Dress for Your Skin Tone Chart: Clothing Colors by Undertone and Depth

Your skin tone has two parts, and clothes respond to both. Depth is how light or dark your skin is. Undertone is the color underneath: warm (golden, peachy), cool (pink, rosy, bluish), neutral (a mix) or olive (a green-grey cast). Depth tells you how light or dark your colors can go; undertone tells you which side of the color wheel to shop from.

Most skin tone charts stop at undertone. That's why two people with "warm skin" get the same list and only one of them looks good in it. The chart below uses both.

The skin tone color chart for clothes

Each cell is drawn from the 12-season palettes we use in our analysis. The season names matter because they also tell you chroma: whether you suit clear, saturated colors or soft, slightly greyed ones. Two medium, warm people can split into True Spring (clear and bright) and Soft Autumn (soft and muted).

How to find your undertone in two minutes

Do these in daylight, facing a window, with a bare face:

1. White vs cream. Hold each under your chin. Pure white flattering and cream looking yellow means cool. Cream flattering and white looking harsh means warm. Both fine means neutral.
2. Silver vs gold. Same logic with jewelry or a piece of foil. Our gold or silver test shows both on your own photo.
3. Look at your jaw and neck, not your cheeks. Cheeks flush and freckle, which hides the base tone.

About the vein test: green veins don't reliably mean warm and blue veins don't reliably mean cool. Vein color depends on skin thickness and lighting as much as undertone. Use it as a tie-breaker at most.

If you'd rather not guess, the undertone test measures warm, cool, neutral or olive from a selfie.

Clothing colors for warm skin tones

Warm skin has a golden, peachy or bronze glow. The colors that work are yellow-based: corals, tomato reds, golden yellows, warm greens, teals with a yellow lean, and earthy browns.

Warm undertone

Best clothing colors for warm skin tones

Wear

• Coral
  #F2785C
• Turquoise
  #22B2A5
• Golden Yellow
  #F4C23E
• Warm Navy
  #2E4A7F
• Terracotta
  #C1623F
• Olive
  #807B35
• Warm Teal
  #2F7E78
• Mustard
  #BF8F2A
• Chili Red
  #A3272A
• Emerald Pine
  #156B4F

Skip

• Fuchsia
  #C71585
• Icy Pink
  #F4DCE6
• Silver Grey
  #A9ADB5
• Black
  #0A0A0A

True Spring True Autumn Deep Autumn

By depth:

• Fair or light warm skin (Light Spring): keep it light and fresh. Peach, coral pink, buttery yellow, light turquoise. Black is too heavy; use light navy.
• Medium warm skin (True Spring if your coloring is bright, True Autumn if it's rich and earthy): coral, tomato red and turquoise for the first; terracotta, olive, mustard and warm teal for the second.
• Deep warm skin (Deep Autumn): rust, chili red, emerald pine, peacock, mahogany. Pastels disappear next to you.

Warm undertone dress colors

For a dress, the color covers your whole silhouette and sits right under your face, so it matters more than any other piece. Warm undertones look best in coral, tomato red or terracotta for events, olive or warm teal for daytime, and cream instead of white for summer. Replace the little black dress with chocolate or warm navy if black makes you look tired.

Clothing colors for cool skin tones

Cool skin has a pink, rosy or bluish base. The colors that work are blue-based: blue reds, raspberry, rose pink, true blues, cool greens and greys.

Cool undertone

Best clothing colors for cool skin tones

Wear

• Rose Pink
  #D987A3
• Periwinkle
  #8F98D6
• Cadet Blue
  #6C8CB0
• Raspberry
  #C23A73
• Greyed Navy
  #384869
• True Red
  #C8102E
• Emerald
  #009B77
• Royal Blue
  #2643B8
• Pure White
  #FFFFFF
• Ruby
  #A11236

Skip

• Camel
  #C19A6B
• Mustard
  #D4A017
• Rust
  #B7410E
• Orange
  #F28C28

True Summer True Winter Deep Winter

By depth and contrast:

• Fair cool skin with light hair (Light Summer): powder blue, rose pink, lavender, slate navy.
• Light to medium cool skin, soft coloring (True Summer): rose pink, raspberry, periwinkle, cadet blue, greyed navy.
• Cool skin with dark hair or deep cool skin (True Winter, Deep Winter): true red, royal blue, emerald, black and pure white.

Cool undertone dress colors

Cool undertones shine in raspberry, rose red, royal blue and emerald dresses. A true red is the classic event dress for a cool, high contrast winter; a softer rose or periwinkle does the same job for a summer. Avoid orange, mustard and camel dresses: on cool skin they make the face look ruddy or sallow.

Clothing colors for neutral skin tones

Neutral skin is neither clearly warm nor clearly cool. You can wear both sides of the wheel, but not the extremes: very orange and very icy colors both tend to look off. Neutral people usually land in the in-between seasons (Light, Soft, Bright or Deep), which lean slightly one way.

