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Pondering achromatics vs. neutrals

Helena

Veteran

Hi friends, happy Friday!

Irina’s post on colour analysis got me thinking about something I heard on a random YouTube video recently (can’t remember the channel I’m afraid) about neutrals vs. achromatics and how these apply to choosing a colour palette.

As I understand it, achromatics – the shades on the grayscale from true white to true black, as the only true neutrals in the strictest sense, since they show no colour whatsoever, but only the absence of color (as in black), or all the colour in absolute balance (as in white), or combinations thereof (as in all the true grays).

Neutrals in the fashion sense include lots of colours deemed easy to mix with any other colour – so colours like navy, beiges, some greens, some pinks, grays with some tinge of colour to them, browns, etc. all count as neutral, even though in the strict sense, they are colours.

For me, the achromatics are the only neutrals. This is why e.g. after years of debating whether navy or black should be “my” black, I finally realized that black (or charcoal) has to be my black, regardless of what colour season I fall into. For my personality and the way I experience colour, fashion neutrals like navy (or olive or others), though beautiful and useful, is not a neutral, and so it just can’t serve the function that I
need a neutral to serve.

For many others, the achromatics are too harsh and strict, and they happily embrace the fashion neutrals.

As it ties into seasons, the only colour season that truly holds the achromatics is winter. All the other seasons include “fashion neutrals” which are in fact colours. I imagine people who fall in this camp and are springs, summers, or autumns, probably have an easier time with those palettes than someone like me, who needs the winter neutrals, regardless of whether I am in fact a winter or something else (another reason why a cool tonal palette is the best for me at a practical level).

Anyhoo, those are my random musings for today – throwing them out there to see what others think, since colour is so endlessly fascinating!

General

48 replies

Latest reply was from lyn67

lyn67

Veteran

Yes- & thanks for clarifying the difference between science of color vs fashion-which was always disturbing me, too!:-) Am not at all a winter (rather a soft summer) but for ex. today am dressed in a bright white denim pencil skirt, a bl&w ditsy shell and a silver grey cardi -and feel so fab! The only colors I wear to all these achromatics is a soft blush in my pointy loafers...of and forgot I carry a rich cognac tote.

Helena

Veteran

Lyn, I'm so glad it's not just me that finds these things disturbing!!

Your solution is perfect - wear the achromatics and then add a flattering colour as an accent.

I wish I could remember who to credit for this explanation - maybe Frederique Bros on YouTube, but I'm not sure?? - as it really clarified this rather perplexing issue for me!

SarahD8

Veteran

This is so interesting! It helps explain for me why in some of my seasonal capsule palettes there are colors that function both as a color and as a (fashion) neutral. For example my holiday palette includes the achromatics, but also jewel tones where I include my relatively bright, clear shade of navy under the "sapphire" rubric. I could go on, but won't as I'm on my phone, haha.

Just to throw a wrench into things, I'll note that with clothing, even the achromatics are achieved by dyes, so there are in fact warm and cool grays, blacks, etc.

Helena

Veteran

Sarah, yes that's true ... I find especially with gray, you can really get a colour coming through ... usually either a tinge of purple, blue or brown I find ... and of course whites can be optic, soft or warm.

Generally speaking though, I find black is black (nothwithstanding the color that can come through), in that it never looks like "last season's black" ... whereas grays in particular can definitely fall into this trap!

LaPed

Veteran

This is so interesting! I feel like I wear a lot of colour (burgundy, olive, eggplant), but I'm sure many see me as wearing a lot of "neutrals".

And I do agree with Sarah that greys, thanks to how they're dyed, often skew towards a particular colour, as do blacks. I often find real-life greys behave like secondary colours (greenish greys, purplish greys) and can be a bit tricky to incorporate. I think it's hard to find true greys in the textile world, and grey leathers are even trickier.

I've moved a little in the opposite direction myself. Used to prefer strong black/white contrast in outfits and defaulted to black as my main neutral. Now I'm finding them a bit too loud for my current preferences and I lean more towards "body colours" (greyed blues that match my eyes, dark browns that lean a bit red like my hair). A heather blue sweater acts as a backdrop, while a white sweater is a statement; I've been through the same thing with blue vs white oxford shirts. I reach for light blue almost every time! Likewise charcoal or tweedy brown feels easier to wear lately than a solid black piece, especially as my hair gets longer.

Helena

Veteran

LaPed, it makes total sense to me that softer tones can be a base against which clearer tones (like a pure white) can pop ... sort of a different spin on the "neutral function"! I love it!

smittie

Veteran

Go black!
I really like black/grey/white outfits, and yes, black is key to that look!
I think people can have colour-combo preferences that make them feel really good and this goes beyond colour analysis.

Helena

Veteran

Smittie, 100% in agreement!!

rachylou

Veteran

I do all the colours... but, I must say that if I want to do a really sharp look, I go to black or white or an extremely dark navy. So that is the difference to me, ‘sharpness.’

