Yellow is such a happy, cheerful colour, but can everyone wear it? Well, it’s true that most yellows have a warmer undertone to them, so for those with cooler elements to their colouring they can be trickier to wear. When more white is added to yellow it becomes cooler though, so if this is you, you simply need to look for a paler yellow – perhaps the Pure Collection jumper above, for instance. Or simply wear it in combination with a cooler colour, maybe a grey or navy.
Here’s a quick run down of the types of yellows that suit each colouring type and how you can wear them:
Light+Warm– the lighter warm yellows, like primrose, are great for you. The Oliver Bonas jumper or Anthropologie tops are good examples.
Light+Cool – the pale cool yellows are great for you – like the Pure Collection jumpers above.
Deep+Warm – you’ll look lovely in a bold warm yellow (like the shade of the Damsel in a Dress dress below) either in a pattern or worn in contrast with a darker outer layer. The Ted Baker top below would be perfect.
Deep+Cool – you’ll look great wearing a cool yellow in a pattern with a darker, bolder background or wearing your yellow top with a darker cardigan, for example.
Warm+Bright – yellow is a fabulous colour for you, the brighter the better. The Damsel in a Dress dress is perfect. Now’s definitely the time to stock up!
Warm+Smokey – yellows are fabulous on you, especially the softer toned varieties like mustards.
Cool+Bright – yellows are generally not the best colours if you have Cool colouring, so choose a cool yellow and then pair it with one of your darker cool colours to create contrast, eg dark navy and cool pale yellow.
Cool+Smokey – again yellows are generally not your best colour, so like the Cool+Bright types you’d be best off wearing a small amount of them with one of your lovely cool colours or in a mix in a pattern.
Bright+Warm – a bold warm yellow perhaps paired with one of your darker colours, or within a pattern is great for you. The Twisted Wunder top below is a great example.
Bright+Cool – choose a bold yellow with a cooler undertone and create contrast by pairing with a dark colour or wearing a pattern with the yellow in it.
Smokey+Warm – all the gentle mustard and chartreuse tones will look lovely on you. The colour of the Anthroplogie top is a great example.
Smokey+Cool – choose the cooler toned yellows that will set off your cooler features – the Pure Collection jumper, for example.
If you don’t know which colours suit you best and would like to find out, simply book a Virtual Colour Consultation or, from the 12th April, a Full Colour Consultation. You’ll receive your handy Colour Fan and will know for sure which colours, including the shades and tones of yellow, really flatter you. To read more, you can also check out my colour confidence blog where I describe how colour analysis works.