The mighty marsala may be the fashion color for 2015, but there are others.

By Maureen Mancini Amaturo

The mighty marsala may be the fashion color for 2015, but there are others. Frankly, fashion hasn’t been this colorful since the ’60s, when Jerry Garcia first mixed his colors and whites in the same wash cycle.

 

While marsala may tempt you to branch out, it’s at the conservative end of the spectrum compared to the crayon-box shades being used in unexpected ways. From bold, primary colors for coats and jackets to the ever-growing popularity of candy-colored hair, color is the trend this second. Let your hair color be your guide.

Brunettes can wear a wide variety of colors. Warm-toned? Deep browns, turquoise, oranges, reds, yellows, and dark olive green. Steer clear of pastels, stark black, or white. Vivid colors: black, white, navy, bright red, and bright pink, icy shades, silver, and ice blue. Avoid earthy, muddy colors. Bold colors: hot pink, navy. Pastels: light yellow. Neutral: white and cream. Primary: red. For light brunettes, deeper shades are best.

Blondes have more fun in very dark or very light shades. They come in three groups. Platinum: Needs high contrast colors that pop – red, black, dark blue. Honey: Wear jewel tones: emerald, purple, and deep turquoise. Bronde (a mixture of light brown and blonde): looks best with high saturation colors or light pastels – baby blue or skin tone nudes, golden beige, ivory, white.

Redheads look gorgeous in browns and ivory, but green is your color – mossy, olive, bottle green, and a misty sage all look enchanting.

 

Auburn? Wear earth tones, green, beige, brown, and camel. Strawberry blond or light red? Try peachy pink, violet blue, aqua green, and golden yellow. (Careful with the yellows if you have freckles. Yellow can wash out your skin tone.) Bold: blue-toned purple. Pastel: true pink. Neutral: black, navy, tan, and brown. Primary: bright blue. Kick your eyeliner and lip color up a notch, and you’ll look amazing in white.   

For the Raven-haired, crisp, blue-based colors – cobalt, true red, royal purple, emerald green, and navy – complement the cool tones in black hair. You can go to extremes and wear icy pastels and pure white. Avoid warm colors like orange, magenta, rust, yellow, olive, and yellow-based neutrals, taupe and camel. Bold: cobalt or royal purple. Pastel: pink or powder blue. Neutral: gray. Primary: red.

If you have Gray hair, go with red, rose, berry, plum, purple, and jewel tones to add brightness. Black and navy are great, too. Wear rich shades. Best earthy choices: chocolate brown or clear greens. Avoid gray, pastels, beige, tan, and muddy colors like olive. Your pale choice is bright white. Bold: fuchsia, purple, cobalt, emerald. Pastel: blue. Neutral: navy, black. Primary: red.