The best colors for true summers (my best colors)

As a true summer and ethereal soft classic, here are my rules.

The short list

In colors, I only wear pink, purple, blue, green, and pale lemon yellow. 

(Plus neutrals: grey, taupe, and silver-white.)[2]

Most of my colors are pastel-like—a little muted, a little soft, smudgy and medium-intensity… Or sheer, light, and fresh like watercolors.

My prints are floral, abstract, or celestial—always swirling, and often reminiscent of the sea or sky.[3]

In metallics and jewelry, I only wear silver, platinum, and white gold; aquamarine and blue topaz; pearls and mother of pearl; and diamonds.

My favorite color is blue. And that’s it.

The long list

Dark blue: Muted navy

Blue: Sky, periwinkle, true blue

Blue-green: Teal, emerald turquoise, medium aqua

Green: Mint, jade, spruce, sage, forest

Yellow: Pale lemon

Pink: Ballet pink, rose, orchid

Deep pink-red: Raspberry, watermelon, cool coral

Purple: Lilac, grape, violet, true purple

Dark purple-red: Plum, aubergine

Grey: Dove, stone, charcoal

Pink-brown: Mushroom, taupe, cinnamon rose, cocoa

White: Soft white, silver-white, pearl

Stones: Pearl, aquamarine, diamond

Metals: Silver, platinum, white gold

Notes

[1] See analysis here: “True, Soft, or Light Summer? Kristen Stewart and Emily Blunt,” truth-is-beauty.com/blog/true-soft-or-light-summer-kristen-stewart-and-emily-blunt.

[2] By contrast, here’s a short list of what I don’t wear.

Avoid: black, inky navy.

Absolutely no: black or inky navy near the face; red, orange, neon; anything with words on it; animal print (except snakeskin); houndstooth; denim.

See my worst colors for more.

[3] These rules aren’t necessarily the case for all true summers. Colors interact with shape, line, and material, so any color guidelines must be informed by your style archetype.

My style archetype is ethereal romantic classic (aka soft classic). So, for example, a good rule for me is “no denim”—but natural-archetype people should ignore that, because they’ll look great in denim.

See this excellent series by Rachel of Truth is Beauty: “Finding your best colors as a natural, dramatic, ethereal, romantic, classic, gamine, and ingenue.”