Do you generally stick to warm or cool OR do you dress using all shades? - YouLookFab Forum

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Do you generally stick to warm or cool OR do you dress using all shades?

abc

Veteran

A comment by Vix re the spectrum of warm to cool in Susan's recent thread

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....st-1222641

Made me rethink something. I was just getting drawn into a lot of warm tone neutrals like cognac and tan and I was pondering a few purchases in this color scheme - without even consciously realizing it.

I am definitely a cool toned person and most if not almost all of my closet is cool tones. Lots of berries and dark denim and some purples along with bright colors like salmon and hot pink and bright green.

So my question to you more experienced fabbers is - do your items run the full spectrum or do you tend to stay in your zone of warm or cool?

Was I about to make a mistake?! Lol

Here's my inspiration pinboard fwiw - shows a lot of cool palettes but I've been pondering cognac a lot lately
http://www.pinterest.com/angel.....pirations/

Dressing

25 replies

Latest reply was from rabbit

Helena

Veteran

Great question and I'm going to look forward to the replies! I'm clearly no expert (1/2 my threads are hand-wringing about color), but I will say most of my closet is cool-toned and I recently bought cognac booties and a cognac tote. They are both really nice, but I only like wearing them with other neutrals (usually a black top and jeans) and I think they look weird with cool colors. I won't say I regret purchasing them as I do like them, but I will not be buying more in those colors. A gray or black would take me much further.

Anyways, hope you'll update what you decide on!

carter

Veteran

Well, I think cognac is spectacular with black, navy, grey, white, burgundy, hot pink. I mix up, but I try to keep the depth and clarity of color in the same range. I wouldn't look good in a cognac colored sweater, but I would certainly do it in pants and accessories. The right colorway of animal print can be great for pulling warm and cool colors together if you're uncertain.

Aida

Veteran

Always an interesting question! My skin is neutral-bordering-warm (cool with warm undertones or the other way around, I forget) and I have very high contrast coloring. Because of this I am lucky and can generally wear the colors I love; I tend to skew warm in my color choices and cool in my neutrals, and wear both optic white and ivory. I mix warm and cool all the time, both neutral and colors, though it sometimes takes some time to develop an eye for this. If you stick to your flattering colors, in general you'll be able to mix them together with good success because they've already got something in common: that they work for you, so they'll likely work with each other.

Cognac is a pretty magical leather, and often works with both warm and cool tones. The particular item's specific shade will make a difference, so the only way to find out is to try it. Cognac can look especially rich and yummy with deep purples!

Echo

Veteran

Although I rarely buy while thinking about warm vs cool colours, it happens that most of my closet is cool colours. I feel most comfortable in black, grey, cobalt and navy with pops of lemon or lime or cool fuchsia.

I do think that cognac and warmish neutrals like tan or blush go very well with cool colours, though. All of those coordinate well with black, most blues, purples and most jewel tones. I didn't realize until I had a cognac jacket and boots how well they go with many things.

Gigi

Veteran

I would say that if you are really drawn to a color, you should purchase at least one thing in it and see how it goes. We are drawn to colors for a reason, I think, whether or not they are flattering to our skin tones.

I have a closet full of warm colors because those are generally what look good on me, so that is what I always bought. I recently found that I can wear some cool colors, since my natural coloring is a bit of a mix. However, I have lately found myself drawn to some *very* cool colors that make me look like death warmed over: mint green and icy pink. I diligently looked for items in those colors but couldn't find anything I liked that fit. I did manage to buy some mint nail polish, at least! But I would like to add more colors that are outside my traditionally flattering range. It adds variety and is fun! And there are always ways to make unflattering colors more flattering. Angie has a post on it if you look in the blog archives. (Sorry, I don't have time to find it now.)

Sometimes the weather or the season or something in your psyche can make you want to wear a particular color. So I say, experiment away!

Sharon

Veteran

I find myself drawn to a particular set of (warm) colours and tend to buy those things. And I do consider how each item will play with things already in my closet, so I guess the undertones are part of that assessment. But I don't consciously think about whether an item is warm or cool.

MsMaven

Veteran

Younger I was definitely warm, but as I've gotten older I lean more to cool. I have read that as a person gets older they move towards cool. I've always been told I look good in black and I wear it, but I've never felt good in stark white and don't ever wear that.

I have thought about warm-cool lately and now I just go on a case by case basis. I look and feel better in muted colors, so I look for slightly muted jewel colors. I hate to wear pastels, but admire them on others.

I don't know if this is helpful at all. I do think people went overboard with the warm vs. cool schemes in the 1980s.

DonnaF

Veteran

I think my coloring is barely warm, so wearing a lot of really warm colors feels too heavy to me, and wearing really cool colors is not flattering. I think I've figured out that if I want *nude for me* footwear, I need to go for a more cognac tan and that pinky beige just looks weird on me. Where a lot of my warmth come in is in my eyes, so I can wear the various rusts and browns that show up in my eyes. However, in terms of clothing and eye makeup, I prefer cooler browns. Go figure. Regardless, a lot of colors I would buy simply aren't available in my (petite) size range. For some reason, they think we just wear black.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I get so dazed when color theory comes up. I think I wear cool colors. But I do have cognac boots and they go great with them. They provide a bit of contrast I guess.

Vix

Veteran

Hi abc --

I actually love warm and cool tones mixed together in art, and believe it or not given my comment I do like some in my closet.

I think if you (one) loves a color, it's not much of a problem to blend it in. If you can picture cognac working with what you own, go for it!