Helena

Veteran

Rachy yes ... That's a great word for it. As you say it, that navy that you need to hold against black to see that it is not black, is an excellent colour ... It almost functions as well as black for me!

Anonymous

Interesting! I think on their own the achromatics are the true neutrals, but not necessarily in combination with us. So, warm browns are neutral on me, cause of my skin and hair. White OTOH is definitely not- it stands out. Same with navy, which many consider a neutral. It's always a color on me.

Helena

Veteran

That's interesting suntiger ... I feel a cool beige is a neutral for me. And yes navy is a colour on me too ... A good one, but a colour nonetheless! So fascinating ... And you are expressing a good proof of Angie's maxim that colours cant be assessed in isolation.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

So interesting. It makes sense to me. I tend to treat black as a "colour" -- by which I mean, more, as an accent -- and "my" neutrals are grey (an achromatic), white (another), and navy (a colour).

Irina

Veteran

I wear black and white in one outfit, although they are apparently not my best colors Grey is not an easy color for me, it’s a true neutral but I’m moving away from light greys. I used to prefer grey over beige. But with addition of cream, beige seems to work better for me. I have to rethink how I wear grey and if It can be more versatile in my wardrobe.

Roxanna

Veteran

This is so interesting. I realized while reading it that because I don’t like a lot of contrast, actual achromatic neutrals work s as the *opposite* for me - a strong white or black has too much ‘pop’ next to my earth tones and muted pastels. So fashion neutrals are really my only neutrals besides grey. I also have a category I call ‘pop neutrals’, that function as neutrals but also make an outfit pop (eg cognac). I rely on pop neutrals a lot because I don’t like achromatics or most saturated colours..

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Greg will agree with you, Helena! The spectrum of white to grey and black are the only real neutrals, and I fully understand the perspective. It makes scientific sense. Greys and whites can be cooler and warmer though

I don't wear grey, and black is present in some of my patterns these days and not solids. And since I think of red as a neutral..... well.....I'm a HUGE colour gal!

White then - which I wear A LOT - is my only real neutral.

Gigi

Veteran

Thank you for educating us! Colors can be so interesting.

Reading the above comments about some blacks skewing warm or cool reminded me of something I learned as I was reading an introductory book on printing presses. I read that "pure" black ink on the printing press looks quite flat, and it was recommended that book-cover designers mix black with either red (magenta) or blue (cyan) to get a richer black. The book showed the difference between the three possibilities (plain black, red-black, and blue-black), and it was fascinating. You really could see a difference.

For me, with high-contrast coloring, it is important that my blacks be saturated rather than faded. A faded black will make me look sickly, but a really rich black will look fine. I'm a Dark Autumn.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I’m curious how this comes up pragmatically when you get dressed. I mean, do you start to reach for a beige top and then smack your own hand because you should’ve been going for a very pale grey? Or is it more that it bugs you when you read people talking about “neutrals” and have to fill in “achromatic”, sort of like the way I substitute “woman” whenever I see an adult being called a “girl” or “person from the USA” for “American”, and so on?

I don’t have many questions about color theory right now, but when I do, they are things I have an immediate application for, like my recent question where I used my lavender pants as an example. I’m still interested in what’s behind the comments people make about how useful the color wheel is, if they can answer questions like the one I was asking, how to use it to figure out more interesting color matches. We need to use accurate language to communicate with others, of course, but how does the term affect what’s happening in your own process?

ETA Maybe it’s just a basic difference between us, that doesn’t have a reason.

LaPed

Veteran

Roxanna, I like "pop neutral"! Great term. White is definitely a pop neutral for me. I think of black as a grounding neutral. Great for shoes, as well as base layers that are only partially visible -- like tights or tank tops.

Synne

Veteran

Learned a lot in this great thread! I have always struggled with navy. It is in no way a neutral on me. It is very... loud. Like black is. I feel like a walking exclamation mark. Never chic and subtly polished like you are supposed to feel in "neutrals".

Anonymous

Here's a topical podcast about grey. It's an hour long, so I didn't listen to it. But-in case you have a long commute or patience or something, lol!
https://www.chrysaliscolour.com/episode-26-grays/

Tanya

Veteran

What an interesting post, thank you for starting it. I agree with the scientific definition, and also see how "fashion neutral" definition works for most people. I am cool summer, so the coolest season that is not winter, and my approach is to mix both - I wear both white/grey/black and navy, which is my most flattering (fashion) neutral. I have been working on building a small capsule of items that combine both black and navy (perhaps with the addition of white) to bring the two halves together. I also find that my preferred neutrals change with seasons, but those are consistent year to year: in winter my wardrobe is based on black/grey, in spring on navy/white, in summer there is a lot of (soft) white with a touch of black ( and in the last few seasons some browns), and fall is navy/cream, a touch of grey, and also lately some browns. Browns are from recent fashion trends. and may go away in a couple of years from my wardrobe, but the rest is pretty consistent.

