Solid grey is my least favourite neutral, and overly cool for my warm complexion. In Seattle, where the days are grey for half the year, it’s the last colour I want to wear close to my face. I will wear grey in a pattern, or sport light pearl grey footwear and bag, but that’s it.
I do like grey on those who wear it well. Shades of grey tend to look fabulous on cool-toned complexions. Most of all, grey is SPECTACULAR with grey, silver, white, or salt & pepper hair. It picks up the colours running through their hair. Colour repetition is complementary, flattering, and pulls an outfit together, which is why it’s pleasing to the eye. Clients with grey or greying hair look sublime wearing grey. Husband Greg has a salt & pepper ‘do and wears shades of grey with the best of them.
Just look at how well the grey-haired model I have used in these examples wears grey.
1. Ombréd Cool Tones
Both the light and dark grey in the pattern are repeated in the model’s hair. The cool-toned blue hem and black bottoms work well with her cool-toned complexion.
2. Greyed Green
This shade of seafoam is so unsaturated that it can almost pass for grey, and therefore picks up the grey in the model’s hair. Silvery grey footwear does a good job of bookending, and the silvery jewellery is the grey cherry on top. Tonal, elegant, and beautiful. My favourite of the four outfits.
3. Black & Grey
The grey dots in the black pattern pick up the grey in the model’s hair. The shades of grey in the necklace and silver earrings do the same. I’d have preferred the outfit with silver footwear, but the black elongates the line of the leggings and looks great too.
4. Warm Greys
The textured greys in the poncho have a taupe tinge to them that warms the palette. Although taupe is a cool neutral, it’s relatively warmer than grey and therefore brings out the warmer grey hues in the model’s hair. The warm gold earrings are an unexpected addition. The column of black cools the palette back down.
When my hair goes grey, I bet I will enjoy wearing solid greys a whole lot more. In the meantime, over to you. Do you wear grey, and do you have greying hair to complement grey wardrobe items?
