What Clothing Colors to Wear with Gray Hair
Gray hair is beautiful and knowing how to pair it with certain clothing colors can make you feel even more confident about your appearance. Choosing the right color such as teal or navy blue will make you look effortlessly chic!
But why these two colors exactly? Well, there are a few reasons why.
Colors That go Well with Gray Hair
The best colors to wear if you have gray hair are dark versions of blue or certain jewel tones. Colors like navy blue, teal, mystique purple, emerald, or ruby will complement gray hair very well and portray class and sophistication. Certain light variations of the same hues will help to make you look younger, though.
The gray hair trend is popular among celebrities, models, and the general public. We can all think of a few celebrities who have turned gray and aren’t afraid to show it.
Two million people in the USA turn gray every year according to the American Association for Hair Restoration Surgery.
Also, studies have shown that 6-23% of people at the age of 50 have at least 50% gray hair coverage.
Gray hair can look great with many different clothing colors, but it's important to know what colors complement gray hair best. Because yes, there are a few colors that clash when a gray-haired person wears them. And there are good reasons why.
Which colors are the easiest to wear if you have gray hair?
If there's one thing that can make or break an outfit, it's color. More specifically, the colors you choose to wear should complement your personal style and, of course, flatter your unique hair coloring.
People with gray hair know well enough that finding flattering clothing colors for their silver appearance can be a challenge. Fortunately, we've got you covered with a comprehensive guide that'll help you find the perfect complementing colors for your beautiful gray locks.
Best Clothing Colors to Wear with Gray Hair
For a person with gray hair there are typically three goals when it comes to choosing the right clothing colors to wear:
Pick colors that go well with gray (obviously)
Choose those that suit the occasion
Go for the colors that make you look younger
Preferably, you’d end up wearing an outfit that meets all three goals at the same time, right?
Nowadays, there's an increasing variety of more flattering clothing colors to wear with gray hair that will help you look and feel more youthful than ever. In fact, we’ve written a whole article about the topic. You can read it here.
However, we will discuss the topic of youthful colors in this article as well; so no need to worry. But let’s do so by listing the best clothing colors to wear with gray hair and explaining why and which of the three goals they help achieve – one by one.
Blue and its Close Relatives
Gray hair is a sign of wisdom and wearing the right colors will help support that connotation. Colors like dark blue and close relatives of the blue hue can do so.
Blue symbolizes intelligence, serenity, and calmness. Each of these traits is generally used to describe wise elders. Every color that has elements of blue in them, such as the colors of the blue-green or blue-purple hue, have similar color psychologic interpretations.
Darker versions of either of the three hues add a touch of elegance and sophistication making them even better choices to wear in outfits if you’d like to underline your life experience.
Lighter (baby blue, mint, or lavender) or brighter (indigo, turquoise, or amethyst) versions of the same hues help to make you look younger because they make your skin look more vibrant.
Lighter versions look more playful whereas darker ones look more classy.
Also, these colors (especially the darker ones) are great options to wear for almost any occasion.
Browns, Beiges, Nudes, and Tans
Colors that highlight your skin’s natural tone are great choices for when you want to look livelier. Browns, beiges, nudes, and tans fall into that category.
Colors that make your skin look more vital: brown, beige, nude, and tan.
It’s important to note, though, that you pick strong versions of these colors.
Pale colors, our muted variants, typically wash out your skin tone, enhance the contrast given by creases and wrinkles on your skin, and tend to focus a viewer’s attention on your hair color. This might not be what you’re going for.
Also, if you’re skin color is too similar to any of the above, we’d suggest avoiding it. For example, people with dark skin shouldn’t wear outfits that incorporate a lot of dark browns. We describe why this is the case in our full article about ideal clothing colors for dark skin if you’d like to learn more.
If you stay away from those versions of brown, beige, nude, and tan that don’t suit your skin and hair color, then you’re pretty much good to go.
Because, luckily, you can choose to don these colors every day for almost any occasion. They go well with many other colors and tend to give off a very sophisticated and classy air.
Dark Greens and Reds
As long as you stick to darker versions of green and red, you can wear both hues.
Bright red in combination with gray hair just gives off a “Cruella” vibe and bright green just doesn’t fit – it might seem like you’re trying too hard to look young again.
But darker shades of either color (as long as they’re not too dark) are great choices when it comes to gray hair. Both belong to the family of jewel tones and, therefore, look beautiful and classy with silver. Also, they complement very light or fair skin perfectly.
Dark reds like ruby or burgundy go very well with silver.
When it comes to applicability and usability for events, it’s another story, however. Though both colors look sophisticated, they might not be ideal for certain situations. Neither is ideal in a business setting or for a kid’s birthday, for example.
Moreover, they’re just not Spring or Summer colors, so you’re basically stuck having to wear them exclusively during the colder months of the year.
