You Can Fake Pantone Colors with Lookalikes

Each season Pantone predicts the new It colors from what was seen on the runways. No fashionista on a budget can afford to swap out all her clothes and replace them with pieces in the new trends. Nor would any woman in her clear mind even think about doing so. After reading this post you will know many tricks how to substitute the colors of the season, and fake Pantone colors with lookalikes from your closets.

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Fashion over 40 and Pantone Trend Colors

Pantone names a Color of the Year. Sometimes, there are even two like Yellow and Ultimate Gray. Remember rose quartz and serenity? Or in plain English, a very light blush pink and a very light blue. In addition there are the trendy neutrals and the fashion colors. Together they make up a palette that works well when combined. Another great way to come up with color combinations that work well is using the color wheel. Unless you are a Deep, wearing analogous colors in your color palette is a great choice to work around the Pantone colors.

First of all, these colors mean you will see them everywhere in the stores. Even worse, you can’t buy any other shade of them. Ok, that’s a little bit exaggerated. Second, for many of us some of these trendy colors are not flattering and wash us out. Third, some of the trends may be close to what we associate with the uniform of Old. In other words, there can be colors that are hard to style at any age. However, you can work around the It color of the year and look up-to-date nevertheless. Read on …

How to Deal with the It Neutrals

Neutrals are the easiest to deal with. No matter what this season’s neutrals’ fantasy names are, they can stand alone as monochromatic looks, but also work great together or paired with pops of color. Of course, you don’t need to replace your entire neutrals to the new season’s swatch. Just take them as inspiration to create looks in color combinations close to the combinations you saw on the runways.

That’s enough to look modern and hip.

Substitute what ever the dark blue’s name is (e.g.,  evening blue) with a dark navy. Wear blush, peach or light pink as the substitute for the trendy pink. Also recall that what Jane Doe would call olive can have names like Guacamole, Martini Olive, Greenery, … . Burgundy had names like Oxblood, Sangria, Red Wine, Marsala, Tawny Port … you name it.

This means you can wear the trendy neutrals like you would style your olive outfits, navy, blush, gray, … brown looks. However, it also means that you can use the neutrals that you have already. Who can distinguish Neutral Gray, Cool Light Gray, Quiet Gray or Silver Gray from Ultimate Gray without running around with the Pantone Colors of the Year swatch sheet? Have you ever looked up what they cost? Typically, if someone carries around a fabric swatch at all, it’s related to their flattering colors. Have you ever had a color analysis?

Thus, ask yourself how you would call these neutrals. Give preference to those neutrals from your existing wardrobe.

Chocolate brown, burgundy, tan/camel, navy, winter white, medium and light blue as well as hunter/forest green are perfect for all color-shy women who prefer wearing all neutrals. No matter what their name is in a season, you can look modern and trendy with them without going beyond their comfort zone.

Of course, you can up your style factor by pairing your neutrals with one or more of the core neutrals or fashion colors from the new NYFW palette. The photo below provides an example with a hint of yellow in the neckerchief and a hint of a light blue in the enamel of the belt buckle. More about when and when not to add a pop of color in the guide at the link.

Your Solution to Look Up-to-date Color-wise

Riot your closet for shades and hues that come close to those that were forecasted to be the seasons It. In the outfit in the photo above, I went with colors that are in the broad “ballpark” of this season’s red (shoes, jacket), purple (jacket, shoes), brown (bag) and green (dress, bag).

The outfit above stays close to the trendy red (skirt),  green (one of the stripes colors) and gray. The wood sole  and top create a modern vibe as they pair brown and black for a chic look.

In the outfit in the photo above, I went with colors that are in the “ballpark” of the red (scarf rose print, shoes), yellow (scarf bow print), green (leaves in scarf print),  and gray (scarf accents, bag).

When you like the styling and dressing tips of this post, and want more for all kind of dressing situation in midlife, buy my book How to Dress for Success in Midlife.

Various hues of gray and red as a pop of color are also a foolproof combination.

What Are Modern Color Combinations to Try?

Gemstone inspired colors are for cocktail dresses and special occasions like a formal wedding or to dress for success at a military ball.

Neutrals are great for a Business Casual Style  and a corporate work place.

Olive, for instance, plays well with pink, red, burgundy, blush, and yellow. For examples, see the inspirational outfits in the photos below.

Brown, navy, dark tan and gray are perfect for a Corporate Style for suits, skirts and trousers. Style with the usual corporate tops in white, winter white, light blue. Fashionable variations of what Jane Doe would call lilac, peach, blush, light green, light or baby pink are Go-tos when it comes to tops. These combinations will make great job interview outfits. For the daring, try a bold yellow or warm red for fashion-forward business casual work attire.

Brown and pink or light blue are modern pairings.

Burgundy works well with blush, brown, light blue, washed denim (photo below), olive and gray. Wildcards for a pop of color are orange and yellow (second photo below).

How to Combine Fashion Colors

Fashion colors are best bought as pieces that have a fast turnaround, i.e. short tenure in your closet. For example, T-shirts, or the season’s Must-have.  They work well with neutrals to brighten up the look like in the example below with a statement blue.

Stylist tip:  Make the fashion color the statement by pairing it with neutrals.

Pink. In my opinion, this fashion color is a neutral for all who know the secrets of cool neutral looks. Pink goes well with burgundy and all kinds of blue, black, gray as well as with other shades of pink. See the next example photos for inspiration. More on how you can wear pink in the linked guide.

Wildcard: Try pink with orange!

Orange is probably not everybody’s favorite. This color is hard to pull off in everyday life. Go with a blue to color block or try wearing with analogous colors like the red in the example below.

For additional stylish inspiration with this orange skirt see the post at the link.

Train Your Color Senses

A great way to relax and experiment with new color combinations is an adult coloring book. Did you know that I made one especially for women who are interested in fashion?

Wear Your Flattering Colors

Remember you look your best with your own colors. When you had your colors determined recently, then you know your best suiting colors. Go for them! Combine them like you are wearing the seasons It colors.

Did you have your color analysis in the 1980s? When only a subset of them works for you, you should have them analyzed once more. Today, 12 seasons are distinguished. This means you may miss out great opportunities color-wise.

Of course your seasonal or tonal colors work easy with each other as do the Pantone colors. You can never go wrong with wearing analogous colors, However, you must know that analogous colors may be tricky with your seasonal or tonal best.

Any similar shades of blue with a similar difference in tint look great together. See, for example, the outfit inspiration photos in this post. This season, monochromatic looks are a Do.

Why to Fake Pantone Colors with Lookalikes

It’s good for the environment to “repeat” your pieces and style them in a new, trendy way mimicking this seasons It shades. Best of all, it’s a great way how to save when shopping for your wardrobe updates.

You can read more about styling awesome looks with neutral colors in the blogger roundup at the link.

Photos of me: G. Kramm

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