It’s an age old question: what color pants are the best — neutral or color? Many of us use black as a default color for pants. But we really don’t know if it’s the right color for us or whether it helps us tap into our confidence and personal power. Figuring that out is the subject of this post. Should black be the neutral color of pants in your closet? If not, how can you determine the right neutral color and should a neutral color be the main color of pants in your closet?
“The best color in the whole world is the one that looks good on you.” Coco Chanel
In this post you will learn about what neutral color looks good on you. This will allow you consciously to create a closet full of pants in a color you love to wear.
To be honest, I have fallen prey to using black as the default color of pants in my closet. When I started working at Macy’s we had to wear all black. This wasn’t a problem for me because my closet was full of black. Over the years of working there, I added to this sea of black. Several years ago they changed the rules and said employees could wear any color they want. As a result, color has migrated into my closet.
However, when it comes to pants, black is my color of choice. When you look at my pant fabric stash, it’s mostly black fabric. I do ask myself: did I choose this neutral color or did I just mindlessly adopt fashion industry propaganda?
Fashion Industry -- Neutral Vs Color
The fashion industry never really considers neutral vs color pants. For decades they have been telling us black is the perfect neutral; i.e. little black dress. As a result, most pants only come in this color. If you wear a curvy fit, this might be the only color you can find. Like me, if you have a closet with a sea of black pants, it might not be your fault because you have been told black is the perfect color and it might be the only color of pants you find that fit your body.
What colors are considered neutral? They are:
- Black
- Grey
- Navy
- Brown
- Taupe
- Tan
- Khaki
- White
The next logical question to ask is: “How do I determine my best neutral color?”
Determine Best Neutral
To figure out your personal answer to the neutral or color dilemma, you need to first determine your best neutral. In determining the best neutral you need to know two things:
- Does it have warm or cool undertones?
- What is the relative lightness and darkness of the color?
Undertones
Every color has a warm, cool or neutral undertone which includes the color of your skin, hair and eyes. The undertones of the colors you wear should complement the undertones of your skin, hair and eyes. If your skin tone has warm undertones, then colors with warm undertones will enhance it. With cool undertones, cool colors will enhance your coloring. Finally people with neutral undertones have more freedom.
Step one, determine the undertones of your skin color. The simplest way to do this is to look at the color of your veins on your wrist. If the veins appear to be green, you have warm undertones. If you have blue colored veins, you have cool undertones. Finally if your veins seem to disappear, then you have neutral undertones. (For more information go to How to Identify Your Undertones and What It Means For You)
All the neutrals, except black and white, can have warm or cool undertones. Look at these two sets of grey. One set has cool undertones and the other warm.
I know many of you don’t see the difference between the warm and cool undertones but as you become more aware of them you will start seeing patterns. Just play to determine which works best for you. I’ll discuss this in another section.
Relative Lightness and Darkness
The next step is to understand the relative lightness or darkness of the neutral. Neutrals, except for black and white, can be adjusted for relative lightness and darkness. This means white or black was added to the color. Look at the greys below and see how they change their relative lightness and darkness by adding white or black.
By knowing where your power color lies on the color chart and understanding your Color Contrast Profile you can get into the region of your ideal neutral color.
Power Color
You determined your power color in “What Are The Colors of Your Skin, Hair And Eyes Telling You — Part 1.” In this post you also determined which color wheel it lays on and which ring. Get this information. If you haven’t done it, then go to the post and determine yours.
My power color is red with blue undertones. The most representative of my red is the red on the value color wheel row 3. I wear colors in the jewel tone family: red, fuchsia pink and tanzanite blue. These colors are found on the same color wheel row.
Color Contrast Profile
Next determine the relative lightness or darkness of your neutral color by understanding your color contrast profile.
You learned about your color contrast profile in my post, “The Three Bears Of Color Combinations — Color Combinations.”
