Deep/Dark Winter Colour Palette for Men: How to Check and Wear It

What Deep/Dark Winter Means

Each of the twelve palettes is described by depth, temperature and intensity, treated as three separate qualities. Practitioners name a primary quality, which leads, and a secondary one, which follows. For Deep/Dark Winter the primary quality is depth and the secondary one is coolness.

Depth leads. Most of its colours are dark, and the lighter ones, pure white and the icy pastels, are there to sit against them.

Coolness follows, and it is not the extreme coolness of True/Cool Winter. The Concept Wardrobe, whose conventions this page follows for the Winter definitions, describes Dark Winter as neutral-cool, with colours that are softer, darker and a little warmer than True Winter’s, which is what places this palette at the Autumn end of the family. A few colour names, deep teal, dark olive and charcoal, appear on both sides of that border in cooler and warmer versions.

Intensity is moderate. The colours are clear rather than greyed, but they are not pushed to the saturation of Bright/Clear Winter; depth, not brightness, is what this palette is doing.

It sits inside the Winter colour family with True/Cool Winter and Bright/Clear Winter, and it shares an outward border with Deep/Dark Autumn.

The names differ between providers. Deep Winter and Dark Winter are the same palette under the twelve-season convention this site follows. This page uses Deep/Dark Winter throughout so that the name matches the rest of the site, and it says which palette it means whenever a comparison is involved.

The table below shows the same five colour families across the three Winter palettes, with this page’s palette in the first column.

These are example colours chosen to show the direction of each palette, not a complete list and not exact specifications. Read across a row and the coolness is shared; what changes is depth between Deep and True, and intensity between True and Bright.

What Practitioners Describe in This Palette

The descriptions below are the ones colour analysts use most often for Deep/Dark Winter. They are clues that make the comparisons worth running, not entry requirements, and no single feature settles a palette. If your own features do not match one of them, that is a reason to keep comparing rather than a reason to rule the palette out.

Skin. Cool at any depth, from a cool porcelain through cool olive to deep, and often described as having a depth that can be read as warmth. That reading is exactly what the Autumn comparison below is for.

Hair. Deep brown to black is the usual description. Red or gold lights are mentioned more often with the Autumn side of the border; if you have them, run that comparison rather than treating them as a disqualification.

Eyes. Often described as dark and cool: dark brown, deep grey-blue, dark green or a near-black.

Contrast. Usually described as high and carried mostly by depth rather than brightness. Contrast is a difference between areas, so look at hair against skin and brow against forehead; a face whose hair and skin sit closer together can still belong here.

Three things decide nothing, whatever you have read elsewhere: a tan, the colour of the veins at your wrist, and whether you burn or go brown in the sun. A tan changes the surface of the skin for a while, so compare colours beside your face as it looks now and compare again when it has faded. The vein test has no evidence behind it, and neither does the finger-pinch test that appears in some comparisons of these two palettes. How your skin behaves in sun is a matter of sun sensitivity, which the American Academy of Dermatology describes in its own words; do not seek a tan out to find your colours, and do not read one as a result.

Trying Deep/Dark Winter Out With Clothes You Own

What follows is an approximate palette trial, not a controlled test. Two garments from your own wardrobe differ in more than one way: hue, lightness, pattern and the finish of the cloth all move at once, so the most this can give you is a useful impression, gathered more than once. It will not classify you, and it is not a substitute for a consultation.

How to make it as fair as you can. Use daylight and keep the light the same for both garments. Choose the plainest, most comparable garments you own, ideally two plain knits of similar weight, rather than a plain jumper against a patterned shirt. Hold each one under your chin so that it fills the space between your collarbones and your jaw, look at your face rather than at the cloth, and swap back and forth at least twice. Repeat on another day before you conclude anything.

Useful things to notice: whether a colour cast appears across the cheeks or neck, whether the shadows beside your nose and under your eyes look heavier or lighter, and whether your features stay easy to see or get outshone by the garment. If you do not own the garments named below, borrow, use a scarf or a towel in the right colour, or skip that comparison.

Comparison one: Deep/Dark Winter against Deep/Dark Autumn. Keep both colours deep and change the temperature as far as the garments allow. A midnight navy against a dark chocolate brown, in two plain knits, is the most comparable pair most wardrobes hold; a cool blue-based plum against a warm forest green also works. Some practitioners suggest a cool magenta against a rust for the same purpose. This is the comparison that matters most on this page, because depth alone does not separate the two palettes, and the Deep/Dark Autumn guide describes the same comparison from the other side.

