Hi there! Here is my tonal red outfit. Worn yesterday. I wore this to walk my dog, do some grocery shopping and then meet a friend for lunch. It’s a very casual outfit for a warm, busy day.

I like dark reds, which are reds that have a good dose of blue, brown or black.

Here the top, bag and shoes are different shades of blue-based red. The skirt is a black-ish red. It’s a grey acid wash cotton skirt that I overdyed a blue-red. The acid wash grey gives the skirt a wonderful blackened patina. (I’m thrilled with it.) The necklace has some different reds in it and some purple (which is blue based and red adjacent). The closer photo is a more accurate representation of the colours.

Again, nothing exactly matches but everything tones. Even though this outfit is head to toe red, and red is a statement colour, it feels soft and moody to me. It helps that the reds are muted and that the only high contrast items in the outfit (the jewellery) are small blocks of colour. Of course, your feelings may differ!

I also frequently wear reds with cognac or rust items because both colours are orange based and orange is red adjacent. That combination has a bit more contrast but is still a tonal and blended palette to my eye, and one I am comfortable wearing.

Red and white, on the other hand, has too much contrast and “zing” for me. But I am very happy to enjoy those sort of crisp, high contrast combinations on others, such as Angie and Suz. Bring it on, high contrast dressers