I've had/have a:

-- parrot green stretch pencil skirt I wore for years til the lining disintegrated and my tailor quoted me a replacement cost that seemed too high (I try not to regret letting it go!)

-- Ban Roll-On yellow/green stripey skirt

-- 5+ y.o. orange patent purse that shows up in a lot of my spring/summer shots because I love it! (photo)

[My forays into cognac haven't turned out that well despite my knowing objectively the color looked good with things I had. Luckily cognac leather looks great with a few layers of cordovan shoe cream on top, ha.]

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Adelfa

Veteran

I think of myself as a cool-toned person but lately I have been veering a little warmer. The obvious reason is that my highlights make my hair look warmer (as opposed to the former very dark brown). But it also feels to me like the warmer colors are pulling something out of me that I didn't know was there. They resonate and feel great.

My cool base: black, navy, gray, taupe, cool browns, white. Cobalt, purple, burgundy, pinks from pale to bright. Silver.

My added warm colors: cream, cognac, citron, lime. Gold.

The colors in the citron to lime range are my very happiest colors right now!

Golden

Veteran

I typically stick to warm or neutral. I am fairly warm and don't look to great in cool tones...

Deborah

Veteran

I love cool tones and pretty much stick to those.

Lyn D.

Veteran

Cool overall, but I can get away with some browns with my hair colour, and like Aida can wear both white and cream.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I probably look better in warm colors but wear them both. Mostly because like Mo, I'm still confused about colors. And have trouble distinguishing between cool and warm colors unless they are side by side and somehow clashing.

EveningMood

I have a coloring similar to Aida's, neutral and high contrast, and I used to have two different palettes that hardy ever mixed, one based on brown, beige, tan and orange and one based on black, grey, white, red and purple. Recently I found that I have been neglecting the warm toned one so thoroughly I purged almost everything because I want a leaner, more manageable wardrobe. So far, I am not looking back; I am ok with my wardrobe being mostly cool toned though I still wear warmish makeup (and even orange lipstick), and I still love cognac for accents - bags, belts, shoes. Cognac is fab!

Molly L-R

I'm a redhead and would fall into the "soft autumn" category in colour analysis. I make sure all my purchases fall into the warm category as it's so much easier and less of a headache to know that all the things in my wardrobe at least vaguely go with one another.

leopardluxe

Veteran

I have a pretty diverse mix of cool and warm. I generally look better in warm tones so I probably have more of those overall in my closet (lots of earth tones, especially. I'm definitely an autumn in terms of color) but I also love blacks and gray and purples and lots of other cooler tones.

So I usually focus less on whether it's cool or warm in color but more on which of the cooler colors just do not work AT ALL with my skin tone. So I know that I can't wear a very cool gray/green ivory tone anywhere near my face, same is true of chartreuse, citron greens, or lemon yellows. Those particular cool colors make me look sickly (sometimes these work okay as a small accent color in a pattern as long as the pattern has other colors in it that do work with my skin). I'm fine, however, with warm yellow golds or other shades of green.

So while I don't stick to one palette I do tend to favor one slightly (warm) and know which of the cooler colors I can get away with.

Alassë

Veteran

What Molly said - "I make sure all my purchases fall into the warm category as it's so much easier and less of a headache to know that all the things in my wardrobe at least vaguely go with one another." I've kept a couple of not-my-colour pieces because I still love them, but those have to be paired with dark chocolate, cognac, or cream.

shedev

Veteran

My wardrobe is about 90% made up of black, blues, greys, and white. My secondary colors are greens, dark purples, and burgundy. My wildcard colors are chocolate brown, taupe, and tan.

rachylou

Veteran

I venture into warm, but I'm thinking I stick with clear colours. I don't do dusty or dusky much.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I feel like I can wear both cool and warm colors to some extent - but prefer neutrals overall. I wear a lot of denim and navy as well as charcoal and lighter grey - I also wear a lot of tan and olive. All of those seem to work pretty well with an accent color of a brighter red, hot pink, or maybe emerald green. I wear both pure white and ivory tones and feel both work about equal for me. I will wear the occasional muted lavender and even a dusty pink sometimes (mostly the latter colors in summer when I want a lighter palette).

In winter I do wear cognac boots and belts esp. with navy and denim. I also agree that animal print belts, shoes and accessories can help bridge warm and cool colors.

Thistle

Veteran

I cannot wear warm tones well. I just can't. I love many of them, especially red, but I own almost nothing in the color as it doesn't look good on me.

I have heard the right make-up can help. Frankly, I am just not that ambitious. So, I save red for shoes or handbags which are away from my face. Makes it easier to incorporate into a cool tones wardrobe as well.

April

Veteran

Cool tones. (Dark hair, fair skin, light eyes - seems to call for a cool palette.)

rabbit

Veteran

I generally lean cool, with exactly the same list of base colors as Adelfa plus a dark grayish olive (this is borderline too warm for me) and dark espresso brown in leather (bookends my hair).

I will push a favorite cool color slightly warmer - as in a rose pink rather than a cool pink, or a brighter more tomato-y red rather than a blueish blood red occasionally. I think these both work out okay because of my natural lip color.

Even though I agree that clothes themselves look good with warm and cool mixes (like deep orange and ink blue), when I tried it on myself it just nervously co-existed with my complexion rather than looking natural with it :D.

Cognac looks horrible with my skin, as in leather sandals for example, so I just avoid it.