On Mixing Neutrals
A ton, none, and one - when you are a neutrals person
One of the most valuable lessons I've learned from Amy Smilovic's Tibi style classes is the art of color mixing. The principle of 'one, ton, none' has been eye-opening. In particular, the concept of 'ton' outfits - where many colors somehow make the outfit balanced—has also been very enlightening.
I decided to see if these concepts could be applicable when you only wear neutrals, leading to some intriguing discoveries within the neutral shades. Let's delve deeper.
Muted vs. Bright Neutrals
While the term 'neutrals' encompasses a spectrum of colors, I found that it is best to categorize them by their brightness. Muted neutrals possess an '-ish' quality—earthy or grayish, like gray or taupe. In contrast, bright neutrals have more pronounced, definitive colors that make a bold statement, such as navy, white, or black. They have fairly distinct behaviors, so it's quite useful to distinguish between muted and bright neutrals.
Muted Neutrals: Gray, Sand, Beige, Taupe, Ivory, Brownish, Faded blue denim
Bright Neutrals: Navy, White, Black, Rich Brown, Cognac, Classic Blue Denim
Note: Blue denim and pure brown's status as neutrals is debatable, but I've opted to include them nonetheless. Ivory is also a bit under question as a muted neutral, as it could be argued it is rather bright, but I’ve kept it within muted neutrals still.
In essence, muted neutrals are quite similar to 'Ring 3' colors (as defined by Tibi) in behavior, whereas bright neutrals are akin to the more vivid 'Ring 4' colors. However, being neutrals, they are significantly more versatile and unassuming than the prominent colors of Ring 4.
I experimented with structuring different outfits just from neutrals and here are my learnings.
A Ton of Bright Neutrals: Anything Goes
Neutrals are effortlessly compatible by nature. Combining various bright neutrals almost always succeeds—you can mix and match these shades with ease. You can exercise caution in some pairings (e.g., navy with white), but generally, it's a straightforward process.
Below is the same color combination but in different pieces.
A Ton of Muted Neutrals: A Tricky Combination
The situation shifts when it comes to muted neutrals. You can't indiscriminately mix these hues and expect harmony; often, it doesn't work. The undertones play a critical role—for instance, sand/oat has red undertones, while taupe and ivory lean yellow, making coordination more challenging.
This look still seems ok, because it includes yellow-undertone mix.
However, if you start mixing more muted neutrals, things get out of control quickly. For example, this combination of a sand, gray and taupe is much more challenging to manage.
Adding a layer of ivory makes it pop, but still not a very good outfit in my opinion - a white shirt would look much better in my opinion.
Two or More Bright Neutrals + One Muted Neutral: The Perfect Outfit Formula
A duo of bright neutrals injects clarity into an outfit, while adding a single muted shade can provide a grounding effect - as in these outfits below. This is my perfect formula that I will be using again and again.
A similar outfit but with black and cognac as bright neutrals and a muted neutral shirt.
Even the dreaded navy and white combination does not look too bad when grounded by the earthy beige jean.
I believe you can do pretty much anything with several bright neutrals + a muted neutral formula. Bright denim also works really well.
As I said, anything goes with this formula.
The prints that mix bright black and muted ivory can also add another dimension to the outfit. It just works.
Two Muted Neutrals + One Bright Neutral: A More Complex Option
On the other hand, the opposite combination is trickier. Matching several muted shades requires finesse, but the addition of a bright neutral can introduce the 'one' element or make a statement within the outfit. The outfit below just seems a bit too off with cognac boots and sand top competing / clashing to an extent.
White and Taupe: The Most Versatile Colors
While building these outfits, I could not help but notice that some colors were working harder than others, namely white and taupe.
White can bring liveliness to any neutral outfit and there is no surprise the white T-shirt is one of the fashion staples. Just a peek of a white T-shirt can bring the outfit to the next level.
Meanwhile, taupe is a color that punches above it weight as a muted neutral. It works with other muted neutrals the most - gray, taupe, ivory - and seems to be a bit less sensitive to the tonal mismatch.
So these are my learnings - let me know what are yours and how you love to wear your neutrals in the comments!
Interesting! I've always thought you could combine Ring 3 colours without too much consideration, but the muted colours can be a tad tricky now that you've brought it up.