Neutral undertone

Best clothing colors for neutral skin tones

Wear

• Dusty Rose
  #C69299
• Soft Teal
  #6C9898
• Jade
  #4E8A7A
• Warm Rose
  #C38D82
• Watermelon
  #FA5C76
• Jade
  #00B596
• Teal
  #00717C
• Sky Blue
  #96C0E7
• Denim
  #637EA0
• Taupe
  #9C8B7A

Skip

• Orange
  #F28C28
• Icy Pink
  #F4DCE6
• Bright Purple
  #8A2BE2
• Silver Grey
  #A9ADB5

Soft Summer Soft Autumn Bright Spring Bright Winter Deep Winter Light Summer

The best bets for neutral undertones are colors that sit between warm and cool themselves: teal and jade (between blue and green), watermelon and dusty rose (between pink and coral), taupe (between grey and beige).

Clothing colors for olive skin tones

Olive skin has a green or grey cast over a neutral, warm or cool base, and it confuses most undertone tests: gold and silver can both look fine, and many olive people are told they're "neutral". Olive skin usually lands in the muted or deep seasons: Soft Autumn, Soft Summer, Deep Autumn or Deep Winter.

Olive undertone

Best clothing colors for olive skin

Wear

• Teal
  #1E6D6A
• Emerald Pine
  #156B4F
• Burgundy
  #6E1E2A
• Terracotta
  #B4573C
• Emerald
  #007A56
• Berry
  #7E1E50
• Jade
  #4E8A7A
• Rosewood
  #A86C68
• Soft Teal
  #6C9898
• Navy
  #1E2A4A

Skip

• Pastel Pink
  #F8C8DC
• Lemon Chiffon
  #FFF8B5
• Mint
  #BDECD5
• Light Khaki
  #C9BE96

Deep Autumn Deep Winter Soft Autumn Soft Summer

Two rules for olive skin:

• Avoid pale yellow-greens and pale yellows near the face. Lemon chiffon, mint and light khaki echo the green in your skin and make it look sallow.
• Rich mid to deep colors are your strength. Teal, emerald, burgundy and terracotta balance the green cast. Olive skin with light hair and eyes often does better with the softer versions (jade, rosewood, soft teal).

Depth matters as much as undertone

Undertone picks the hue; depth and contrast pick how light or dark the color should be.

• Fair and light skin generally needs lighter colors unless the hair is dark. A fair blonde in black looks overpowered; a fair brunette in black can look striking.
• Medium skin has the widest range. The deciding factor is usually chroma: clear and bright versus soft and muted. Our contrast test helps here.
• Deep skin carries saturated and dark colors that would overwhelm lighter coloring. Deep skin is not automatically "Autumn": deep cool skin with very clear eyes is often Deep Winter or True Winter, and wears icy lights, black and white beautifully.

The neutrals chart: black, white, brown, grey and navy

Neutrals make up most of a wardrobe, so getting them right matters more than any statement color.

If you only change one thing, change the dark base. Swapping black for the right navy or brown fixes more outfits than any accent color.

Try your colors on your own photo

Charts are a starting point. The only real test is the color next to your face in good light: the right one evens your skin and brightens your eyes, the wrong one adds shadows or a grey, yellow or red cast.

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Compare 4 seasons on your own photo

True Spring · True Autumn · True Summer · True Winter

Take a selfie or upload one. We put a draping cape on your photo and recolor it with this palette, best colors and the ones to avoid, so you can see the difference on your own face. Your photo stays in your browser.

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Skin tone and clothing color FAQ

What color dress suits a warm skin tone?

Coral, tomato red, terracotta, olive, warm teal, golden yellow and cream. Deep warm skin also suits rust, chili red and emerald pine. Avoid icy pastels, fuchsia and silver grey dresses.

What color dress suits a cool skin tone?

Raspberry, rose red, rose pink, royal blue, emerald, periwinkle and navy. Fair cool skin with light hair looks best in the softer versions; cool skin with dark hair can wear true red, black and pure white.

What colors look good on neutral skin?

Colors that sit between warm and cool: teal, jade, watermelon, dusty rose, taupe and denim. Skip strong oranges and icy shades.

What colors look good on olive skin?

Teal, emerald, burgundy, terracotta, berry and navy, or jade, rosewood and soft teal if your coloring is light and soft. Avoid lemon, mint and pale khaki near the face.

I have green veins. What color should I wear?

Green veins lean warm, but don't decide on veins alone. Do the white vs cream and gold vs silver tests. If they agree on warm, start with coral, terracotta, olive and cream.

What are "skin tone colors" to wear?

Nude and beige clothes that match your skin. Choose a nude with the same undertone: rose beige for cool, camel or golden tan for warm, taupe for neutral or olive. A nude with the wrong undertone makes skin look grey or orange.