Colors to Wear with Gray Hair

Which colors are “right” with gray hair?

Choose Your Fashion Colors Well!

I don’t believe there are colors you can wear and can’t wear when you have gray hair. There are always little tricks to play that separate your hair from the color of your clothes. But I believe you will find there are colors you’ll simply prefer more. You’ll gravitate towards them because you find they work for you – they make you feel brighter, prettier, sexier, or simply just better.  Whatever you do, don’t start pitching things from your closet until you learn what these colors are. As you begin to buy more of them, the “old” shades you used to wear will gradually start disappearing from your wardrobe.

To keep everything in harmony, start with shades from color families that compliment your predominating skin tone (not hair tone). But now your skintone may look a bit different (see Beauty Basics). If the absence of color surrounding your face causes it to appear more blue-based, and you want to wear a shade like pink, true rose-pinks, orchid-pinks and magentas are for you. If it now looks a little sallow, more yellow-based, go for the sunnier pinks, like geranium, azalea, or coral-pink. That's how it works, and it's really very simple! If you know your skintone. If you’re still a little confused about it, get to a cosmetics counter, and let an expert help you figure it out.

Do you have to go “bright”?

Some women feel they have to brighten up when they go gray, and start shopping for bold magentas, reds, purples. And that’s fine, if they’ve always liked bold color. But if you've always felt calm and confident with quiet, reticent shades, you probably won’t feel comfortable breaking out in blazing color. Gray hair should never be a reason for wearing shades you just don't like.  You can be equally stunning in silver/gray neutrals, and pastels with a little gray to them (celadon, seafoam, dusty rose.) But since your whole color palette seems to be changing now, maybe it's time to just try something on you never would have before. You may be surprised.

You can't go wrong department

So what colors work, across the board? Black. White. Gray. Navy. Red. Purple. Most women have lived with black and white all their lives; they're used to it. And these shades just happen to have the right color energy to co-exist with gray hair, providing sharp contrast or a striking compliment. Gray is another story. It can provide a wonderful continuity, or it can make a woman feel more blah than ever. ("It blends in too much." "There's too much gray going on.") It takes a little thought to get gray right. But when it works, it's brilliant!  See what we mean in Hooray for Gray.

"I notice women with gray hair a lot, especially when they're wearing red, and I think how fabulous they look."

Sandra Wilson, Accessories Fashion Director, Neiman Marcus

Red really delivers maximum impact, if you feel good in it. But it takes a little experimenting. There are so many variations of red (from orange reds, to blue- or browned-reds), that it should be possible to find one you can wear with confidence. And navy gets raves all around; even from women who come to it just because they've gone gray. In fact, blue is a good bet in every variation. What you might find is that adding a little green to it makes it livelier – and by that I mean, the teals, the turquoises, the aquamarine tones. They're softer against a pale complexion, and fabulous with gray hair.

What about the color purple? It’s a great balance for gray, in all of its many forms, from a bold royal purple to the softest lilacs to the deep burgundies. As a former “blonde,” I found bold purple too bright, burgundy too draining. But with my pewter/ice hair, it looks just right, and gives me a great alternative to black.  That’s what I mean by trying colors you never would have tried before.