All Bright, Strong, and Bold Colors
Another great option is vibrant colors. They look particularly striking against gray hair with darker roots, by the way. They are also perfect if you're looking to stand out – and guess what? They help make you appear younger.
Just pick one or two of your favorite bright colors and hold them up to your hair. How does it look?
Well, you might find that not every bold color looks so great. There are a few bright colors you should try to avoid wearing if you have very gray hair, though. Let’s talk about those next, shall we?
Colors to Avoid if You Have Gray Hair
Now that you know the go-to colors for gray hair, let us tell you which ones you should maybe shy away from wearing – for various reasons.
Please note that this doesn’t mean that you have to cut the following colors out of your wardrobe completely. If you’re the type of person who wears bright yellow every day, then please continue to do so. Just know that there might be more fitting alternatives.
Gray Clothes Aren’t Ideal if You Have Gray Hair
Most types of gray and almost all muted color tones tend to make the wearer look older. This is due to the grayed-out nature of tones and the psychological connotation of dust, ashes, stone, and everything old.
By wearing a lot of gray, you do the opposite of making yourself look young and vital, so refrain from wearing too much of it.
There are many different types of gray to choose from.
There are exceptions, though. Very dark grays like anthracite or charcoal give off enough contrast to your hair coloring and skin tone that the “oldening” effect is reduced. Plus, the large amount of black in dark grays makes the color much more mysterious and sophisticated.
Any muted colors tend to have the same effect as pure gray. We seriously suggest staying away from wearing too many muted colors – especially muted reds, pinks, and violets! Those are classic “granny-colors”.
Lighter grays, silver, and tones are also not recommended. They are often too similar to your hair color making both look rather dull, frail, and sometimes even sickly.
In short: If you want to wear gray or toned colors, then make sure they’re dark.
Rose and Lavender Are Grandma’s Favorite
Unless you’re going for the “granny-look”, try to stay away from rose, light pink, or light lavender clothing. Seriously.
This is the classic “granny” color palette.
Remember Professor Umbridge from the Harry Potter movies? She wears colors that are basically reserved for elderly women who love cats. Hence the color choice for the character’s clothing.
It’s ok to wear a few rose-colored pieces here and there or to carry a lavender bag or so, but do yourself a favor and avoid wearing large clothing pieces in these colors (unless that’s what you want, of course).
Bright Yellow, Red, and Green
There are three bright colors that just look off in combination with gray hair and those are yellow, red, and green – in their brightest variants, of course. Interestingly, though, they aren’t suitable for different reasons:
Yellow (in its most saturated form) is the most luminant color of them all. This means that it has the highest perceived brightness of any fully saturated color.
Gray hair – especially light gray hair – has a very similar amount of luminance as bold yellow, making them not contrasting enough to harmonize well. This is also the reason why silver isn’t an ideal color when paired with gray hair. The contrast is just too low.
Strong red gives off enough contrast to gray hair but isn’t ideal for another reason: the connotation. We just think of Cruella Deville when we see someone with gray hair walking around in black and red. There’s just that devilish flair to a color palette like that.
Bright green is one of the rarest clothing colors out there. And because of that fact, it’s even rarer to see gray-haired people walking around donning the color. Due to its uncommonness – except maybe in the gym – the combo of gray and bright green is often regarded as awkward.
Off-White is Not Right
Any off-white color, no matter the undertone, is not recommended as a clothing color if you have gray hair. But why?
Contrast! So often it’s contrast.
Wearing white is fine when you have gray hair. But off-white isn’t ideal.
Every color that is not white, and is, therefore, the most luminant color there is, looks too much like your hair color. Then again, both colors aren’t similar enough to truly look the same.
If you like wearing super light colors, then opt for pure white. Alternatively, if it must be off-white, then go quite a way “off” white. Let’s say all the way to nude, sand, or beige.
Contrast is King
To conclude this article, we’d like to make it clear that we’re not trying to tell you what you should or shouldn’t wear. That’s entirely up to you.
Just be warned that there are some colors that don’t become your gray hair and others that look absolutely smashing. But, depending on the color of your skin and eyes, the occasion, the season, your preferences, or even the time of day, what looks fitting and what doesn’t may change dramatically.
It’s just always important to know that contrast is king.
Though most people choose their clothing instinctively correct according to contrast, it could be important for you to understand what we mean.
If the pieces of clothing in your outfit are too similar to your bodily features, you will tend to look dull and even unhealthy. On the other hand, if the contrast is too strong, features such as wrinkles, blemishes, and so on are overly pronounced.
Neither is most likely what you’re aiming for. We have many comprehensive guides on how to dress using color so that you can confidently say that you know you’re doing.
Read up on our articles to be sure to never go wrong again when it comes to choosing the right colors for your outfits.
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