RoseandJoan I agree with your approach about going with the core neutrals eg. that if a top is going to be worn mostly with jeans it will not be a train smash if it is out of the palette. I think I can live with that so long as it still a flattering enough colour.

ChewyS it seems your approach to colour is effortless and it works!

Jonesy and CG and Irina more re-enforcement to stay with my plan. Thanks!

JenniNZ Thanks for your thoughts. It is important to me to hear this is the right path for reducing wardrobe size. Also now I feel better I left those pieces behind, they were starting to haunt me Also for finding out what BOGO means

Firecracker I like the idea of adding colours from outside the palette that blend with the palette. I think I can do this. I actually did a couple of days ago and felt good about is. My planned palette is Navy/White/Grey/Lilac/Icy blue-pink-green. I found a striped T, white/grey/cool orange-peach. I think because the orange/peach is cool toned it is going to work. Thanks for the validation for skipping the two tops, needed to hear that. Patterns do interfere and am slowly moving away from very busy ones.

StyleFan and Cat2 Thanks for your input which helps re-enforce my plan.
Helena I do wear mostly jeans in winter and probably will not apply this strictly then for my Turtlenecks but will make sure they are cool! You are so right.
JAileen I had to smile that 'all hell broke loose' when you added the Radley bag I love how your colour palette has evolved.

I find my wardrobe functions better if I approach colour intuitively rather than trying to use a strict palette. A black coat paired with the right shade of brown boots looks better to my eye than a black coat paired with the wrong shade of black boots. I have a lot of earth tones, but I've learned that I need to look for the right type of earthiness: the dusty, muted kind, rather than the vivid, saturated kind (cognac has never worked very well for me -- it feels so bright!). Navy is another good example. I love a slightly warm, muted, dusty, or heathered navy, but one that is too crisp and saturated won't feel or look right in my wardrobe. The result is that I probably have a full rainbow in my closet, but it's my rainbow, with rust in place of orange, ochre in place of yellow, etc...

LaPed You know what works for you! Good point that not all colours are equal even if the same colour. Saturated versions have always looked better on me. I think maybe a little less so now, maybe I can now wear clear summer colours as well a clear winters with silver hair. Lots of experimentation ahead for me.

It sounds like the decision on the tops was the right one.

I have a fairly loose colour palette- there are a few I avoid, a few I am not drawn to, and a few I really like but remind myself they don’t suit me. I mostly wear a neutral with colour which seems to work for me.

I am late here and will probably echo others, but as a silver-haired forum member, wanted to chime in with my perspective.

For reference, I was born a "cool" redhead, and transitioned to fairly neutral dirty blonde as a child and teen, which I highlighted for many decades. Briefly in my 30s I dyed my hair red (it looked great, but faded fast). Then went back to chemically assisted blonde for many years. Eventually the yellows/ brassy tones started looking bad against my skin and the roots were growing out too quickly for my pocketbook. Time to go natural! I'd seen both my parents go grey so I knew it would likely suit me.

I've always approached colour intuitively. I did get a consultation once but it just affirmed what I already knew and the palette included colours I had already and always been drawn to. My neutrals are navy/ ink, denim (most shades), white, light to medium grey, the odd bit of charcoal. My metals are silver. My colours are almost all blues, cool and true reds, berry tones and fuchsia. Purples and lilacs suit me but I don't wear them often simply because I don't often find clothes I like in those tones. Very occasionally I'll gravitate toward something in teal or forest green or taupe or chocolate brown (all of which work on me)— but I don't do this often. Sticking to a limited palette means my wardrobe is very much mix-and match and most pieces work with several others.

As a blonde, I could and did wear cream, oatmeal, rusty tones, and gold jewellery in addition to the colours and neutrals mentioned above. These don't work as well now. As a redhead, those tones plus purples and greens and chocolates were especially good.

Despite sticking to a limited palette, I love all colours, so I sometimes buy accessories in contrasting (warm) tones, like a mustard bag or shoes. I'll also add "non flattering" but loved colours in prints if the print includes colours that are flattering. And burgundy is a special case. It isn't my best colour worn near my face but it's not terrible, either, and I can wear it especially on the bottom, in a pattern, or in accessories, because it blends so well with the rest of the closet.

