Warm Autumn color palette

What these 60 shades share

Three qualities run through all 60 colors, and they add up to a good explanation of why these shades work on you. Warmth matters most, softness comes next, and depth sits right in the middle.

Undertone is the hint of color that lives beneath your skin. On a Warm Autumn it reads golden or warm bronze, so every shade here starts from gold, never from a cool blue.

Clarity describes whether a color is bright or muted. Yours are muted, so they seem a touch dusty or toasted instead of sharp and loud. That suits the gentle way your skin, hair and eyes melt together.

Depth is about how light or dark your coloring is as a whole. Yours sits in the middle, so the palette leaves out pale pastels and heavy darks alike.

You'll often spot this palette on people with:

• Skin such as warm ivory dotted with gold freckles, a medium beige that leans peach or gold, warm olive with bronze underneath, or a rich golden brown or caramel tone
• Hair such as golden brown, warm chestnut, coppery red, auburn, a deep honey blonde touched with red, or an espresso brown lightened by warm streaks
• Eyes such as warm hazel flecked with gold, amber, a golden brown shade, olive green, warm moss, a soft topaz tone or a warm teal blue

Blue or green eyes fit here too. What matters is a golden ring around the iris or brown flecks that sit gently with your skin.

True Autumn and Warm Autumn: the same palette

The two labels point to one season and the same 60 colors. Autumn comes in 3 seasons, and Warm Autumn takes its name from its strongest trait, warmth. Books and websites sometimes call it True Autumn, but it's the same thing.

The other 2 autumn seasons take their names from their own strongest traits, so their colors run either softer or deeper. If a quiz or a friend has told you that you're a True Autumn, then these are your colors.

Warm autumn neutrals for everyday clothes

A neutral is the color you hang an outfit on, the big pieces like outerwear, trousers, footwear and bags. Your twelve include Taupe, Camel, Tan and Cream, along with Soft Terracotta, Bright Peach, Dusty Peach, Dusty Chocolate, Soft Cocoa, Dark Caramel, Dark Cognac and Dusty Butter Yellow.

Camel tops the list, so it's a smart pick for the pieces you reach for constantly, a coat or a pair of trousers for instance.

If you'd normally reach for black, swap in Dusty Chocolate or Dark Cognac. Black worn near your face can drain the warmth from your skin and underline dark circles, but these browns ground an outfit just as well without that harsh edge.

Where pure white or grey would go, use Cream or Camel instead. Pure white can leave you looking faded, while cream keeps your skin even and warm. Dusty Butter Yellow makes a lovely soft light top as well.

Main colors and accents

The palette divides into 3 groups, and each group does its own job in your closet.

Your main colors span reds, oranges, golds and greens. Among the reds and oranges you'll find Coral, Terracotta, Soft Poppy, Rust, Brick, Light Cinnamon and Deep True Red. The golds and browns show up as Deep Marigold, Mustard, Copper, Cognac and Deep Bronze.

For a change from all those warm browns and reds, turn to the green side of the palette. Try Jade, Olive, Moss, Kelly Green, Emerald, Soft Emerald, Teal, Bright Teal and Peacock. Deep earthy shades like rust, mustard and olive do a great job of waking up the warmth in your eyes.

Your accents run deeper or stronger, so they shine in small doses. They include Dark Poppy, Oxblood, Deep Rust, Dark Tangerine, Deep Caramel, then Dark Bronze, Deep Olive and Bright Pine, plus Dark Kelly Green, Dark Emerald, Dark Turquoise and Bright Peacock.

Colors to skip

These shades clash with your golden coloring, so it helps to keep them off the area around your face:

• Black
• Rose
• Bright Cobalt
• Dark Magenta
• Mint
• Light Amethyst

Black feels heavy and cool, so it can make your skin look sallow and call attention to dark circles. Cool pinks such as Rose and Dark Magenta, together with icy Mint, can leave your lips pale and your whole face weary. Bright Cobalt and Light Amethyst carry a coolness your warm skin doesn't share, so they sit apart from you instead of blending in.

If one of these colors is a favorite, you can still enjoy it low down, in trousers or shoes for example.

Shopping for your colors

Shop lighting and phone cameras both change how a color appears, so what you see in a store can trick you. A quick daylight check tells you the truth.

1. Load the palette on your phone before heading out, so the swatches are handy for comparison.
2. Carry the garment to a window or go outside, since daylight reveals its true color.
3. Place the fabric beside the nearest swatch on your screen and judge whether it shares your palette's golden softness or reads cooler and crisper.
4. If there's a mirror handy, hold the piece under your chin. The right color helps your skin look even and brings warmth to your eyes.

You can also download the palette in several forms: a PNG card, a CSV list, Procreate swatches or Adobe ASE swatches. Every color carries a HEX code, a short string of letters and numbers that pins down one exact shade on a screen.