Do You Know How to Flatter Your Skin Tone?

Section: Essential Men's Business Shirts - Blog

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In our experience, most people notice the colour of a man’s business shirt before they notice his suit. So, if you want to stand out, not blend into, the crowd, your shirt colour is critical. However, how do you match those colours with your skin tone? The way you mix and match clothing colours can make or break that crucial first impression so be sure to heed these tips.

Skin, Complexion, Hair & Eye Colour

When you select a fabric colour for your clothes, do you consider how it will look with:

• Your complexion
• Your hair colour
• Your eye colour

You should because these are key indicators. We men usually base our decisions on what we wore in the past, the colours readily available to us, or fashion trends. While these other elements help us make decisions, our skin tone and hair colour are the two most important factors when it comes to selecting a colour for a business shirt.

Eye colour is more of a wildcard factor, but do not underestimate its value in the decision making process. For example, if your eye colour contrasts strongly with your hair colour and complexion, play off of it to inject colours into your wardrobe that would not otherwise complement you. The relationship between these three factors places a man into one of three contrast categories:

• High
• Low
• Medium

High Contrast Men

High contrast men are those whose hair colour is in stark contrast to their skin tone; black hair with white skin, for example. For them, the key to looking good is to mimic the same level of contrast in their clothing as the contrast in their facial zone.

For example, dark navy blue suits with white business shirts or charcoal gray suits with ice-blue business shirts complement high contrast men perfectly. Dark shirts with light - think a light gray suit with a French-blue business shirt - could be work as well. Pair brightly coloured or high contrast textured ties with the shirts to finish the look.

Low Contrast Men

Men with light hair and light skin; bald men; men with red hair or little hair and so on fall into this category of muted appearance. Men with low contrast need a monochromatic look.

They should opt for dark blue and earth toned business shirts combined with black suits. The key here? Artistically speaking, the purpose of a frame is to enhance the picture. Replace the words “a frame” with “clothing” and “picture” with “face,” and you'll always be right.

When wearing light gray or tan suits, low contrast men should wear lighter coloured shirts.

So, if the suit is light enough to avoid a stark contrast, a white coloured shirt is apposite. Additionally, mute the tie colour to avoid drawing too much attention to your chest and away from your facial features.

Medium Contrast Men

If you don’t fall into either the high or low contrast ranges, you probably are a medium contrast kinda guy. These gents are usually brown skinned men with dark hair or lighter skinned men with gray/white hair. In general terms, though, most men have either high or low contrast characteristics.

Brown skinned men with dark hair lean towards high contrast, while light skinned men with gray hair lean towards low contrast. In most cases, they can utilise the same colour combinations that work for high contrast men or low contrast men and just add a few subtle monochromatic combinations for variety. In short, medium contrast men can enjoy the best of both worlds.

Would you like some additional tutoring on matching your colours to your complexion?Schedule a one-on-one styling session with one of our resident experts and nail a look that is purely yours.

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