According to a new study, the secret to finding the perfect color to wear lies in your eyes and not your skin tone.
Cool blue tones in fabric often look better on people with gray or blue eyes, while warmer tones such as orange and red fabrics often suit dark brown eyes, according to research from the University of Saint Andrew’s.
Led by Professor David Perrett and published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, the team looked at 200 participants and asked them to give their opinions on which clothing colors suited different faces.
‘We were very surprised at how much agreement there was; participants chose similar clothing colours, with red and blue being preferred, but the colors chosen depended on who was wearing the garment,” Prof Perrett said.
‘Everyone wants to look their best, but what should determine the choice and color of our clothing? Previously, our work has indicated the importance of a person’s skin color for clothing color choice, but we have not defined the critical aspect of skin color.
‘People with darker skin tones usually have darker pigmentation in their hair, eyes and skin. Each of these characteristics can form the basis for the choice of color of clothing. We thought that the skin color would be the crucial characteristic, as this is emphasized in almost all stylist advice. Surprisingly, skin color turned out to be unimportant.’
But does it work in practice? Femail asked real women to try it out….
BLUE EYES
People with blue eyes should opt for cooler blue shades to show off their eyes, according to the study.
Journalist Carina Stathis tested the science, where her eyes looked very light when they looked blue…
Journalist Carina Stathis put the look to the test, with the eyes looking much lighter in shades of blue
CARINA’S VERDICT : My blue eyes are usually quite dark, but shine when I wear blue, green or light colors.
I avoid colors like orange and yellow at all costs because they don’t suit me and make me look washed out.
I also like to wear a lot of black or white because they match every eye color and are easy to style.
Polly Jean Harrison says she’s ‘jumping into turquoise’
Polly said she prefers wearing turquoise because it doesn’t wash out
POLLY’S VERDICT: I really like the turquoise better!
I’m not sure if it’s just my love of color, but I think my entire face as well as my eyes pop in turquoise.
It also matches my hair great, which is a bonus, and black washes out so nicely. I love how I look in color!’
Julie Linstead thinks her eyes look better when she wears black…
Julie thinks the black makes her stand out more
JULIE’S VERDICT: I think the black makes my eyes stand out more, although they look blue with the blue top, it contrasts more with black
BROWN EYES
Although brown eyes were not an official part of the study, Prof. Perrett said they would likely suit light orange tones.
Speaking to the Telegraphhe pointed out Rihanna’s love of color and how her eyes popped.
Blurry-eyed Faye White, a presenter and producer, said she preferred to wear black
Faye, pictured, said her facial features look better wearing black
FAYE’S VERDICT: Although the orangey red is a nice pop of color, I feel like it takes the warmth out of my skin.
The black allows my facial features to stand out a little more on their own.
Natalie Blenford says color shouldn’t work on her, but it does…
Natalie said her eyes are more orange than black
NATALIE’S VERDICT: Color shouldn’t work on me – with my red hair and hazel eyes it would be easy to play it safe and stick to black and gray.
But I feel most confident when I wear color. In fact, I only have one black top and this is the one I wear to work when I’m telling a serious story.
I think the orange top makes my eyes pop and I also wear a lot of pink, purple and recently even red.
Black is so somber that I can’t imagine it will ever make anyone feel good or help boost self-confidence. Color is all for me, it helps make my eyes pop and boost my mood.
Gabrielle Williams thinks she’s looking for vibrancy in warmer colors…
Gabrielle thought her eyes were more vibrant in fall colors
GABRIELLE’S VERDICT: ‘I definitely think my eyes look more vibrant in warmer colors than in black.
‘The warm tones brighten up my skin and eye color and give everything a nice glow. ‘
BROWN EYES
The results showed that eye color plays a dominant role, with warmer, more saturated and darker clothing colors being chosen for faces with dark eyes.
Kat Foo says she’ll try more warm colors after trying the trend
Kat says she loved purple and will try more colors
KAT’S VERDICT: ‘I’ve been trying to wear more color lately and I think the purple really complements my dark features.
‘ Black is more versatile and will always be a throwback, but seeing it side by side really encourages me to push the boat and wear warmer colors, especially now that we’re into the colder months.
Samanta D’Cruz thinks warmer clothes make her skin look brighter
Sam thought the warmer colors made her skin eyes look brighter
SAMANTHA’S VERDICT: The warmer color of the top seems to make my eyes and skin look brighter, although it may just photograph better.
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