I was recently asked by a reader about whether or not she could wear a beige jacket over the top of her column of colour outfit as she wanted to use the beige as her neutrals with her cool colours.
How to Distinguish Between Warm and Cool Beige
Now of course anyone can use beige as a neutral, but you want to make sure you get the right undertone for your beige so that it works with your colour palette. Warm beige (yellow based) will work with warm colours, and cool beige (pink based) will work with cool colours.
How to Wear Beige with Your Column of Colour
For some examples here with a cool ‘rose’ beige I’ve created two outfits – one a low contrast, one medium-high contrast
And now warm ‘camel’ beige options
Depending what colour you put with your column you will change the contrast levels. If medium contrast is best for you go for a medium value beige. That way you can wear both light and dark colours with it and easily create your medium value.
If you are better with a high contrast, choose a beige that is light so that you have the flexibility to wear it with dark colours to create that high contrast.
Just remember to look for the pink (cool) or yellow (warm) undertone when choosing your beige to ensure it works with lots of your colours (and other neutrals) in your palette.
Beige Goes With Lots!
The reason beige works well with so many colours is that it’s a neutral and so has the opportunity to easily max and match.
Useful Posts on Choosing Flattering Neutrals
Here are some other posts that you might find useful regarding neutrals:
50 Shades of Grey and How to Wear Them (plus picking the difference between warm and cool grey)
Imogen I am SO loving it over red, just fabulous.
Thanks for post. There are subtle differences that can fool us. I have had similar issues with the darker camel. Camel like beige comes in many different guises. I have light warm (yellow based) colouring and light camel is a great neutral for me but I have come across many camel clothes (I am thinking of yummy winter coats in particular) with a lean towards red and not yellow. Your posts are very clear to understand the differences.
I just watched, for the first time, your video on ‘How to choose neutrals’. It was just soooo good! Thank you.
Glad you can now easily spot the difference Carol
It’s always soft rather than bright though?
Beiges are not bright neutrals
This is a question I could never figure out. I have spring colouring with blonde hair, and I could never find a beige I thought looked good on me. I could not see the difference. It is a colour I have very little of and had been looking for quite a while. Thank you so much for the clarification!
Hi Imogen. I have red undertones and yellow overtones. Pink beiges wash me out and yellow beiges make me look jaundiced. Is there such a thing as gray or neutral beige? I have the same trouble with shades of white.
THere are warm greys and warm beiges and also cool ones, and there are so many kinds of white (just like when you go to the paint shop to buy white paint for your walls). The value of a personal colour analysis is to find the ones that actually suit you. Think about warm to cool as a spectrum, so you may not suit the very warm beiges, but you may suit the just warm beige.