Share your tricks for wearing the "wrong" colours - YouLookFab Forum

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Share your tricks for wearing the "wrong" colours

Helena

Veteran

Hi everone, I'm sure we've discussed this many times before, but with a new swath of colours moving to the forefront (earth tones!) and Janet's post about retail currently lacking cool colours (as Jessica pointed out, that pain point sat with the warm, earthy tones until recently), I thought it might be worth a re-visit.

What are your tricks for wearing your "wrong" colours (i.e. those not in your undertone, colour season, or traditional flattery guidelines, whatever you ascribe to)? Or do you avoid doing so? Or do you just wear what you like and not worry about it?

For my part:

I mostly wear cool colours, which go with my skintone, because generally these are the colours I like anyway.
I'm always back and forth on whether black is truly in my palette, but I love it so I wear it anyway. I'll often wear a bit brighter of a lip color and blush when I wear black, and/or will add some contrast using white or a lighter tone like blush if I can.
I am dying to wear the classic beiges that are around this season, so I'll be on the lookout for the most neutral or cool-leaning version and give them a go. I'll be mixing them with my cool colours and be sure to wear makeup, so hopefully that will help.
I am resolving to just wear it if I like it and flattery be damned. If it feels good and looks alright to my eye, then that will just have to be good enough!

Dressing

36 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

Anonymous

I avoid them (though some colors are close enough to cheat)! The right colors are So Good on me that I just don't want to settle-and the wong colors are Very Wrong! I think people with more neutral skin tone have more flexibility though.
*however right color + right shape = unicorn*

Cardiff girl

Veteran

When I wear black which is a very wrong colour for me I always brighten it up by wearing colours that do suit me with it and I wear brighter makeup.I also agree with Suntigers comment,right colour/right shape =unicorn so compromise is often the way and I think it’s easier to compromise on colour than it is on shape.

Helena

Veteran

Suntiger, those darn unicorns lol!

Cardiffgirl, very true; I read a good blog post the other day about this issue, and it said we are always compromising, all the time on style - we compromise on price due to our budget situations, on heel heights due to lifestyle requirements, etc, etc. Colour really gets held up but as it's just one piece of the puzzle, we should view that as a compromise among compromises, and decide accordingly. I thought that was a good attitude to take!

KMM

I have this gorgeous coat from Boden in navy, my favorite neutral. The lining is mustard which I would normally avoid like the plague (as it makes me look like I have the plague, haha). I love the coat so much that I've made it work by always tucking a silk scarf around my neck in some combination of blue and other cool tones. That way the mustard is not directly next to my face. It's an effective strategy and it's given me incentive to wear some of the scarves that had been languishing in my closet.

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Anonymous

I have plenty of room for a herd of unicorn on my property, and a nice river for them to swim in. They'd be very happy here
But alas- they don't show up...

SarahD8

Veteran

I think I have more flexibility on this than some people bc my skin is cool toned but my hair is quite warm. (So for example a certain color might not be ideal with my skin tone but it looks really great against my hair.)

Otherwise:
-scarf in a super flattering color next to the face
- wear it on the bottom, and a more flattering color on the top (this works for me bc I like lots of color and warm/cool contrasts)
- good enough is good enough! If you like it swipe on a bit of extra lippy (or not!) and wear with confidence.

Bijou

Veteran

I seem to have very neutral colouring, because there are very few colours that I don't wear. I think I said at one time that I don't wear orange or yellow, but now I do and I like them...

I am not sure if I had been conditioned to think that I could only wear cool colours or whether my eye has adjusted and so whilst orange and yellow may not be my best colours I enjoy wearing them anyway.

My advice is to wear and enjoy! Make up, handbags, footwear, scarves, belts and toppers always helps to integrate a colour so considering a colour and how it interacts with the other items you are wearing is a good strategy.

smittie

Veteran

So, we have similar colouring, although I think my skin probably runs yellower than yours (I'm quite yellow actually). My tips for beige are:

- For me, the beiges that work best are the ones that contrast more with my face, i.e.: the darkest beiges you can find. These include tobacco and brownish beiges. If I wear a beige that is similar to my skin tone, it just is not enough contrast and washes me out, even if the undertone is cool. I have found that cool tones that are too light just don't look that great on me, despite being cool. So for example, a light lilac doesn't look that great on me.