Then in my post. “The Three Bears of Color Combinations — The Relative Lightness And Darkness Of Color Combinations,” you learned how to use your color contrast profile to determine the relative lightness and darkness of color.
If you know your color contrast profile you can easily determine the relative lightness and darkness of your best neutral color and your power color. This profile looks at the relative lightness and darkness between the colors of your skin, hair and eyes. If your skin, hair and eyes have the same lightness or darkness then you have low contrast. When there are some differences then you have medium contrast. Major differences, like light skin, dark hair and eyes, create high contrast. If you haven’t gone through this exercise then go back to the post.
I have high contrast because I have very light skin and dark hair and eyes.
What does all of this information added together mean? If you have:
- Low contrast — your neutral color needs to be on that same level as your power color.
- Medium contrast — your neutral colors can be one or two levels below or above your power color.
- High contrast — you have choices because you can wear both light and dark colors.
How To Determine Your Neutral Color(s)
Now the fun part begins. You get to play. First what neutral colors are you drawn to? Look in your closet. What neutral colors do you find? It can be any type of clothes: tops, skirts, dresses and jackets. Pull these colors out. This gives you a clue as to a neutral color family.
For me, you won’t find grey, brown, taupe or khaki. I don’t know why but I don’t like wearing these colors. This gives me black, white, navy and tan to work with.
Next take out your power color. Compare the relative lightness or darkness of one of the neutrals to your power color. Does it have the contrast to match your color contrast profile that you determined in the step above?
Now you have narrowed down the neutral palette to a manageable size. The next step is to put the neutral colors up to your face. Which ones:
- Brighten your face?
- Decreases black circles under your eyes?
- Give you even skin tone?
Make you feel the lightest? (for more information on this go to Your Body Knows)
The neutrals that you pick are the best ones for you. Is black in your mix? If it is, then you know you can wear black. Otherwise, now you know black isn’t the best for you.
When I did this exercise, I found black was the best neutral for me but still not the best color. I thought this was interesting.
Now when shopping for pants you know which neutrals are best for you.
How To Transition From Black To Your Best Neutral?
This is a big question and I have two solutions. First, can you find your neutral color in pants that fit you? This is a very hard question to answer because the fashion industry doesn’t always provide pants for non “H” Body Shapes in any colors other than black. At this moment black might be your only option. Pants are not a bad place to put black because it’s not close to your face. In the future, keep a lookout for pants closest to your body shape and neutral color. Be open and look both online and in brick and mortar stores.
The second solution is to make your own pants or have them made in your neutral color, body shape and design lines. Sewing my own pants is my solution.
You don’t have to turn your sea of black into a sea of your neutral right away. It can be done over time. This blog post is all about you deciding which neutral color is best for you and not to let the fashion industry decide for you.
Neutral Or Color
When doing this exercise I discovered something very interesting. I discovered I need to have more colors like red, royal blue, fuchsia pink, tanzanite blue and purple in my closet. When I wear my red pants and a red printed blouse I feel alive. When I wear that same red printed blouse with black pants I feel more laid back. This surprised me a lot because I spent most of my life being invisible and now I don’t care who sees me. I have made major steps to becoming my core self. The way I can honor my core self is to wear colors instead of neutrals.
In my quest to figure out my neutral or color, I started incorporating more color pants into my closet. Black has become second chair. Just writing this I feel lighter.
I say this for one purpose. That’s, are you like me and you feel more comfortable in color? Then wear more color. While working with many clients, most shy away from pants with color. It all depends on you. If neutral colors represent who you are, then wear neutrals. However, if colors represent who you are, then wear pants made of color. It’s all about what color makes you feel light.
In the next post you get to start trying all the pants you have just found. You will look at the fit and determine if the pants fit your body well.
Did you learn anything new? What is your new neutral or color? Also if you normally have a hard time finding your neutral in your body shape but found a source, tell us. I know there are others looking for this information.
As always, wear Your Greatness.
