Ways to Wear Purple - March 2024

This month's Ways to Wear focuses on the best shade of PURPLE for your undertones and what colors go with purple. Composed of red and blue, purple has wide appeal. While considered a cool color, purple can be worn well by both cool toned and warm toned people. It is also beautiful in a variety of depths and chromas, so there is a purple for everyone. The question is, which shades are right for you? Let's dig in to see which color types will look best in which shades and ways to mix and match purple.

Best Shade of Purple for Your Undertones

This collection of purples allows us to see the difference in which have more blue and which have more red. If you have warm toned features, the universal purple shades will work best for you. If you have cool features, any shades of purple will work for you. 

The recommended purples for warm undertones seems counterintuitive, since they are so cool, but the magic of this purple on warm toned women is that it is the complement to their golden tones. A golden blonde or brunette will look stunning in a plum purple because the golden yellows are opposite purple on our color wheel. This is your wow color!

An exception to the above is for those with bright, warm, and deep coloring. They can often wear the bright reddish purples, especially if they have olive skin or red hair.

Best Colors To Wear With Purple When You Have Warm Undertones

We tend to want to mix purple with pink and other shades of purple, but the diagram below gives us lots of options for combining warm shades with the universal purples. If your coloring is light and bright, the top row shows options of peach, green, and yellow. If you are light and soft, choose muted versions of these colors (colors that have white or cream added to them).

For medium depth coloring, we have paired a medium purple with warm shades in a similar depth, a bright medium olive, a slightly teal blue, and a medium warm orange. This tones will work for both bright and soft medium warm color types.

The bottom row gets into our deep shades. These combinations of the universal purples with pumpkin, deep olive, or mustard yellow will work for those who are warm and deep, whether you are soft or bright.

When it comes to neutral tones to pair with purple, your tan, beige, camel, and warm brown tones will work best for warm color types. You can pair light, medium, or deep purples with light, medium or deep neutrals. Choose a higher contrast level if your chroma is bright and shades closer in depth if you have a soft chroma. If you have deep coloring, choose high contrast or both deep tones. 

Best Colors To Wear With Purple When You Have Cool Undertones

For those with cool coloring, purple is an easy option. It pairs well with many colors in your palette, as well as varying shades of other purples. 

On the top row, we have paired a lighter red toned purple with pink, bright green, and soft, but saturated, salmon to bring contrast. These combinations work well for those with bright and light coloring and bright and deep coloring. If you have soft coloring, choose these shades with a touch of white or beige added to them to mute the intensity of the shade.  

For our mid tone purple, we chose lilac, soft pink, and sunny yellow as options for pairing. These combinations are high contrast, so if you have soft coloring, look for shades with white added, or go slightly deeper with the color. 

For the deep universal purple "Mardi Gras", we paired bright shades of fuchsia, tangerine, and cool olive. These combinations work well for those with bright and deep coloring. If you have soft and deep coloring, choose the olive pairing or look for softened and/or deeper versions of the other shades for lower contrast.

Best Cool Neutrals To Wear With Purple 

For pairing the red toned purples with cool neutrals, choose versions of white, taupe, gray, and black. Choose a neutral with more contrast if you are bright and less if you are soft. Bright cool deep color types will also be able to wear the deepest purple with the deepest neutrals. Wear the universal purples with the same neutrals.

Make sure to subscribe to the newsletter on our website so that you do not miss the next blog on Looks with Purple. Scroll down to see the form to subscribe to our newsletter.

To start your color journey, take the free color analysis quiz.

Gail Scott

Gail Scott is Creative Director for Style and Beauty. She is a makeup expert and personal stylist. If you would like professional advice with Gail, please sign up for her exclusive 2-hour 1:1 session. Or schedule a 15 minute Style Chat with Gail to ask your questions.