What I have found since going silver is that I can up the intensity and the clarity of colours -- not just "can" but need to. My contrast level is low to medium (deep blue grey eyes and bright silver hair and pale skin). But my overall tone is "bright" -- bright hair, eyes, skin -- so I need some intensity to match it. In particular, I've found that white, royal or cobalt blue, and true fire engine red have become even more flattering than in the past. In other words, it's not just colour but also contrast and level of brightness that you might need to experiment with, as your hair transitions.

Star - I began working in the 90’s. I had no idea how to create a wardrobe. So I would walk into AT, in their heyday, and but an outfit. So I had outfits nothing I could mix and match. Until one day, I bought a long Glen plaid jacket in eggshell and black, a long black blazer, an eggshell silk sweater, black skirt, pants and two pair of faux jodhpurs. One black and one eggshell. With several black bodysuits and black leather and suede booties I acquired, totally unknowingly my first wardrobe capsule. This was my good dress and conference wear for the next 10 yr. During that time I realized I knew squat about clothes. I limited my colors to black, charcoal, pearl gray and denim for the next 10 yr with mostly a long over lean silhouette. This allowed me to go all build a working cohesive wardrobe. Lately I added a navy capsule (one of my son’s school colors) and have added in some white. I have mixed feelings. I love what I have but my wardrobe has expanded more than I like. For me a tighter palate is more restful and controllable. Not sure if I want to scale back. Simple isn’t easy. But I’d like to streamline.

I am not strict about it at all, but do not like to wear warm colors near my face. Some colors are just so much better on me (blues, purples/burgundy, pink, and true white) that I gravitate toward them. But I will go for cooler browns and some other odd colors now and then.

Shevia I gather from your comment that once my silver hair is fully in (or is it out - never know which is the correct term) I will really notice which colours work for me and will gravitate to them and then can really decide on a tighter colour palette.

Suz Thank you for chiming in. It seems like we are similar as I too have blue eyes but mine are cooler towards grey. As a child my hair was a very dark brown with hints of auburn. I have noticed thus far I am really looking alive in blues. I have a cobalt blue poloneck and my face really lights up when I wear it. I think all your preferred colours are going to work for me too. I also could be happy with a mustard pair of shoes and bag so yes to accessories from outside the palette. Great advice.

Gryffin Thank you for your comment. Interesting to hear how your wardrobe has evolved. Your comment 'a tighter palette is more restful and controllable' really hits the nail on the head for me. This is exactly the feeling I am imagining it will be like. In the past 2 years I have gone from a lover of colour and prints to feeling more comfortable in neutrals and less colour and pattern. Those prints suddenly seem too busy and I feel calmer in neutrals and quieter colours. This desire for calmness seems to be what is prompting me to have less items in my closet and more co-hesion. Great advice too.

Sal Thanks for the input and encouragement.

OMG! Having my colors done and doing a class about it which included having an outfit selected for me was the most important thing I did style-wise in my life. I had absolutely no guidance in this subject before, and my wardrobe was a mismatch of every color and pattern and print size. Almost none of it flattering.

I was always hard to fit size wise and fit wise. If only someone had told me that I could take pants to the tailor to have the waist nipped in! Or that I had a short rise and I could hold pants up to me and if the waist was to the bottom of my bust I didn't need to take them into the dressing room.

I still found and find it difficult to find clothes that fit in the colors and print size that is best, so I do compromise, but not in tone. Recently I was thinking that there are so many beautiful colors that are rarely seen in all their varieties in clothing.

When I told my friend about having my colors done, she said that her mother told her to put my hand next to the item, to see if it looked good next to her skin. I know this doesn't cover everything, but my, I wish I had known that my whole life.

Color is very important to me. But I don't stick to a specific palette. There are too many different colors and shades and tones out there in the world to stick to only a few!

Like LaPed, I can be picky about the exact nature of an item I want to add, because of how well it coordinates with other colors and items in my wardrobe. Pretty mid-tones with a warmer edge tends to be my sweet spot, and those can cover the spectrum. I don't usually consider or look for (non-white) neutrals, or very dark, primary, or very light pastel colors.

Ginger & Barbara Diane Thanks for your input. I am getting that the right tone may even be more important than the right colour.