https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:41:08 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213998 Thu, 05 Aug 2021 13:04:03 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2213998@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks Lyn67! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213993 Thu, 05 Aug 2021 12:43:46 +0000 The Cat 2213993@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Theodora, please don't feel that having only three neutrals makes you boring. Some people only have two--and look fab. </p> <p>For many years, I wore only three neutrals--white, grey and black. They have always served me well, and like you I wear a lot of colours in addition.</p> <p>However, in later years, I have added deep blue as a neutral. (Looks harmonious with my blue eyes and is softer than black now that my hair colour has changed from dark brown to silver.) </p> <p>And because I--despite my cool colouring--have since long had a yearning for at least SOMETHING in the beige/brown area, I have experimented much and have recently found that I can successfully wear BEIGE PINK as a neutral and also COOL browns. Both of them actually relates to my skin colours. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213990 Thu, 05 Aug 2021 12:41:03 +0000 lyn67 2213990@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>FI-I think Carla was thinking beige IS a&nbsp; neutral but&nbsp; not HER neutral....if that makes sense...and blue even if is NOT a neutral, it CAN BE for some. Like say,&nbsp; tomato red -which is also NOT a neutral, but&nbsp; a neutral of Angie's- if I can recall her words well enough- as she&nbsp; just&nbsp; used to pair tomato red to everything else in her wardrobe! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213985 Thu, 05 Aug 2021 12:22:19 +0000 Theodora 2213985@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, I just realized how completely boring I must be! &nbsp;My neutrals are limited to just 3- Black, Navy and white. &nbsp;No beige, gray, brown, olive etc. &nbsp; I thought that made my life (and my wardrobe) easier, but I see that many of you have multiple neutrals… Actually, I don’t think I can add any more, as I get confused with too much, IYKWIM </p> <p>I do wear a lot of bright colors with the neutrals, or just go for it in head to toe neutral. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213937 Thu, 05 Aug 2021 00:12:59 +0000 DonnaF 2213937@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I would guess that my wardrobe is 70-85% neutral with the smaller percentage being my hot weather clothing. My neutrals are black, charcoal, gray, cream and white with some navy, olive, and burgundy. And cognac.</p> <p>I consider cognac a neutral for footwear and bags — but not so much for clothing. What is that about?</p> <p>I am drawn to charcoal and black’n’white and black’n’cream clothing like a moth to a flame. I think it’s because they are such a no brainer slam dunk with my hair. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213886 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 18:55:31 +0000 chewyspaghetti 2213886@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think my neutrals are:<br /> denim<br /> cream<br /> olive<br /> black<br /> gray<br /> and my colors are:<br /> olive<br /> browns<br /> rust/coral/oranges- all variations on a theme rather than distinct tones<br /> Iwear olive both as a neutral, and as a color. If I subtract that from my wardrobe, I think I have a lot more neutrals than colors.<br /> I guess that works out well for me. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213878 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 18:08:03 +0000 Mainelady 2213878@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is a great post and it is fun to read each response. Once upon a time, I considered neutrals to live predominantly in the earth tone category. I have expanded my range to include black, blue, denim, white and red. Yes red. Some consider red a bright color, but I wear it as a neutral and it makes me happy. My closet is probably 85% neutrals with a few brights and patterns added for interest and pleasure. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213871 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 17:36:38 +0000 Style Fan 2213871@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have a lot of my wardrobe in Finds.&nbsp; I don't know what the actual breakdown is, but my colours are shades of rust/cognac, olive green, cream/ivory, chocolate brown, blue denim and a sprinkling of black.&nbsp; I consider olive green, cream, brown, denim and black to be neutrals.&nbsp; Rust/cognac are probably colours.<br />It appears that the majority of my wardrobe is neutral.&nbsp; I have been buying more rust pieces this year.&nbsp; But I don't think I am going to end up with a wardrobe of rust. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213834 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 13:44:09 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2213834@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sorry about the semantics. I do recall that your knowledge of art specifics comes from your mom, who taught art school, rather than from attending it yourself. If your idea of beige as not neutral comes from elsewhere, then I stand corrected. Our worlds are indeed bigger than the things we learn from our parents.</p> <p>I agree with you very much that discussing the ideas is fun—seeing the systems people use and realizing it’s possible to think your way through an outfit are why I stuck around after the wedding I was initially preparing for. I always think it’s unfortunate when people are upset about the idea of discussions and questions—here &amp; elsewhere. </p> <p>Ps—I never came near med school or nursing school, but consider myself to have a “medical background” because of habits I picked up from my parents, like washing my hands thoroughly before &amp; after certain activities, keeping a sterile zone &amp; separate towels for hands &amp; dishes in the kitchen, measuring ingredients precisely. That illustrates the way I was thinking of you as having a “background” in art. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213833 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 13:35:32 +0000 Carla 2213833@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>@ fashintern - you must be thinking of someone else. &nbsp;Your reference to ‘art school background’ does not apply to me. &nbsp;I&nbsp;<i>was&nbsp;</i>raised by an artist mother who was an art educator, but I did not attend art school. </p> <p>Thinking about these things, and reading and digesting what folks have to say is all part of having&nbsp;<i>fun&nbsp;</i>with fashion. &nbsp;I’ve learned a lot from ‘workshopping’ concepts like this. &nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213815 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 12:35:03 +0000 Helena 2213815@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Love this question, and reading all the responses - so interesting!</p> <p>As <b>LaPed </b>mentioned, to me, the only true neutrals are black, white and gray, since I am super-picky about how any fashion neutrals are mixed with colours, so they don't totally work as true neutrals <i>for me&nbsp;</i>(obviously this is different for everyone!). That said, for the purpose of this question, I'm thinking in terms of fashion neutrals (i.e. navy, beige included as a neutral) in which case my wardrobe is probably 80/20 in favour of neutrals, if not more.&nbsp;</p> <p>Of the 20% colours, like <b>notsaf</b>, most of the colours are quiet - light blue, blush, burgundy, deep green, soft teal. I can count on one hand just about the number of bright pieces I have! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213805 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 11:54:40 +0000 Preppy Pear 2213805@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My neutrals are navy, gray, taupe and white. Just eyeballing it, 90-95% neutral here. 95 definitely if you consider light blue a neutral.<br /> I have a difficult time adding color - I am color challenged! I think it’s because my hair is warm and my skin is cool, and I’m quite fair. The bright colors I have mostly in patterns, otherwise color overwhelms me, at least to my eye. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213798 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 11:15:34 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2213798@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Staysfit, using that definition, my closet is entirely filled with neutrals. It is very difficult for me to come up with colors that don’t go together. That’s not by design; I just like what I like, and they like each other. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213794 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 10:56:34 +0000 Staysfit 2213794@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It seems my answer to this depends on how one defines color vs neutral. &nbsp;My thinking is that a wardrobe neutral <br />pairs well aesthetically with any other item I would choose to pair it with—-in my wardrobe. &nbsp;Using that definition, neutrals dominate…..comprising possibly 70-75% of my wardrobe, and colors make up 25-30%. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213793 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 10:47:46 +0000 lyn67 2213793@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hah, you put it so well Carla, neutrals can vary. I have almost&nbsp; the same amounts of black and white <b>plain</b> items- than have quite a few in charcoal and greys. I also thought tan is a neutral for me BUT it is so only for shoes and bags. I only own a few pieces of clothes in <b>plain</b> tan (say trenches, a crochette maxi dress and 2-3 sweaters) -so it seems I use tans rather in prints of my other neutrals the most! <br />Then I have almost the same amount of items in <b>printed</b>&nbsp;<b>colors</b> like all&nbsp; my plain neutrals. I do have one plain item of each my&nbsp; fave color to wear like an accent including&nbsp;&nbsp;denim (or navy-which is almost for my french stripes, only-too) but&nbsp; coral red is more-if that makes sense...Wow, I am good at maths but this is hard to figure....:-(</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213789 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 10:28:04 +0000 Bijou 2213789@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>In total, my wardrobe is roughly 1/3 neutral to 2/3 colour. I am happy to colour and pattern mix. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213786 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 10:24:40 +0000 Jaime 2213786@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh boy Carla, I am not quite up enough for this question. I would say my closet looks black, white and blue all over . Will reread later.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213780 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 09:46:47 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2213780@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I’ve probably got about the same ratio as Star, Ginger, cat2, &amp; Nuancedream. I don’t know for sure, because this isn’t a thing I think about when getting dressed. Stark white and solid black are much “louder” to me than, say, frost pink. I often prefer a pattern to break up a big field of solid color (including black &amp; white), but calling my pinstriped jeans or black &amp; white patterned jumpsuit and romper “neutral” (which I did for the purposes of this guesstimate) seems like willfully stretching the definition.</p> <p>Interesting that your art school background says beige isn’t a neutral. The way it does not declare itself at all and the way it’s fine with anything make it strike me as perfectly fulfilling the role of a neutral. Helena had a post that explained the technical difference, so I get it in my head, but the way I feel about it is another matter. I’m surprised you, with your background, would ever think of blue as a neutral, except for maybe an exception for certain shades of blue denim. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213777 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 08:55:48 +0000 Star (Lise) 2213777@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>1/3 of my clothes are neutrals and alot are black and dark denim (which I consider a neutral).&nbsp; The amount of black shocks me.&nbsp; In future I want to replace black with navy and light grey as items wear out.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213774 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:39:02 +0000 Kate 2213774@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Easily 80% neutrals. