WHAT’S YOUR COLOUR TONE?
I really do think this is useful. Wish I’d known it in my twenties - it would have helped me narrow down my style a lot earlier and saved me a lot of money and the embarrassment of wearing clothes that made me look like a corpse.
I only stumbled across these colour tone ‘rules’ a few years ago and I can’t unlearn it - tempted to get rid of all the black clothes I amassed in my more professional London days. Also APOLOGIES if you already knew this / it’s obvious.
COOL: if you are a cool colour / skin tone then colours that suit you are white, navy, blues, pinks, greens and some browns. Cream and black will wash you out.
WARM: if you are a warm colour tone then yellows, reds, orange, cream, browns, light pastels will work for you as will black.
This was revelatory to me as I made myself a cream tank top a few years ago and looked awful couldn’t put my finger on why! It’s also why I think the Shetland CIRCUS looks really good on people with warm colour tones.
I think my skin tone is cool, so I felt unsure about the orange neckband on the MASON. But I do actually think it looks quite good so maybe I’m not THAT cool? More Olive? Maybe it doesn’t matter as long as I’m not head to toe in orange and yellow?
3 tips for working out what colour tone you are.
I only stumbled across these colour tone ‘rules’ a few years ago and I can’t unlearn it - tempted to get rid of all the black clothes I amassed in my more professional London days. Also APOLOGIES if you already knew this / it’s obvious.
COOL: if you are a cool colour / skin tone then colours that suit you are white, navy, blues, pinks, greens and some browns. Cream and black will wash you out.
WARM: if you are a warm colour tone then yellows, reds, orange, cream, browns, light pastels will work for you as will black.
This was revelatory to me as I made myself a cream tank top a few years ago and looked awful couldn’t put my finger on why! It’s also why I think the Shetland CIRCUS looks really good on people with warm colour tones.
I think my skin tone is cool, so I felt unsure about the orange neckband on the MASON. But I do actually think it looks quite good so maybe I’m not THAT cool? More Olive? Maybe it doesn’t matter as long as I’m not head to toe in orange and yellow?
3 tips for working out what colour tone you are.
1. Vein test: Look at the veins on your wrist. If they are green yellow, you have warm undertones. Blue or purpley veins means you have cool undertones. And if you have a mix or you can’t tell, you have neutral undertones (you can wear anything).
2. White shirt test: hold a white shirt up to your face in a mirror in natural light. If your face looks rosy pink, you have cool undertones. If it appears more yellow, you’re warm. Can’t decide? Neutral.
3. Eyes: if they are blue / grey / green then you are cool. Brown or hazel then you are warm.
I have wasted more time than I care to admit trying to work this out because I made a brown tank top too and I thought it really suited me but I am definitely more of a cool colour tone - so it is a bit confusing, but as long as it’s a darker brown, I can get away with it.