I've also discovered that warm colours look ok, as long as they're dark, saturated tones. (I might have more neutral colouring than you, which enables me to wear these colours. I'm not sure.)

- Wear heathered beige. For some reason, when it is heathered, it looks better next to my face.

- Wear beiges that you like. I love tobacco and rusty beiges. I'm less fond of blushes, and light beiges (though I might be ok with light beige with a massive amount of navy worked in). When I like a colour, it is so much easier to wear.

I like a strong orange, and acid yellow, and I think both work well on me because I like the sunniness of them.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I mostly wear them in prints that also incorporate my "good" colors -- orange, rust and cognac being my most prevalent examples. There are lots of prints that incorporate those colors along with turquoise, teal and blue, which makes them work better for me.

Diana

Veteran

My biggest one is just not to wear it near my face. The further away from my face, the better. So shoes and handbags in whatever color, but more flattering colors for tops and scarves.

For example, I can't wear mustard near my face but it's fun in shoes! I am tempted to try these.

FLY London Fly London Pats Pump (Women) | Nordstrom

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JAileen

Veteran

I added mustard last year. I have a vintage Coach bag in mustard that was an orphan. So I added some shoes and scarves, and wear them with colors that work for me. So not big swaths of mustard, just accessories.

JAileen

Veteran

Diana, I have those exact shoes!

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

I have summer coloring, if you subscribe to the seasonal approach. I know quite well that cool pinks, purples, teal, blue, and navy are my best colors.

Yet, somewhat like Bijou, I can get away with a lot of others. Just bought a bright yellow dress!

I find that Nars / Laura Mercier radiance primer under tinted moisturizer really prevents the washed out look that can result from going a little off book.

Liesbeth

Veteran

I don't generally wear colors that are very wrong for me (warm yellow, oranges and neon colors) as they also tend to clash with my (limited) color palette. I do like the juxtaposition of warmer and cooler neutrals and think I can get away with it - I've diagnosed myself a soft summer so leaning towards autumn :). I love the look of navy or grey with tan or cream. That being said I wear the colors that are less flattering either on bottoms, in shoes and bags or sometimes in a coat or cardigan that I leave open (or wear a scarf with) so there's a huge block of a more flattering color to balance the other one out.
Also prints with small doses of unflattering colors are nice to shake things up.

The Cat

Veteran

Generally, I avoid them. I have finally realized that I look best in cool (and preferably clear) colours. However, I still have some jewellery in "wrong-for-me" colours (like gold and brown) which I want to keep for personal reasons. My solution is to wear those pieces with one of my best non-neutrals, like deep pink, bluered, saturated purple, bright blue or hot torquoise.

anchie

Veteran

I try to avoid it, but I do make mistake from time to time. Then I struggle with it, force my self to wear it few times, try to make it work, but it gets donated eventually. For me it is more important that color makes me happy then to look good on me. And if color does't make me happy it is irrelevant if it is accessory or clothes, close to my face or far away.

nemosmom

Veteran

My natural coloring isn't neutral enough to wear all the colors that I love, without looking like death, so I also tend to avoid it. I tried adding those colors only on bottom, but end up with orphans because I simply don't know how to style them or pair them with other colors in my wardrobe. I'm experimenting more with contrast v. color and that is helping...

Style Fan

Veteran

I am an Autumn (golden) and I love earth tones. I was born loving earthy colours. I do wear black but keep it away from my face. I wear a strong earth colour like cognac with black. I also wear silver jewellery and gold jewellery. If I am wearing silver I try to put something warm with it like amber or opal.

Helena

Veteran

I love how everyone has found their own balance between wear what looks best, and wear what you love - makes sense that the two would often overlap anyhow!

Sal

Veteran

I avoid my worst where I can - icy pastels, muddy colours, optic white, cool taupe, citron and chartreuse. These aren’t my favourites so this is fairly easy. Then there are the ones I do like and can make work but are not my best - black and navy for example. I try not to wear them with some skin showing, makeup and a bit of a sparkle.

In your case TG I think camels/ beige and navy or black would work well. I would choose a coat or pants or shoes over a top.

