Principles of clothing color selection based on skin color; A complete and practical guide

Have you ever thought about what color clothes suit you? In fact, choosing the right color for your skin is an important part of the well-dressed equation. In this article from “Manomod”, we have brought you everything you need to know about the principles of choosing clothes color based on skin color.

Choose a color that matches your skin tone

Before buying a new dress, it is better to know what color is compatible with your skin so that the dress looks good on you. Choosing clothes with the wrong color may make your skin dark and dull, but the color that matches your skin will make you look fresh and lively. Therefore, before choosing the color of the dress, you must know the color and tone of your skin completely.

What is the difference between skin color and skin tone?

When choosing the color of clothes that matches your skin, you should know your skin color and also your skin tone. Skin color and tone are different from each other. Skin tone is the color of the top surface of your skin, but skin tone refers to the subtle color beneath your skin.

The skin color of the body is determined by the secretion of the amount of skin pigment, melanin, and it is located in the highest layer of the skin. This skin color sometimes changes due to various factors. For example, the color of the skin changes and becomes darker due to tanning or being under the sun, and if the sun or artificial lights are not involved, the skin color remains the same. But the skin tone, because it is under the skin, always remains the same and no factor changes it. Remember though, this is about warm and cool undertones, and neutral undertones sometimes change.

What are the types of skin colors and undertones?

In general, we have four main types of skin color, dark, green, light and white, and three main types of warm, cold and neutral skin tones.

Warm colors have a combination of yellow undertones and cool colors have pink undertones.

How to determine skin color?

Each person’s skin color is usually a combination of different colors and it can be classified from very light to very dark. You can determine your skin color with the following simple method:

Examination of the jaw line

The skin color of the jaw line changes less than the skin of other parts of the face due to various factors. Wash your face clean. Then stand under the sun and check the skin of your jawline and determine whether it is light, soft or dark.

What methods can be used to determine skin tone?

You can determine your skin tone using any of the following methods:

1. Vein test

Check the color of the vein on the underside of your wrist to find out what color your skin tone is.

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• If the color of the vein was blue or purple, your skin tone is cold.
• If the color of your vein is green, you have a warm skin tone.
• If you are not sure and cannot accurately determine the color of the vein below your wrist, your skin tone is neutral.

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Of course, you can also check the veins in the elbows and temples. In fact, the skin of these parts of the body is very thin and the veins in these areas can be seen easily.

2. White paper test

The skin of the face is usually red and this issue may mislead you into thinking that your skin tone is cold. But sunlight and female hormones cause the face to turn red. Therefore, to check the skin tone, instead of the face, you should go to the skin of your neck or chest.

Place the white paper next to your neck and chest. If you feel that your skin color is blue and pink, your skin tone is cold, but if it is green and gold, you have warm skin. If you cannot detect a distinct color, your skin tone is neutral or olive. In fact, the neutral color may be seen differently in different situations, and the neutral skin tone fluctuates depending on the time of year or exposure to sunlight.

3. Experiment with jewelry

You can also distinguish your skin tone by using necklaces and bracelets. For this test, you need silver and gold jewelry and don’t forget to do this test under natural daylight.

Put your hand next to these metals. Which jewelry makes your skin tone brighter?

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• If gold jewelry makes your skin look lighter, your skin tone is warm.
• If silver jewelry makes your skin look lighter, your skin tone is cool.

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4. Experiment with sunlight

If your skin tans easily under the sun and you don’t feel burning, your skin tone is warm or neutral. Otherwise, your skin tone is cold.

What season does your skin tone belong to?

In the previous section, you determined your cool or warm skin tone. Here are two more general categories that indicate which seasons your skin tone belongs to. We have two general categories, “Summer-Winter” and “Spring-Autumn”, where the first category is related to people with cold undertones, while the second category is related to people with warm undertones.

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• summer: People whose skin is in the summer layer, their skin tone is blue, red and pink. The color of their hair and eyes is light.

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In fact, the eye color of these people is usually blue, hazel, gray or green, and sometimes it is combined with winter eyes, and their eyes vary from light brown to medium brown. Their hair color is light brown or blonde.

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• Wintry: If your skin color appears blue, red, and pink while testing the white paper, and your hair and eye color are dark, you are in the winter category. (eg, pale skin with black hair)

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The eyes of people who are winter are usually light shades of blue, green, hazel, brown or black. Their hair is more dark. Of course, you can also find natural platinum blonde hair with blue eyes in this group.

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• spring: If during the paper test, your skin looks golden, cream or peach, your hair is strawberry red and in this color range, you have freckles and red cheeks, and your eyes are blue or green, you are spring.

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Spring people’s hair is usually golden or wine blonde, light to medium brown and red with warm tones. Their eyes range from light and dark brown to colors such as blue, green and hazel.

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• autumnal: If your skin looks golden, warm or yellow during the paper test and you have dark skin and hair, you are autumn.

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People who have warm autumn skin, their eyes are usually blue, green, hazel, brown or dark brown and sometimes gray hazel. The hair of these people is mostly golden blonde, brown, reddish brown or black.

Now that you have determined your skin tone and color, you can choose the best dress color to suit you. Of course, remember, when choosing clothes with the right color, pay attention to the color of your hair and eyes so that you have a perfect combination of colors.

What are the best colors for cool skin tones?

The best colors for cool skin tones are at the cool end of the color spectrum. Excellent colors for this category of people are emerald, dark purple, pale purple, ice blue and light blue. If you want to add some warm colors to your outfit, you can use very pale yellow, rose red and ruby. Among the more neutral colors that you can use, you can mention white, gray and navy blue.

