The Fall Color That Looks Perfect on Everyone

by Allyson Payer

When choosing which fall colors to invest in, it's easy to get swept up in the biggest trends without giving a thought to whether or not they'll actually look good on you. (This editor is admittedly guilty of that.) But as luck would have it, the universally flattering fall color to wear is red. Ever since the debut of the F/W collections last year, red has been everywhere in real life too.

It's not that red ever went out of style per se, but it's been quite some time since we've seen it out in such full sartorial force, and it's trending in everything from outerwear to footwear. We've been surveying the street style scene (per usual) and have found that a variety of women have been rocking the hue and looking stunning while they're at it. To further confirm our observation, we reached out to Kate Smith, the president and chief color maven of Sensational Color, a resource for information on color trends and everything else having to do with the all-important subject of color.

Smith confirmed the flattering capabilities of red clothing but offered some valuable advice for wearing the bold hue, saying, "The color red flatters everyone but not the same red. To decide which red is right for you, look first to your skin tone."

She further broke it down with specific examples: "If you have a cool skin tone and dark or salt-and-pepper hair, true red will be striking. Cool skin with hair colors that are softer or more in the medium range will be flattered by reds that lean toward burgundy. Warm skin tones, especially those that are darker or more olive, come alive in brick red or other earthy red to orange hues. For warm, bright skin tones, soft red with a hint of orange beautifully brings out your natural blush."

She added, "If you aren't sure which undertone your skin has, just look at the underside of your wrist. If your veins look more blue or purple, then your skin has cool undertones. If your veins look more teal or green, then your skin has warm undertones."

On that note, read on to see proof that red is the fall color that looks good on everyone, and then shop our favorite red pieces.