Choosing a Colour Palette for Your Wardrobe

31 August 2024. Editor · Elisabeth · Social Media Editor

A simple colour palette consists of a few base colours, neutral shades and one or two accents. For example navy and black as a base, cream and beige as neutrals and light blue as an accent. If most colours combine with each other, you put outfits together faster and buy more purposefully.

Liorah cable-knit polo and Florence trousers by Issu & Lloyd

Why a colour palette works

A full wardrobe does not automatically mean everything combines well. Sometimes the problem lies mainly in individual colours that hardly combine with each other. A green pair of trousers that only goes with one top, an orange sweater that goes with nothing. A fixed palette makes it easier to combine tops, trousers and layers with each other. You need fewer pieces for more outfits, and your wardrobe gets a recognisable, calm style.

The three layers of a palette

Layer	Share of your wardrobe	Examples
Base colours	About half	Navy, black, anthracite, chocolate brown
Neutral shades	About a third	White, cream, beige, light grey, taupe
Accent colours	The rest	Light blue, burgundy, olive green, soft pink

You find the base colours mainly in trousers, jackets and larger pieces. The neutral shades are in blouses, tops and knitwear. You use accent colours sparingly: in a top, a scarf or a pair of socks.

Step 1: choose your base colour

Look in your wardrobe at which dark colour you already wear most often. For many people that is navy or black. Navy is softer and works on almost every skin tone, black is stricter and more graphic. Brown is warmer and goes beautifully with cream and beige. Choose one main base and possibly a second. If you combine them, make sure there is clear contrast.

Step 2: choose your neutral shades

Neutral shades connect the dark base with lighter or more striking colours. White is fresh and bright, cream softer and warmer. Beige and taupe go well with brown and navy. Choose two or three that suit your skin. If you are unsure, hold white and cream next to your face in daylight: the shade that makes your skin look fresher is your neutral.

Step 3: choose one or two accents

Accent colours provide variety. Choose colours you feel good in and that match your base. Light blue is a safe choice that works with navy, white and beige. Burgundy brings warmth in autumn. Olive green goes with brown and cream. Keep it to one or two: more accents make the whole look restless.

An example palette for women

Base: navy. Neutrals: cream, beige, white. Accent: light blue.

The Liorah cable-knit polo with gold-coloured buttons in navy is a piece that fits exactly in this palette: navy as a base, with gold-coloured buttons as a subtle detail. Combine it with the Philippa ultra high-waist trousers with pleats in beige for a warm, calm look. Replace the polo with the Rosamund lavallière blouse in white or the Josephine knitted polo with V-neck in cream, and you have three outfits with one pair of trousers. Add a pair of navy trousers and the number of combinations doubles.

An example palette for men

Base: navy and brown. Neutrals: cream, white, light grey. Accent: olive green or light blue.

The Montgomery smooth-draping modal polo in navy with the Harrison tapered trousers with pleats in beige is a combination that always works. Add a white shirt, a light grey knitted polo and dark jeans, and you have a wardrobe in which you can grab blindly every morning. See the possibilities in all collections for Men.

A worked example: how quickly the number of outfits grows

Say you have three pairs of trousers and five tops that all fall within your palette. Because every top goes with every pair of trousers, you can make fifteen combinations. Add one cardigan that goes with everything, and you can also wear every combination with the cardigan: thirty outfits from nine pieces. Without a palette perhaps half would go together, and with the same nine pieces you would have only a handful of outfits.

How to build your palette from what you already have

Take everything out of the wardrobe and lay it out by colour.
Look at what you wear most. Those are your real base colours.
Set aside what does not fit that base. If you still like wearing it, it can be an accent.
Note what is missing. Often that is a neutral top or a second pair of trousers in your base colour.
From now on, only buy within your palette. Ask yourself with every new piece: does this go with at least three things I already have?

Seasons and palette

Your palette does not have to be identical all year round. In summer you shift towards lighter neutrals and soft accents, in winter towards deeper base colours and warmer shades. The core stays the same, so pieces from different seasons still combine with each other. A navy cable-knit polo goes with a beige pair of trousers in October and a white one in April. You will find more basics in all collections for Women and in our Premium selection.

Texture keeps a calm palette lively

A common concern is that a limited palette becomes boring. It does not have to, as long as you play with texture. A cable-knit polo next to smooth trousers, a ribbed cardigan over a blouse with a satin look, herringbone trousers with a fine-knit sweater: within the same colours this creates depth and variety. Details help too. Gold-coloured buttons, a lavallière collar or pleats in a pair of trousers add character without needing an extra colour. That way the wardrobe stays calm without becoming flat.