Feeling Blue About Your Hues? How to Dress for Your Undertones

Lucy Matthews

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Should we wear clothes based on the undertones of our skin, or should we say “to hell with the hues” and embrace whatever colour we like on ourselves? Is fashion less fun now that we have delved deep into the world of colour mathematics?

We are often told that achieving maximum fashion elevation means dressing according to our skin undertones. It is often regarded as one of the building blocks to pulling off an eye-catching and coordinated look. Identifying our skin tone helps us understand if we suit cooler or warmer colours. From here, a wardrobe that best suits our complexion can be curated.

Dressing for your skin tone means not appearing mismatched and dishevelled when arriving at the next big event. But if the dress fits and the colour dazzles, what stops us from heading straight to the checkout?

Figuring out your undertones

Let’s do some fashion alchemy before we start. Your undertones are the natural colours that lurk beneath the skin’s surface. These could have warm, cool or neutral hues.

“Whoever said that fashion wasn’t scientific wore the wrong colours!”

Healthline states that warm undertones can range from peach and yellow to golden. In comparison, cool undertones include pink and bluish hues. You can check your skin’s undertones by getting scientific and looking at the colour of your veins. Those with greenish veins usually tend to have warm undertones, and people with purplish/blue veins have cooler hues.

Whoever said that fashion wasn’t scientific wore the wrong colours! Once your undertones are figured out, you can confidently hit the shops. If you have neutral undertones, I have some good news: you can pull off any colour!

Screw The Hues!

I know what you may be thinking. Today’s fashion climate is exhausting with all these rules we must abide by. It isn’t just down to skin tone. If we haven’t purchased the latest pair of Uggs, we are left to wallow in last season’s glory.

“A key factor is whether a certain garment will suit our lifestyle.”

Dressing in accordance with your skin tone has been held over our heads by the fashion deities for years. But we often use clothes to signal mood and tend not to worry about which colours suit us in the process.

Let’s say you require a new raincoat for the English winter. You may want to buy a new raincoat to protect yourself from the weather, no matter the colour. A key factor is whether a certain garment will suit our lifestyle. This priority can often trump whether a garment matches our undertones.

Embracing The Colour Wheel

“You might have sworn not to be caught dead in pink.”

Although it may seem like a huge effort to re-do your entire wardrobe based on a fashion diagnosis. Getting familiar with a few simple hues can help to amplify your fashion presence.

Think hot pink, fuchsia pink, even watermelon pink, you name it. You might have sworn not to be caught dead in pink. But it’s not that simple. Each colour can be broken down into shades. It’s about ensuring that two shades of the same colour are equal in depth to avoid being washed out.

Some may experiment with colour on just one part of their body. Trinny Woodall swears you should have a “black neutral” in rotation. Everyone has a “non-black black” alternative neutral to compliment coloured pieces.

Perhaps you are inspired to discover how to look even more snatched on the high street. But all this colour talk may make you question whether your wardrobe and mirror have lied to you. Whatever you choose, remember that fashion is meant to be fun and that you should never let a shade of tangerine orange leave you feeling blue.

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Featured image courtesy of Malte Bickel via Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.