Navy is a colour that seems to confuse a lot of people. It’s the colour I get asked the most questions about, and I’ve written a bunch of blog posts about it in the past. But since it’s back in fashion again this season, and I was asked a question about it in my 7 Steps to Style program this week I thought I’d add it to the collection!
What is Navy?
Navy is any darker blue. There isn’t one particular version of darker blue that is the only navy. Really, it’s just a generic name for darker blue.
When deciding on your best navy, there are a few considerations:
- Undertone
- Intensity
- Value
Yes, the three properties of colour that influence every single colour apply to navy as well.
Undertone of Navy
Warm navy has a slightly tealish hue. To warm up blue (which is essentially a cool colour), you need to add a little yellow, which makes it slightly greener.
Cool navy is a blue to blue-violet.
Cool undertone people can wear both the warm and cool undertones of blue and navy because blue is a cool colour.
Intensity of Navy
The intensity of navy that works for you will be related to your colour palette and if it’s brighter or smokier. So if you have a bright palette, like Dramatic, Rich, Opulent or Mysterious, then a bright navy will work for you. Whilst if you have muted palettes like Enigmatic and Sophisticated you’ll want to select a softer, more greyed out navy in your correct undertone.
Value of Navy
Your ideal value relates to the value of your hair (value is just the fancy technical word for how light or dark a colour is).
Now navy is naturally a dark value colour, which means it’s better for those who have dark value palettes (Rich, Exotic, Opulent, Enigmatic, Dramatic, Elegant, Sophisticated and Mysterious) as wearing dark colours when you have lighter colouring will look heavy and can be draining on your skin.
Dark value palettes are for those who have dark (brown or black) hair rather than lighter hair colours. So if your hair colour has changed, like mine did, going from dark brunette to light blonde and now silver-white, you will need to reassess your best colours and move from darker colours to lighter ones overall.
Every palette has a version of navy, but in the lighter value palettes, the navy will be a lighter version. On a darker value person the navy’s in a Tranquil, Exquisite or Sublime (as examples) may look just like a mid-blue, but on someone who is naturally lighter they will appear darker and more neutral.
Very dark navy (sometimes called French Navy) almost looks black. It has a lot of pigment, which means it’s a saturated colour. This makes it better for brighter, darker palettes, such as Dramatic and Mysterious, but not so good for more muted, darker palettes, such as Elegant and Sophisticated.
How to Wear Navy That’s Darker Than Your Ideal Value
Sometimes we need to, or want to wear colours that are darker than our ideal value, so how to do it without it making you look overwhelmed by the depth of colour?
Here’s an example of how I’ve done it with this darker navy denim skirt (instructions below):
1. Step through the values
Wear something light and something medium in value with your navy. Don’t just wear head to toe navy.
2. Wear the navy on your bottom half and your ideal value next to your face
Keep the navy away from your face and wear something in your ideal value on your upper body as that’s what we focus on when we look at you.
3. Wear a brighter or warm overtone colour next to your face
Wearing a colour that grabs attention because it’s brighter or has a warm overtone (yellow, orange, pink, red, red-violet) but in your undertone, will draw attention away from the too-dark navy and help to create that obvious step between the light and the dark in your outfit.
Navy Is Not For Everyone
Navy is not a great neutral for everyone. It’s best on those who have blue eyes or brown eyes. For those who have olive green eyes, you are much better off wearing army green and olive as your neutral rather than navy.
If you have light colouring, you’re actually better off wearing lighter neutrals that relate to your hair colour. Depending on your specific colouring, this may be a camel or tan, a rose beige or mushroom, light to medium grey, or cream to beige.
Discover Your Best Palette of Colours
Suppose you’ve never had a colour analysis, or it’s been more than 10 years, or your hair colour has changed since you had it done. In that case, it’s an investment that will help you make the best decisions for your wardrobe and help you curate a wardrobe of clothes that easily mix and match so that you can create more outfits from fewer garments. Get your colour analysis here.
