The Age Of Neutrals
The Invasion Of Neutrals And The Fall Of Accent Colours
Over the past decade I have observed an ever increasing proportion of clothes in neutral tones as well as a scarcity of clothes in accent colours:
in physical and online stores,
on Youtube (in fashion and lifestyle videos) and social media,
on celebrities,
on people in general, i.e. in the streets, in the office…
Are we moving towards an era where accent colours will become the myth of the past? Will accent colours disappear? I don’t know. I hope not!!!
Neutrals are colours that are not accent colours. Accent colours are red, yellow, blue, green, orange, violet, turquoise etc. Neutrals are black, grey, blue-grey, greige, beige, camel, stone, taupe, charcoal, navy, white, off-white, ivory, creme, rose-beige, brown, black-brown, chocolate brown, khaki grey etc.
A typical Youtube influencer on her blogging channel nowadays: “Welcome back to my channel! It’s a haul video! I have made a massive purchase and chose a white dress, an off-white jumper, a cream pullover, grey loungewear, a deep khaki-grey blazer, a beige top, a brown handbag and black boots.”
Don’t get me wrong. I love neutrals. Neutrals are essential. Neutrals are the staples of our wardrobes. There is no versatile wardrobe without neutrals. However, having a wardrobe full of neutrals only is simply sad. Such wardrobe has no soul, it lacks energy and a story.
Moreover, each and every Colour Type has a set of neutrals (as well as accent colours of course) that are flattering because they share particular colour properties (hue, value and chroma). In other words, not all neutrals available in stores will look great on you. Unfortunately, there are more and more people who simply decide to wear neutrals exclusively and across all Colour Types, i.e. across all dimensions of colour. They wear Winter neutrals such as black, snow-white and bright navy and combine it with Autumn neutrals such as warm brown, greige and oyster, together with Spring warm-stone, camel and ivory as well as Summer blue-grey, taupe and off-white. The result is disharmony at best. What is more, the more frequently we see these disharmonious colour combinations around us, the more we get used to them and become immune to the disharmony. We accept it as “good taste” just because it is frequently represented around us. If you look wonderful in khaki grey, pure white is not your flattering neutral. If you look great in cool & muted grey, then chocolate brown doesn’t flatter your skin tone (more info on that here).
Just because a colour is a neutral, it doesn’t mean that its impact on our skin is “neutral”, i.e. non-existent. An unflattering neutral is as unflattering as an unflattering accent colour, however, we are less sensitive to this simply because we do not associate neutrals with “unflattering” as we do with accent colours (I mean, think of how many people hate orange and grass green yet everyone loves black.)
Did it all start with Kim and Kanye? Kim Kardashian West - and the rest of her clan with the exception of Kylie Jenner - stopped wearing accent colours the moment Kanye West cleared out Kim’s closet in 2012 (and replaced it with white, beige and brown). There were a few exceptions such as the turquoise Mugler dress she wore to the 2019 MetGala after-party as well as the yellow number she wore on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, however, these instances can be counted on the fingers of two hands. (Still, a more careful observer might find more examples of Kim wearing something else than a shade of white, nude, black or brown over the past 10 years, however, let’s be honest and let’s not pretend that those instances were exceptionally rare.)
Some Colour Types and some Image Archetypes are more suited to wearing neutrals than others. Actually, it is not as much the Colour Type that determines the head-to-toe tolerance of neutrals, it is the personal hue contrast. And yes, the KarJenners (except for Khloe) have a very low hue contrast, i.e. they can get away with wearing neutrals head-to-toe with a high degree of success. Still, low hue contrast does not imply “wear neutrals only”! Oh no! But you will pull them off better than a high hue contrast person would. In terms of Image Archetypes (i.e. body geometry), Classics are undeniably more neutral-heavy than Gamines. Still, it doesn’t mean that Gamines wear only accent colours and Classics wear only neutrals. No. And things get even more complex when we get a high hue contrast Classic and a low hue contrast Gamine. What do we do then? But that’s a topic for an entirely different article.
In order to build a versatile as well as an exciting and authentic wardrobe, both your best neutrals as well as your most flattering accent colours should be represented. Both neutrals and accent colours should create a symphony of variety of outfits. A symphony that is perfectly suited for your:
hue & value contrast,
personality,
and your lifestyle.
You might oppose by saying: “Daniela, I want to wear my accent colours, but they are simply not represented enough in stores! And even when I find my perfect shade of pink, it doesn’t automatically mean that the particular garment will fit me and suit my body geometry! In contrast, there are so many grey and black options out there, it is easier to end up buying those.” You are 100% right. No, it is not easy to find your accent colours. However, the more we all look for them and purchase them, the more accent colours will be on offer in stores. It’s the only way forward.
Get Colour and Image Archetype analysed - ideally with Style Identity in Zurich :) - and escape the “neutrals-only” trap. Life is too short to miss on the positive psychological benefits of accent colours. Moreover, people around you will benefit from the vibration of your flattering accent colours. Think about it, do you want to look at grey and navy everywhere around you 24/7, 365 days a year or do you want to also see some red and yellow and blue?
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