seems like all blondes prefer to be winters! Most blondes are naturally summers, and need lighter contrast and medium-tone color, but they like or need to wear “winter staples” of navy, black, and white. Lastly, confidence is key to smoothing over or erasing a majority of sins. If your clothes are bold, and you feel bold, chances are that it’s working for you. This is the “whistle a happy tune” effect, which, if you’ve seen the Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr version of The King and I, you’ll know what I mean.

In Summation

Color is a tool. It can be used or tossed aside, either for an evening, or forever. If you use it, the majority or the most visible part, and always what's closest to your face, should be what looks best on you. For me, wearing color is a key part of bringing joy to my daily life. Some people are perfectly happy in neutrals—that’s their choice. If they’re not already gravitating to the best neutrals on them, they might want to know more about that. They might want to know about adding an accessory that gives them the best tone nearest to their face. Maybe they’re instinctively picking the best colors in the best placement. It’s very possible. If from reading this post, you’re willing to dig into your closet and pick out a piece you haven’t worn in ages, but actually is a strikingly good shade on you, then that’s a huge win if you’re asking me. When in doubt, try it on. Oh, and if you do it, let me know!