Soft autumns look their best in warm colours that have been toned down: sage, olive, moss, terracotta, warm salmon, soft teal and muted gold, built on neutrals like camel, mushroom, warm taupe, milk chocolate and ivory. The soft autumn color palette sits between autumn's earthiness and summer's softness. Its undertone is warm or warm-neutral, its contrast is gentle, and loud colours overpower it. Black, stark white, fuchsia, cobalt and icy pastels are the usual ones to skip.
Before rebuilding a wardrobe around a season, it is worth being sure of the season. With our app, Wdrobe, you can get your season, undertone and colours to avoid from one face photo.
Soft autumn in plain words
Each of the twelve seasons has one trait that leads. For soft autumn, the lead trait is softness: colours with a little grey or brown mixed in. The second trait is warmth. Put those together and you get the colours of dry leaves, moss, clay and lichen rather than the bright orange of a pumpkin.
Typical soft autumn features are golden-brown or dark blonde hair, hazel or green-brown eyes, and skin that looks best with some warmth around it. Plenty of people with other looks are soft autumns too, which is why a test beats a description.
A three-step test to confirm you are a soft autumn
Do this facing a window on a bright, overcast day, with your hair pulled back and a beige or grey towel over your clothes.
- Warm or cool? Hold a camel item under your chin, then a cool grey one. If camel makes your skin look healthier and the grey makes you look pale or greyish, you lean warm.
- Soft or bright? Compare a terracotta or rust item with a bright tomato red. If the tomato red looks like it is shouting while terracotta looks calm, you lean soft.
- Gold or silver? Hold a gold necklace and a silver one against your collarbone. Soft autumns usually look brighter with gold.
Warm, soft and gold together point to soft autumn. If the warm test was a near tie and grey looked fine, check the soft summer color palette, the cooler neighbour. If bright colours looked better than muted ones, you may be a true autumn or a deep autumn instead.
Judging your own face in a mirror is hard, because you get used to it within seconds. A photo you can compare later is fairer, and an app reading the same photo is fairer still. Have your season read from a selfie and then try the three steps to see if you agree.
The soft autumn colour list
| Family | Colours that suit soft autumn |
|---|---|
| Greens | sage, olive, moss, khaki, soft pine |
| Oranges and reds | terracotta, rust brown, warm salmon, muted coral, brick rose |
| Blues | soft teal, muted turquoise, warm denim, petrol blue |
| Yellows | muted gold, soft mustard, wheat |
| Pinks and purples | warm dusty rose, soft aubergine with brown in it |
The neutrals
Build the base of the wardrobe from these, and the colours above will mix freely:
- Camel for coats and trousers.
- Mushroom and stone for knitwear.
- Warm taupe for trousers and bags.
- Milk chocolate in place of black.
- Ivory and oyster in place of bright white.
- Olive works as a neutral too, for trousers and jackets.
Colours that fight a soft autumn
- Black and optic white next to the face.
- Fuchsia, cobalt, royal blue and lemon yellow, which are too bright.
- Icy pastels such as baby pink and ice blue, which are too cool.
- Cool silvery grey, which drains warmth from the skin.
Metals: gold, brass, bronze and brushed or antique gold finishes.
Five soft autumn outfits
1. Sage and camel for work
Outfit formula: sage green fine-knit jumper + camel straight trousers + milk chocolate loafers + gold chain necklace.
2. Terracotta dress
Outfit formula: terracotta midi wrap dress + tan knee boots + camel wool coat + bronze earrings.
3. Olive and denim at the weekend
Outfit formula: olive utility jacket + ivory tee + mid-wash straight jeans + tan leather trainers.
4. Soft teal and mushroom
Outfit formula: soft teal roll-neck + mushroom wide-leg wool trousers + warm taupe ankle boots.
5. An evening in warm neutrals
Outfit formula: milk chocolate satin slip skirt + oyster silk camisole + camel blazer + gold strappy sandals.
Sorting the wardrobe you already have
Do not throw anything away. Sort what you own into three piles instead:
- Wear near the face: anything in the soft autumn list or the neutrals. These are your tops, scarves and coats.
- Wear below the waist: black trousers, bright skirts and cool-toned jeans. They are far enough from your face to do little harm.
- Change the top layer: a black jumper works under a camel coat with an olive scarf. A white shirt works under a mushroom knit.
Over time, replace the second and third piles with palette colours as things wear out.
The three-pile sort is easy for ten items and tiring for a hundred. The stylist in Wdrobe already knows your colour analysis when it suggests outfits, and it leans toward your best colours. Have it put your soft autumn pieces near your face.
Not sure which shades suit you? Wdrobe's color analysis finds your color season from one photo, and our comparison of color analysis apps shows what the other apps offer.
Frequently asked questions
What colours look best on a soft autumn for ladies?
Sage, olive, terracotta, warm salmon, soft teal and muted gold, on a base of camel, mushroom, warm taupe, milk chocolate and ivory. Muted, warm colours of medium depth are the heart of the palette.
Can a soft autumn wear grey?
Warm greys with a beige or taupe cast work. Cool, silvery greys tend to drain warmth from a soft autumn face.
Is olive green good for soft autumn?
Yes. Olive is one of the most useful soft autumn colours, as a top, a jacket or a neutral pair of trousers.
Can soft autumns wear navy?
A soft, slightly greyed navy can work as trousers or a coat. Petrol blue and soft teal are usually better near the face.
For the cooler side of the muted seasons, read the soft summer color palette. For a test without seasons, see what colours suit you, and if you want to compare tools first, the best colour analysis apps. For more on the greens, see colours that go with sage green and colours that go with olive green.
A season is a shopping list as much as a style rule, and the hard part is buying a terracotta jumper when the old black one still works. In Wdrobe you can add a jumper from a shop photo and see it with your trousers and coat on your own picture before you order. See a soft autumn piece with your clothes before buying.
