Reds, oranges and yellows are warm colours, while greens, blues, violets and purples are cool colours. Also, every colour has its warmer and cooler shades. For example, a burgundy red is cooler than a bright tomato red because the former is mixed with blue and the latter is mixed with yellow. A bright turquoise is warmer than cobalt blue for similar reasons. Gold is a warm metal, and silver is a cool metal. Pewter and rose gold can often go either way. 

Karen Millen
TIE-NECK COAT
View Info
Top Pick
29
Karen Millen
SWING COAT
View Info
Top Pick
3
Karen Millen
O-ring Clutch
View Info
Top Pick
5
J.Crew
Majesty peacoat
View Info
Top Pick
4
J.Crew
Lucite link necklace
View Info
Top Pick
9
Zappos
MATISSE Nelson
$184.95
View Info
Top Pick
4
Loft
Ribtrim Tunic Sweater
View Info
Top Pick
11
H&M
Patterned Blouse
View Info
Top Pick
20
6PM.com
Aquatalia Ophelia
View Info
Top Pick
13

Earth tones like burnt orange, rust, cognac, chartreuse, mustard, camel, toffee and chocolate brown are on the warm side. Earth tones like burgundy, taupe, forest green, olive, donkey and very dark brown are on the cool side. Jewel tones like amethyst, fuchsia, eggplant, magenta, jade and teal tend to be on the cool side too. Clear, crisp brights and neons skew warmer. Muddy colours with lots of grey in them are generally cool. 

COS
Petal drape blouse
View Info
Top Pick
12
Boden
Robyn Dress
View Info
Top Pick
6
COS
Ribbon knit top
View Info
Top Pick
5
COS
Flared knit jumper
View Info
Top Pick
4
COS
Fine-knit cropped jumper
View Info
Top Pick
10
Boden
Pony Saddle Bag
View Info
Top Pick
9
J.Crew
Lucite link necklace
View Info
Top Pick
11
H&M
Bow Blouse
View Info
Top Pick
7
H&M
Bow Blouse
View Info
Top Pick
5

Neutrals like ink blue, black, charcoal grey, stone, pearl grey and optical white tend to be cool-toned. Neutrals like navy, cream, and tan tend to be warmer. Pastels are a little tricker to categorize into warm and cool tones but generally, mint, lilac, icy blue and icy pink skew cool, while peach, lemon, lime and aqua skew warm. 

I bat for Team Warm Colours. I love wearing crisp and sour brights like citron, lime, apple green, tomato red, Dutch orange, shocking pink and turquoise. I enjoy wearing warm earth tones like toffee, cream, chartreuse and cognac, and pastels like melon and peach. Gold is my favourite metal. That said I also wear cool shades like black, optical white, ink blue, blush, icy blue, French blue and silver. Very occasionally, I’ll wear a cool pearl grey and olive. But for the most part, my wardrobe is about warm colours because they make my heart happy and work best against my complexion.

Over to you. Do you bat for Team Warm or Team Cool Colours? And just because it’s Thanksgiving in the US tomorrow, feel free to bat for both teams. If my clientele are anything to go by, my guess is that Team Cool Colours will win this race.