Color Temperature: Psychological and Relative
When discussing color “temperature”, are we all talking about the same thing? There are, in practice, two different ways of understanding color temperature; that is, warm versus cool colors. I will attempt to oversimplify the explanation and uses of each.
Psychological Color Temperature
This is what you may have learned in elementary school: red and yellow are warm, blue is cool, and so on.
Best use: to convey personality. Generally speaking, warm colors are energetic and eye-catching; cool colors are peaceful and soothing. Cool colors are also significantly more associated with professional clothing.
Relative Color Temperature
This is what color analysts are talking about when they mention “undertones” and talk about things like “a warm blue”. The easiest way for me to think of it is to think of each hue having two versions (of course, in reality there are infinite versions, as well as shades and tints): one closest to the hue to one side of it on the color wheel, the other closer to the hue on the other side. For example, purples are red-violet or blue-violet; yellows fall into green-yellows or orange-yellows.
Best use: complement your coloring. Within the color families appropriate for your personality and activities, some colors will be more flattering to your own personal coloring. Wear those.
Color theory is a complicated topic, and subject to fashion cycles as well. Wearing all cool versions of all cool colors, or all warm versions of all warm colors, is flattering to only those with the most extreme coloring (most have a combination or more middle-of-the-road coloring) and can wind up looking dated.
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Complementary Colors
Two fabulous uses for complementary colors:
1) Substitution. For example, instead of shopping for a blazer (or sweater or coat) the color of your hair, as I often suggest, try the complement (the color opposite on a color wheel). Keeping the same color value (light or dark) moderates the level of contrast.
Dark brown = navy blue
Auburn = teal
Yellow-blonde = lavender
Black = white
2) Contrast. Bring out the rosy color in your skin by wearing a color that is the complement of your hemoglobin (the reds, purples, and oranges visible in the skin and lips). For example, peach skin is flattered by blue and pink skin by green.
Two more tools for making your face the focal point of every outfit. Remember Rule Number 1?
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Combining Cool and Warm Colors
I’m beginning to suspect that not everyone is obsessed with all the minute and mathematical considerations involved in deciding what to want and wear. (What do you suppose … the eyes glazed over? the nervous laughter? no comments in my in-box?) So, in case anyone still reads this, this one’s for you: try combining cool colors with warm ones, rather than wearing all one or the other.
I realize this runs counter to the 1980s, Color Me Beautiful era, advice. But because most people have both cool and warm colors in their personal coloring, it works.
Some good cool/warm color combos:
- White with Brown (my current favorite)
- Charcoal Grey and Ivory
- Navy and Orange
- Black and Camel
- Red, White, and Blue
P.S. This post was originally written in 2005, in my first months of blogging. 
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A Single Coat
The hero wanted to buy me a really nice wool coat for Christmas and, in truth, I really needed it. My existing one had expired on several levels:
- It was too big, unless I was wearing a really big jacket underneath.
- The fabric, 100% merino wool, was worn through in several places. Not the lining though. I could stick my finger through the holes in the cuffs.
- Dd, the starving college student, was wearing it more than I.
I was going to show you the two top contenders, but I couldn’t find a picture of the other one. So here is what we bought. $100 at TJMaxx. It is 70% wool, 20% nylon, and 10% cashmere, medium gray in color.
I titled this post “A Single Coat” because if I were to limit myself to one coat, a wool topper-length coat would be the one.
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