The reason for choosing these colors is to create an attractive contrast between the color of the dress and the color of your light skin. Also, when your skin is cold, it means that it is too light or pale and you should wear clothes that have darker colors. Among the colors you can use, the best ones are navy blue, emerald green and bold shades of blue.

Also, if you want to wear a watch or other jewelry, instead of gold or copper, use metals such as platinum or silver.

Colors to avoid:

Avoid orange, bright yellow and tomato red colors. These colors are not compatible with your skin color and do not allow you to be seen in your best appearance.

Suitable color for cold skin according to the season

When choosing the color of clothes, you can also pay attention to the season of your skin. In order to make your appearance look beautiful and attractive, we recommend you to use colors for summer and winter skin tones.

Summer: Summer looks are better when they choose softer colors instead of bright and lively colors. If you have cool summer skin, some specific colors to choose from are pale blues and lilacs along with lighter neutral shades that have rose tones. Bright pastel shades are also seen on attractive summer skin.

winter: Winters look great when dressed in classic hues like pink and blue. Of course, when you add sharper colors like navy blue, white or black to your clothes, you will be much more attractive.

The best colors for warm skin

If your skin tone is warm, earthy colored clothes are ideal for you. The best colors for warm skin are green, brown, mustard yellow and warm reds. Other colors that go well with your warm skin include peach, coral, amber and gold. Of course, if you want to add cool colors to your outfit, choose those colors that are less cold, such as olive, orchid, reddish purple and moss.

You can also use neutral colors. Use softer neutrals such as cream, beige, taupe, mushroom gray and cappuccino. All these colors are well compatible with warm toned skin. In fact, warm and natural colors are compatible with all skin tones.

When using watches and jewelry, use warm-colored metals, such as gold and copper, and avoid silver or platinum. Of course, it cannot be said that you can never use platinum or silver colors, but gold-colored metals are in perfect harmony with your warm skin tone. Also, remember not to use ice blue colors or jewel tones in these accessories. These types of colors hide the undertone of your skin and make it look gray.

Suitable color for warm skin according to the season

Skins with warm undertones are usually spring or autumn. According to your season, you can wear clothes in the following colors:

spring: Yellow, orange, peach, coral and ocher are perfect for spring skin. Regarding jewelry, golden colors are suitable for spring skin.

autumnal: If your skin is of a warm autumn type, dull yet bold colors are suitable for you. This means that dark and earthy colors like mustard, olive green and burgundy suit you.

Of course, since warm spring type skin, the season of your adopted sister, can use bright and happy and bold colors, you can also go for these types of colors and of course it is better to stay away from dull and matte colors.

Clothes in caramel, green, beige, tomato red and coffee colors look great on autumn skin. Autumns, like spring ones, can use gold-colored accessories, and of course, they can also use more diverse colors such as copper and bronze.

Autumn and spring, although they have similar undertones, but the colors of their suitable clothes are different, and this issue sometimes becomes confusing.

The best colors for warm skin

If your skin tone is neither warm nor cool and is in the neutral category, you are very lucky, because cool and warm skin tones are in harmony with your skin. The color variety of your clothes is very high and you shine with any color you wear.

However, colors that are suitable for dark skin will also suit you. The best colors for you are the colors that are in the middle of the color spectrum. Colors such as jade green or light pink are compatible with neutral skin. Of course, don’t forget one thing, it’s true that most colors are compatible with your skin color, you shouldn’t mix them all together. For example, if you are using cobalt blue, use soft colors for the complementary color so that the final color result is balanced and makes your look beautiful and desirable.

Also, do not use brown colors. Neutral skin color usually looks darker and brown clothes do not create enough contrast.

Other colors to consider are black and navy. Of course, although these colors suit you, you won’t get the most out of your flexible skin tone as you should.

Suitable colors for any skin tone

There are a bunch of colors that suit any skin type and you can safely use those colors. These colors include pale pink, bright red, blue and deep purple. Remember, you cannot use these colors at the same time. You can choose the right color for your skin and add one of these colors to your outfit. In addition, each of these colors looks great and beautiful with all kinds of jewelry and other accessories.

In the table below, we have listed some colors that are suitable for all types of skin tones:

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Skin changes color with age

Most of us have areas of our skin darkening as we age. Even due to the non-uniform distribution of pigment cells or melanocytes, the color of our skin may be inconsistent. But the tone of our skin, as we said before, does not change. Therefore, you can still choose the right color of your clothes according to this tone.

When buying clothes, pay attention to their color coordination

When you have fully recognized the color and undertone of your skin and determined the right color for your skin, now you should be careful in buying clothes and coordinating their colors. When buying clothes, you should know what colors to buy so that you always have clothes with suitable colors in your wardrobe.

In order to know how to coordinate the colors of the clothes, you must know the main and secondary colors and their combination well.

Basically, colors are in three categories: primary, secondary and tertiary. The three colors red, yellow and blue are the primary colors and secondary colors are formed by the combination of the two primary colors. Combining primary colors with secondary colors produces tertiary colors.

In addition, when all three primary colors are combined, the result will be gray or black.

With the help of the color wheel, you can know the colors that match each other.

In the color wheel, two colors are complementary if they are mixed together and cancel each other’s color characteristics. In addition, if two complementary colors are placed together, they intensify each other’s colorfulness. Complementary colors are opposite each other in the color wheel.

By knowing the color cycle and harmonizing colors with each other and finally harmonizing colors with your skin tone, you can choose the best clothes that make you look stylish and attractive.

last word

We hope that according to the description of this article, you can choose the most suitable dress that suits your skin color and tone and shine in it. If you have experience or suggestion in this field, we will be happy to share it with us.

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