Brooklyn

Veteran

I am a cool coloured person trapped in a warm coloured body, so I have lots of tricks. Plus I really only have about 3 “good” colours (brown, rust and dark red) and my wardrobe would be pretty boring if I stuck to them (not to mention empty given the colour trends over the last 10 years). Here are my tricks:
*wear bad colour as part of a pattern
*wear bad colour on lower half or in a bag
*wear good coloured scarf with bad coloured top
*wear good coloured high neck top with bad coloured jacket or coat
*wear gold jewellery to warm up a bad cool colour (for others - silver jewellery to cool down a warm colour)
*wear lots of blush
*dont wear my bad colours near my face on days when I’m feeling tired or unhappy (it will make me feel worse, a good colour will make me feel better)
*dont wear my bad colours on bad hair days (as above) but, conversely, do pull them out on the (unfortunately occasional) great hair day. Because I can conquer the world when my hair is looking good
*a new trick of late - overdye items I like in a tint that’s more flattering to me.

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

The real trick to wearing any wrong-for-you color is *just don’t*. Clothes in your best colors cost the same and take the same amount of time to put on and take off as those in colors that don’t flatter you. So why would you ever spend money on clothes that don’t make you look and feel your best? Especially when you know it going in.

taylor

Veteran

So many colors that I love dont “work” for me:)
I love the idea of wearing colors we love in flattering ways , even if they aren’t magical against our skin !
Thanks so much for this thread .
I love how everyone has their way of bringing in a rainbow to their wardrobe.
My favorite way of wearing my unflattering color... is to wear it on my lower half. Skirts , slacks and bright denim , also shoes and handbags all work in the best way

Leslie

How about a purse?

I am a cool-leaning neutral with light blonde hair-- a light summer. These are cool pastels and some soft mid-range colors. With my natural darker hair, I am a soft summer. This is darker cool colors but soft or grayed versions. I wear both.
I have spent the last few years getting rid of my warm tops and replacing with better colors for me. My weakness was ever lime and olivey greens. Limes make me look very yellow and sickly. Olive is okay as long as it is cooler/grayer with no yellow undertones. I once had a yellowy olive purse. It was a compliment magnet.

Like Bijou, I can "cheat" and wear cooler oranges and yellows plus turquoise. I have one light yellow tee--pink-sequined flamingos and palm fronds, so irresistible, but it has a scooped neck and is darker/yellower than my hair. And I just don't care for orange. But with time, I have come to love my dusty pastels and dark burgundies and greens.

My one cheat: black. Because all it is is really, really dark gray...

Gaylene

Veteran

I recently fell hard for a gorgeous soft yellow cashmere hoodie when I saw it paired with a soft grey pant on a mannequin. In the dressing room, I managed to convince myself the hoodie was a cool, muted shade of yellow which just might work now that my hair is charcoal instead of dark. I wore it twice before reluctantly admitting that all the tweaking in the world wasn’t going to transform that sweater into something I’d feel good wearing in public. Not only did I look ill in that sweater, I felt even worse thinking of the $$$ I had spent on a now non-returnable garment.

Strangely, though, I still loved the concept of a soft, buttery yellow sweater and realized that same sweater, turned into loungewear with my grey sweatpants, sparked unreasonable joy in my soul every evening when I cuddled into its softness. By the end of the year, I figure its CPW will be next to nothing. So now I’m thinking maybe this is how I’m meant to wear all those colors which I love, but which don’t love me back?

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I put the bad colors on my feet. Certain olive and mustard shades are deadly near my face but work brilliantly as shoes or even bags (if broken up by better colors near my face). Olive in particular makes my face look sallow but actually blends with my legs and makes them look longer.

RainB

Fortunately a lot of the colours that don't look good on me, I don't particularly gravitate towards anyway. But there are a couple like yellow and white that I would like to wear. So I:
- counter the effects with lipstick or jewellery
- satisfy a colour craving with shoes
- relegate it to lounge wear

jussie

Veteran

The only colour that I really, really can’t wear is bright white. It just. Looks. Bad. Black and white print? Fine! Great! But white on its own makes me look sick. No amount of make up or tweaking seems to help. A jacket or cardi over top in a colour is the only real way to minimize the problem, plus make up, plus a scarf.....

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I wear what I like, which means avoiding those colors—they don’t appeal to me.

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