Anonymous

Somewhat related - I think of certain items as neutrals due to their natural material. Brown or tan leather shoes, belts, and bags, tan straw hats and woven items, raw natural fabrics - I’d consider them neutral because they’re basically in their natural hues. But I wouldn’t consider brown dyed clothing to be neutral in the same way. This also applies to denim, which we’ve all universally agreed to treat as a neutral even though it’s blue. So I wear neutrals if you consider these accessories and jeans to be neutral, but I wouldn’t select the same colors in other clothing.

Anonymous

I feel like this is kind of a terminology issue.

The word "neutral' within the science of color may mean the achromatics but in fashion and home decor "neutral" describes a function.

Helena

Veteran

It is so interesting to read about everyone's use of neutrals, and how to achromatics work so differently for some vs. others! A great testament to how style, and colour in particular, is SO personal, because we experience it so differently! Thanks so much everyone for sharing your perspectives

FI & Phoebe - yes, this is just me putting terminology and an explanation around something that I've noticed for myself, which is that despite my efforts I can't make anything work as a substitute for black in my wardrobe, because anything that is not an achromatic, I experience as colour, and usually like mixing multiple colours. So even though, say, navy is considered to go with just about anything, to me personally it doesn't - ergo, it's not very functional as a neutral for me. I wear it, but as a colour, and generally with achromatics This is not to say that anyone else should do this (or even that it's true for me 100% of the time) or that I care about the terminology distinction from day to day ... but knowing the distinction is useful to me. Does that make sense?

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Interesting thread! I think mainly of black and white as neutrals, so I suppose I’m with you? And I do have some charcoal pants I wear like that also. The brand called them “pewter”.
I guess I like some fashion neutrals too though, especially olive, on me.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Helena, yes, that does make sense to me—thank you! One of the things I like about ylf is all the little lightbulb moments I get when someone explains why a thing works or doesn’t work. I didn’t recognize that was what this is for you, because our basic reactions to mixing colors are different. When I keep in mind that it makes you uncomfortable, the rest of the post falls into place for me. Thanks.

ETA now I’m curious how you feel about mixing different achromatics with colors. Blue and white is a classic, crisp combination, one I’m always drawn to. When I see blue mixed with black, which is more unusual, it’s interesting to me and I like it. Does that work for you, or do you prefer it with white? Or your red top that looks so good on you; is there a particular achromatic you consistently return to for that particular red? In theory, it shouldn’t matter, because they are all the absence of color. I think of white and black as different “colors” so for me it makes a real difference. But if actual color is what you respond to, then maybe that doesn’t make much of a difference to you.

I hope you don’t mind me asking. It just fascinates me to find a basic difference in people that hadnt registered with me yet after all these years on this earth.

Now I’m off to check mirianna’s post on the black, white, and blue dress that Janet also tried on, to see if you commented.

Staysfit

Veteran

I have also struggled with neutrals vs. achromatics. I find Suntiger’s and Phoebe’s comments very helpful. The neutral in a wardrobe or in decorating is functional vs it’s strict color science definition, and therefore each individual may make use of colors or achromatics differently as neutrals. I do not favor either black or white. I agree with you that colors used as neutrals do not evoke the same feeling of dressiness, professionalism, coolness/edge, crispness, sophistication, etc. as black and white. For example, browns, Forest greens, greys, teals, blushes and olives evoke more relaxed, natural and earthy sensibilities. Navy, lavender, and dark eggplant to me seem almost like bridges between these two categories. I have tried to use grey as a neutral, but as mentioned there are so many shades….warm, cool, dark, light, greenish, purplish, bluish, pinkish, that they can be hard to mix and match….a neutral should go with everything else. Inky navy is another color I have tried as a neutral but it seems too harsh. I am veering towards mid to light shades of color as neutrals. This summer for example, I have purchased light teal. Slate blue, Pearl grey, and rose beige to use as neutrals. If I like wearing them, I will slowly shift towards using less charcoal, navy and espresso as neutrals.

Helena

Veteran

FI, interesting question (and I'll look for that other post). I think (again as a general rule, not saying I do this 100%) that I am pretty good mixing any colour with any achromatic for myself. So for example, I've never had an issue with navy and black together, or brown and gray, or cream and white, let's say. Now I might not wear these for every occasion (e.g. I tend to avoid lots of white in winter for practical purposes), but it's not because I don't like the combination. The red top - do you mean the striped one? If so, that's a perfect example where *my experience* of colour makes a difference - the stripe is navy and so to me it feels very "colourful". I would mix red with any achromatic though in principle. Sidebar: most of my jeans also work as "neutrals" for me - but that's a whole other topic Suffice it to say, without jeans I'd never wear that striped top as wearing it with navy pants would not work for me - too colourful!

Staysfit, yes! The word neutral has so many uses - for practical purposes in fashion, it really means (I think), a colour which the wearer feels good about wearing with almost any other colour - hence Angie has red as a neutral, you have your soft and light tones as neutrals, I have my achromatics as neutrals.

I've learned a lot from this discussion; thanks for indulging my pedantry everyone! xoxo

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