Which Colours Suit Grey?

Grey has a reputation for being safe and that is exactly why it can turn dull. All it takes is checking which way it leans to know what to add beside it. A cool grey asks for different colours than one with beige in the mix.

Which colours suit grey?

Almost everything suits grey, but what comes out best are colours of a clearly different temperature: warm browns and rust beside a cool grey, deep greens and navy beside a warm greige. A contrast of temperature does more here than a contrast of lightness. That is why grey with brown looks more interesting than grey with black, even though the difference in lightness is greater in the second case.

In daylight grey shows its temperature far more clearly than under a shop lamp, and in movement a smooth knit catches reflections and looks a tone lighter. That is why the same sweater can seem different at home than in a fitting room. It is worth checking by a window before you decide what to add to it.

Start with three pairings that always hold up:

• Grey and a broken white, meaning ecru or bone. Pure white can be too sharp beside it.
• Grey and chocolate brown. This pairing looks calm and considered with no third colour at all.
• Grey and one strong accent, burgundy for instance. One, not two.

The simplest place to test it is knitwear, because a knit shows a shade at full depth.

Does grey suit brown?

It does, and it is one of the strongest pairings for autumn, provided the two colours differ in depth. A light grey with a dark brown looks considered, while two mid tones side by side start to look accidental.

The comparison sorts out the shades of grey and what to pair with each:

Marl is the most generous of them, because a knit shows several shades at once and it is enough to pull one of them into a second garment. That trick releases you from choosing a colour by instinct. It shows especially well in wool tops and knits where marl appears most often.

How do you wear grey so it does not look dull?

Dullness comes not from the colour but from the lack of difference: when a whole set holds one lightness and one texture, the eye has nothing to stop on. The answer is contrast, but in one dimension at a time.

Three ways that fix it:

• Change the lightness. A graphite bottom half and a light ash top give immediate depth.
• Change the texture. A smooth shirt under a lofty sweater in the same shade is accent enough.
• Add one colour. Burgundy, olive or rust next to the face closes the question.

In the first version darker trousers and lighter shirts perform well. In the second the simplest route is a knit with a pronounced structure.

Which greys suit which complexion?

Cool greys, meaning steel and ash, come out well with a pink undertone in the skin, and warm greige with golden and olive complexions. You check it by holding the material against your face in daylight and seeing whether the skin turns grey.

If grey next to the face dulls your complexion, there is no need to give it up. Move it to the bottom half of the set and leave a colour that adds warmth next to the face, camel or rust for instance. That rule lets you wear blazers in any shade of grey whatever your colour type.

What should you avoid pairing with grey?

Four combinations dull this colour most often:

• Never pair grey with black at a very similar lightness, because the whole thing looks like one washed out colour.
• Avoid two mid neutrals side by side, a mid grey with a mid beige for instance, because neither of them leads.
• Do not add two strong accents to grey at once, because the background stops being a background.
• Do not combine a cool grey with warm gold in accessories, because the undertones pull in opposite directions.

Can you combine grey and navy?

You can and it looks good, as long as the grey is clearly lighter than the navy. Two dark, cool colours at a similar depth merge into one patch.

Which colour lifts grey the most?

Burgundy and rust do it fastest, because they have a warm undertone and a clearly different temperature. One element next to the face is enough, hats and scarves in a warmer tone for instance.

Does grey suit a wedding or a formal occasion?

It does, especially in deeper shades such as graphite and steel, because they read as elegant without the severity of black. It pays to add one accent in a warmer colour, so the whole thing does not look like workwear.

Do gold accessories suit grey?

With a warm grey and greige yes, and with a cold steel silver is the better match. The undertone of the grey decides, not the metal itself.

Grey is a background that only needs setting up correctly, not a colour that is dull in itself. Check the temperature of the shade, add one contrast, and leave the rest alone.