Finding the right shade of brown for your colour season
Clare asked in the group about finding the perfect shade of brown for your season, and it’s such a good question.
Brown is one of those colours that can feel confusing. Cooler seasons often avoid it altogether (I know I end up doing this), unsure when they can wear it, while warmer seasons can feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of brown options out there.
Brown is made up of all three primary colours, red, blue, and yellow, which is why it can look completely different depending on the amount of colour added in. It can appear rich and glowing or flat and muddy.
What Do Warm Browns Look Like?
Warm browns have a golden or yellow base, sometimes with a hint of orange or red. They feel earthy, glowing, and rich, like autumn leaves or golden wood (think of the colours of autumn)
Light warm browns: camel, tan, khaki, golden beige
Medium warm browns: caramel, cinnamon, copper, sienna
Deep warm browns: rust, chestnut, chocolate with a red undertone
If the brown looks like it’s been kissed by the sun, glowing rather than muted, it’s probably warm.
Who they suit: Springs and Autumns
Springs look great in lighter, golden versions like camel or tan.
Autumns shine in deeper, richer tones like rust, chestnut, or copper.
I know there have been a lot of questions about boots and shoes etc. for the warmer seasons, and this is where I think just sticking to warm brown works for either of your seasons, don’t stress too much about it fitting your colour season, as long as its warm or neutral it should work for you.
What Do Cool Browns Look Like?
Cool browns have a base of blue, rose, or grey, they look more muted and sophisticated than golden.
Light cool browns: light taupe, mushroom, champagne beige
Medium cool browns: mocha, rose-brown, purple-taupe
Deep cool browns: coffee, espresso, soft charcoal-brown
I tend to think they look like they have been mixed with ash or pink rather than gold, it’s probably cool.
Who they suit: Summers and Winters
Summers shine in soft, pink-based browns like rose taupe or mushroom.
Winters look striking in the deeper espresso and cool coffee tones.
On the high street
To make it even clearer have a look a this items categorised into warm or cool. Some of them would sit in easily in both seasons, and if you are looking at a colour and thinking hm.. i’m really not sure which season this fits into, thats a strong clue that it’s going to work for cool and warm.
Warm clothes on the high street
Cool toned high street finds
Can you see the difference?
A really useful tip for working out what season a brown works with is if you hold your brown fabric next to a bright orange item and then a bright pink one (and actually a good rule overall for any colour1)
If it looks better with orange, it’s warm.
If it looks better with pink, it’s cool.