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals/page/2#post-2213773 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:02:22 +0000 slim cat 2213773@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Since I've started working at a more conservative place my neutrals are growing in numbers a bit. Black, navy, denim, soft grey, white as neutral now.<br />Green, aqua, teal, yellow, lavender as colors. Currently it may be 50-50 in my wardrobe ( gotta get back to be a more specific ).<br />I'm attracted to patterns, often in black/white or blue/white ( I filter when I shop on-line ). Some colors just "call" to me - aqua for example. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213762 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 03:19:25 +0000 Sal 2213762@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have to be careful not to have ALL the colours, I like neutrals and earth colours and bright spring tones.....they are all appealing to me.&nbsp; Pastels, neon, and cool muddy colours don't draw me in at the moment but mustard and golden yellow, coral, blush, warm green, tomato red, shocking pink, and toffee brown are all right up my street along with ecru, warm white, warm olive, black, denim blue, navy, camel and caramel.... (and a few scattered others) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213760 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 03:07:41 +0000 notsaf 2213760@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Angie put me on a very strict diet of no orphans and, RC, you taught me about color paletting, so I am quite focused about color when I shop either online or in person. Brick and mortar is a good opportunity to experiment with silhouettes and to audition new colors, but they need to really wow me to follow me home. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213757 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 02:57:59 +0000 Anonymous 2213757@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Most of my closet is neutral . I’d guess 80% of it , anyways . I consider olive , rust , saffron as neutral though because they still are the bases for outfits that aren’t black . I get colour in footwear and accessories . </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213755 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 02:30:16 +0000 Sloper 2213755@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Like <b>Irina, </b>when shopping,&nbsp;<b></b>my eye is automatically drawn to my neutrals.&nbsp; </p> <p>Sometimes an extra-special fabric, pattern or shape will speak to me despite the colors.&nbsp; And sometimes a color outside my comfort zone jumps out at me.</p> <p>Hmmm - so that sounds like I pay attention to everything?<b></b> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213750 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 01:13:35 +0000 nemosmom 2213750@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ooh interesting… I did include all shoes and accessories in my numbers, but no patterns. And, I did not think to break out by season, either…. I should take a closer look at just clothes… Homework!</p> <p>Re: “filtering”: I’ve had to force myself to add neutrals over the past year or so. My default has been to just buy the green one of whatever piece I was looking at A newfound appreciation for black and having dark brown available at retail again have helped me alter course - and it’s easy to filter online. B&amp;M shopping is harder. I still gravitate to the green thing! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213749 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 01:02:01 +0000 Irina 2213749@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>When I shop in B&amp;M, my eyes are automatically picking out clothes in my neutrals, I just drawn to those colors. Next, I need to touch a garment, feel it. Most of the time I can determine if a garment made of natural fibers, it’s crucial for me since I avoid synthetics. Shapes and details come after that. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213746 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 00:48:05 +0000 Carla 2213746@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>@ Sal - I get how the amount of black that creeps into the closet can be a surprise! &nbsp;I wouldn’t have thought of my closet as having a lot of black, but like you, it’s 25% of my wardrobe and&nbsp;<i>all&nbsp;</i>garment types are represented. &nbsp;</p> <div><br /></div><div>@ nemosmom - your mention of contrast made me look again, and counting ‘clothes only’ the ratio is 2:1:4 - light, medium, dark. &nbsp;If I hadn’t fallen for lilac, it would probably skew even darker. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Question for the colour averse, or those who are just lovers of a neutral palette - do you ‘filter’ for your neutrals whether shopping online, or in B&amp;M? &nbsp;What draws your eye when you shop - shape? details?</div></p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213742 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 00:23:10 +0000 Anonymous 2213742@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My ratio is about 5 neutrals for each accent colored piece. I also often wear all neutral outfits. I wear almost all neutrals in colder weather. I am counting olive and browns as neutrals but not blush pink. That may be a mistake as I have very few browns and have thought of making them a color. They and olive are my main neutrals for fall so we will see how that goes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/your-ratio-of-coloursneutrals#post-2213741 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 00:11:52 +0000 Sal 2213741@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am roughly 75% neutral and 25% colour.</p> <p>I included white, ecru, black, olive, navy, blush, greys and soft blue, denim and all browns as neutrals.</p> <p>In reality I think it skews more like 66/33 as some of those pieces are not really neutral.</p> <p>Black is still my dominant neutral and about 25% of my wardrobe - interesting as I thought I had reduced that.&nbsp; A couple of these pieces are gear, and quite a few shoe and three bags.</p> <p>ETA - just looked a bit more deeply and I had categorised some bold prints with a background of black as black, they are not really neutral.</p>