Getting Neutrals Right

Neutrals are the unsung workers of any wardrobe. They rarely get the excitement that a bold colour does, but they carry the daily load and let everything else shine. Understanding them properly, including the fact that they are not interchangeable, quietly improves your whole closet.

What counts as a neutral

Neutrals are the calm, low key colours that pair easily with almost anything: the soft and deep tones, the greys, the earthy shades, and the quiet blues. Their defining trait is that they do not compete, which is what makes them so useful as a base.

Because they argue with so little, neutrals are the natural choice for the pieces you wear most and want to combine most freely. They are the steady background against which your more colourful clothes get to be the feature.

Neutrals have undertones

The most useful thing to understand is that neutrals are not all the same. Each carries a subtle undertone, leaning warm or cool, and this hidden bias decides which neutrals sit happily together and which quietly clash.

• Some neutrals lean warm, with a golden or earthy cast
• Others lean cool, with a grey or bluish edge
• Warm and cool neutrals can look slightly off together
• Grouping neutrals by undertone keeps them harmonious

This is why two shades that both seem like plain, safe colours can somehow look wrong side by side. The undertones are pulling in different directions. Once you notice undertone, a lot of small mysteries resolve.

Choosing neutrals that suit you

Just as with brighter colours, some neutrals flatter you more than others. Hold different ones near your face in natural light and notice which make you look rested and which leave you looking a little washed out.

A neutral is only neutral in theory. On you, each one has an effect, and the right ones make you look as well as your favourite colours do.

Choose the neutrals that suit your complexion and that get along with one another. A small set of well chosen, harmonious neutrals will serve you far better than a drawer of every shade, some of which secretly fight.

Building depth with neutrals

Neutrals need not be boring. An outfit built entirely from them can look rich and sophisticated when you layer different shades and, above all, different textures. A pale, a mid and a deep neutral together create quiet interest.

This is the secret to elegant neutral dressing. Since there is little colour contrast, texture and subtle tonal shifts do the work. A smooth piece against a nubbly one, in two close neutrals, reads as considered rather than plain.

Neutrals as a foundation

The best use of neutrals is as the foundation that carries your accent colours. When your bottoms, outer layers and shoes sit in a small neutral palette, any coloured piece you add has an easy backdrop and instantly works.

• Let neutrals carry your bottoms, coats and shoes
• Keep them within a harmonious set of undertones
• Add colour on top, knowing the neutral base will support it
• Vary texture among your neutrals to keep them interesting

This is why neutrals are worth getting right first. They are the stage on which everything else performs, and a well built neutral base makes the whole wardrobe cooperate.

Warm and cool neutrals together

Sooner or later you will want to wear a warm neutral and a cool one in the same outfit, and it can be done, though it takes a little care. The trick is to give the two undertones a way to meet rather than letting them sit side by side in silent disagreement.

The easiest bridge is a third element that belongs to both, or a texture rich enough that the eye reads surface before undertone. Failing that, keep the warm and cool neutrals separated by something, so they are not directly touching, and let one of them clearly lead while the other plays a minor, supporting role.

• Bridge warm and cool neutrals with a piece that shares both
• Lean on texture so the eye reads surface before undertone
• Keep the two from sitting directly against each other
• Let one undertone lead and the other stay in support

Mixing undertones is an advanced move rather than a forbidden one. Once you can feel the difference between warm and cool, you can bring them together deliberately, which is far more interesting than only ever keeping them strictly apart.

The quiet payoff

Spend a little care on your neutrals and you will barely notice the reward day to day, which is exactly the point. Your clothes simply combine more easily, your colours look better, and fewer pieces sit unworn because nothing quite went with them.

Neutrals do not ask for attention, and they do their best work when no one notices them at all. Choose ones that suit you, keep their undertones in harmony, and lean on texture to give them depth. Get the quiet colours right, and the loud ones take care of themselves.