Deep Winter: the palette, and how to use it

Deep and cool - blackberry, pine and oxblood richness.

Deep winter is dark and cool, and the neutral it builds on is Ink, which is a near-black with blue in it rather than a flat black. What makes the palette interesting is that Blackberry, Pine and Oxblood are all dark enough to sit beside Ink and still read as color. Frost White does the work a cream does in a warm season, and it is what keeps a dark outfit from reading as one block.

The twelve colors

These are the general starting colors for deep winter, with the hex value beside each one so you can match a garment against it.

Neutrals

• Ink#23202B
• Slate#48586B
• Frost White#F2F3F5

The stronger colors

• Blackberry#46264E
• Pine#14523F
• Oxblood#6F1030

The softer ones

• Berry Rose#8F2A4D
• Royal Indigo#26268C
• Smoked Plum#5E4B66

Metals

• Silver#C6C6CE
• Gunmetal#6E737C
• White Gold#E4DCC4

Three combinations to try first

• • #46264E
  • #23202B
  • #8F2A4D
  • #C6C6CE

  Blackberry Velvet

  Blackberry over ink is depth on depth - berry rose lifts it right at the face.

• • #14523F
  • #F2F3F5
  • #48586B
  • #6E737C

  Winter Pine

  Pine with frost white is stark and beautiful - your contrast doing the work.

• • #6F1030
  • #5E4B66
  • #F2F3F5
  • #E4DCC4

  Oxblood Evening

  Oxblood and smoked plum read rich and mysterious - one warm metal finishes it.

Where to go next

• Soft Autumn: your colors and where to start
• What is color analysis?
• What is my undertone? A three-question test
• Gold or silver: a two-question test

Not this season?

These are the seasons closest to deep winter, and the ones most often mistaken for it.

• Deep Autumn

Your exact colors

Your exact palette depends on your eyes and hair as well as your season. These are the deep winter palettes in full, one per combination.

• Blue eyes, black hair
• Blue eyes, dark brown hair
• Brown eyes, black hair
• Brown eyes, dark brown hair
• Brown eyes, light brown hair
• Brown eyes, medium brown hair
• Brown eyes, red auburn hair
• Dark brown eyes, black hair
• Dark brown eyes, dark brown hair
• Dark brown eyes, light brown hair
• Dark brown eyes, medium brown hair
• Dark brown eyes, red auburn hair
• Green eyes, black hair
• Green eyes, dark brown hair
• Grey eyes, black hair
• Grey eyes, dark brown hair
• Hazel eyes, black hair
• Hazel eyes, dark brown hair
• Hazel eyes, medium brown hair
• Hazel eyes, red auburn hair

These twelve colors are the general starting set for this season. Answer the five questions and you get the set keyed to your own eye and hair color instead.