Helena I love this!! Well I must be one of the princesses of achromatics. My wardrobe primarily is through the cool gray scale. Small amount of white, pearl gray, charcoal gray, washed black to pure black all cool and true in color. My only neutral is usually denim. Although my son is at college at Penn state and they are navy&white. So I did add in some navy because in the days when we could visit campus, no one wears black - it's all navy, some gray and spiritwear (I've never seen so much spirit wear). So I did add some navy and have a small navy work and smart casual capsule. So navy would be my only true neutral. It's interesting I prefer high contrast. My skin is pale and hair is dark so black, charcoal and navy are great. But I would never wear pearl gray head to to because it would wash me out. Not enough contrast. But I would wear it as pants or as a top under a black or navy jacket. I don't enjoy wear colors, or as you say the "experience" of colors. I have worn army green or camo pants in the past but anything bright and deeply saturated would feel totally inauthentic, not sure why, I'll have to ponder that. I have worn amethyst and midnight blue in the past but they are so close to black that they are more black light than actual colors.

Gryffin, you are the queen of achromatics!! Your palette is perfect for you. I am sort of medium contrast leaning to the high side ... But the casualness of my style lends enough softness I think for the high contrast of black and white to work. Pearl gray is so chic, and navy mixes beautifully with the achromatics ... You are like me in that navy is a colour, but it's a beautiful one and it's quietness suits the introvert nature we share too! X

Helena that’s another exquisitely insightful observation. Do we as introverts choose our palettes and restrained minimalist outfits so we wear our bubble of quiet repose? What is more restful than the absence of stimulation than the quiet of black (the absence of color) or deepest navy or charcoal. Quiet colors and outfits so when life becomes too over stimulated and chaotic, at least the one area we can control, provides a visual grounding of quiet repose.

Thanks for this Helena! It makes sense to me for you - and might help you embrace your love of black and white.

I do wear black a fair bit, white mostly as an accent, and I like light grey. I rarely wear black and white together though- I used to be into monochrome patterns but don’t feel right in them any more.

Very interesting. I do appreciate a precise definition, although I do think that the word neutral is used differently in different contexts. But the idea that navy, for example, feels like a color to you and a neutral to others is intriguing. Is it led by your own coloring or is it your resonance with the technical neutrality of black, white and greyscale? And really why do jeans seem to go with everything for so many people (including me)? Does clothing that match our own coloring work as neutrals for us? Lots of thoughts, no answers.

Shevia, I think that's why I'm so obsessed with colour as a topic ... It's so emotional and triggers what must be almost instinctual levels of response, and I have no idea why, but each clue sucks me in. It's an ever-receding mystery, as they say!

Sal, you look fab in black!

Gryffin, you are always so eloquent, and it always makes me smile when I see you've commented!!

Do we as introverts choose our palettes and restrained minimalist outfits so we wear our bubble of quiet repose?

I’m going to say no. Being an introvert means that instead of getting energy from being around people (as extroverts do), being around them wears me out. My energy comes from within, but I don’t feel a need to cover it up.

FI I suspect that like all things personal style, it's horses for courses (á la Angie). I think some introverts use bolder style to express themselves in a non verbal way, whereas others (Gryffin and I do this, not to speak for her but I only know because she helped me understand I do it!) often use style to create a bit of a buffer zone between us and the world.

Similarly I can see the inverse for extraverts. To me what's very helpful is knowing our own personal "why's" so that we can live them with more confidence, even amid all the different approaches.

It's ALL good and makes for such interesting discussion!

Helena, yes, I nearly said the same thing in that comment, but was afraid any version of “we aren’t all the same”, “you aren’t speaking for me”, etc came off as argumentative, so I dropped it. But I very much agree with you that not all introverts are alike—that’s just one facet of personality.

FI, agree 100%

FWIW, I have introverted clients who are loud, bright and maximal dressers! I have extroverted friends who stick to minimal and neutrally quiet looks. Horses for courses.....always

What a great post, Helena! I never thought about it this way, but I find your points super-interesting. I thought (for years) that navy must be “my” black, simply because the color-gurus told me my coloring wouldn’t work with black. Trouble is, navy is not really right on me, either.

Over time I’ve learned it takes the RIGHT black (a deep slate or washed black), but it is possible to find one that works, when I feel patient enough to hunt for it. And I love how well a washed out black “grounds” my olive - in a much less preppy way than navy with olive; and a less boho way than brown with olive.

Navy feels like too much color... in fact, I am down to one navy blazer and a graphic tee - I’ve purged the rest.

I get what you are saying!!

OMG nemosmom, I could have written that second paragraph about washed/faded black! Especially: "I love how well a washed out black “grounds” my olive - in a much less preppy way than navy with olive; and a less boho way than brown with olive."

I'd never thought about it in terms of achromatics, but I've always felt denim behaves more like a colour and less like a neutral. I usually have a fair number of blue and blue-adjacent tops, and blue jeans definitely don't "go" with all of them in a way I find satisfactory.

To me jeans aren't neutral either, though maybe more neutral than "regular" navy. I just only like them (on me) with black, brown, rust, or beige. Even olive with jeans is too much.
Big yes to olive with black!

Nemosmom, for the sake of argument, I hear you that navy isn’t your “neutral” because you feel the color of it too much. But what about green? Are there shades of it you use like a neutral?

Angie most definitely! Like any other trait, we all express it differently ... And how boring if that wasn't so!

Nemosmom, yes exactly!! Fwiw, I think red hair looks absolutely gorgeous against black. NM and LaPed, I'll be keeping an eye out for these softened blacks too.

Suntiger, so interesting ... I was thinking denim is a neutral for me, but you're right ... There are many colours I don't love with denim that I would happily wear with an achromatic (many blues and brights come to mind). So interesting!

Pursuant to my question to nemosmom, I’m starting to realize that the reason this question didn’t make sense to me at first is that the whole idea of something you can just toss together with any other color is pretty far from my closet. I think so anyway. Berry colors (including pinks) are the closest I come, and I don’t think anyone would call them neutral. But the reds, greens, blues, browns and any other colors I have all work easily with whatever berry I feel like that day—blueberry, blackberry, cranberry, raspberry, etc.

FI - yes; I’ve never met a green I didn’t like. I wear greens year-round, almost daily. But, for me, I consider my neutrals to be any color that appears in my eye and hair coloring - honey, toffee, rust, copper, mahogany, olives, and petrol blue.

However - MY neutrals don’t always play nicely with each other in a way that isn’t too colorful (to Helena’s point about achromatics); in fact, they can and often do skew a little too earthy/boho for my taste. I will happily wear any of my neutrals with an achromatic color, and actually, might prefer it.

Very wise comments, thank y'all- I just came back to say 2 things:-).
1. -I love the washed black, too!. "I love how well a washed out black “grounds” my olive - in a much less preppy way than navy with olive; and a less boho way than brown with olive."--this is true for meeee, tooo.
2. -I feel solid navy is definetely a color on me-vs. black but neither of these two I consider them true omnipotent neutrals (for ex. I would rather not pair black&red for me). The only one color I percieve it THAT way is perhaps....white (and perhaps my own tan?)
I guess we are splitting hairs here, oh well....:-).