Comparison two: Deep/Dark Winter against True/Cool Winter. Keep both cool and change how dark the colour is: a midnight navy against a clear royal blue, or a deep burgundy against a true blue-red.

Comparison three: Deep/Dark Winter against Bright/Clear Winter. Keep both cool and change how saturated the colour is: a deep forest green against a bright emerald, in similar plain garments.

The light-neutral comparison. Hold a pure white shirt beside an ivory or cream one, both plain and both in similar cloth. Some men find the ivory looks warmer and better, which points towards the Autumn side; others find the pure white leaves their skin looking cleaner. Neither white belongs exclusively to any family, so treat this as an extra observation rather than as a verdict.

If it stays close. Keep both palettes in your shortlist; a close result is a result, and none of these trials is designed to settle the question. Deep/Dark Winter and Deep/Dark Autumn overlap at the dark end, so deep teal, dark olive and charcoal are worth trying in both their cooler and warmer versions, and a wardrobe built from the garments that looked right will serve you while you keep comparing.

The Deep/Dark Winter Palette

The palette below is grouped by what each colour tends to be used for, because that is how a wardrobe gets built: the main colours carry an outfit, the neutrals hold it together, and the accents appear in small quantities near the face. Colour names are ordinary English descriptions rather than exact specifications.

Main Colours

Blues: midnight navy, a deep sapphire and a dark, cool indigo, all deep and none of them softened.

Greens: deep forest green, a dark emerald and a cool, dark spruce. A dark olive belongs here in its cooler version, which is one of the colours the Autumn comparison turns on.

Reds: deep and blue-based, from deep burgundy to a dark cool crimson and a deep garnet, without the brick or rust of the deep Autumn reds.

Purples: deep aubergine, a dark blue-based plum and a deep violet.

Neutrals

Black is named for this palette, and it sits comfortably near the face for many men who wear it. A black suit, overcoat or knit all belong.

Black-brown, sometimes listed as espresso, is the alternative when a softer dark is wanted: a cool near-black rather than a warm chocolate, and the difference shows when the two are held side by side.

Midnight navy does the work navy does everywhere else, one step deeper and a shade cooler.

Charcoal and a cool gunmetal grey are the mid-dark neutrals that keep an outfit from being entirely black.

Pure white is the light neutral usually named here. Ivory and cream are usually placed with the warm palettes, and the comparison above is how to see which you prefer.

Icy pastels, icy blue and icy grey, act as light neutrals rather than as colours. Practitioners call them icy rather than chalky because they read as pale versions of clear colours; that is a working distinction between two families of pale colour, not a measurement of either.

Accent Colours

Deep teal and a dark peacock, which sit near the Autumn border and are worth comparing in their warmer versions before you buy.

A deep magenta and a cool dark rose, both blue-based and easiest used small.

Icy blue is another shirt colour to try when you want a lighter note in a dark outfit.

Colours Often Listed to Avoid, and What to Try Instead

Lists of forbidden colours are the least useful part of most colour guides. A colour that looks flat near your face is often fine at the other end of an outfit, and almost every colour has a version associated with this palette. Here is what the usual “avoid” list is pointing at, offered as preferences to test rather than as rules.

Chalky pastels: baby blue, powder pink, soft lavender, mint. These are the ones most often raised for this palette, because they give a very dark colouring little to sit against. What to try instead: the icy version, icy blue rather than baby blue.

Warm earth colours: camel, rust, mustard, tan, terracotta, usually placed in the Autumn palettes. What to try instead: keep them below the waist or at the foot if you find they dull your face, and use midnight navy, charcoal and black-brown at the collar. A dark olive is the one earth colour with a cool version often named here.

Cream and ivory: usually placed with the warm palettes. What to try instead: pure white, or icy blue when you want something softer, and run the light-neutral comparison above before deciding.

Mid-tone beige and greige: not wrong so much as quiet, since they sit in the middle of the value range. What to try instead: charcoal or black-brown for the same understated role.

Very bright colour: electric blue, vivid fuchsia. Often listed as overwhelming for a deep palette, which is a starting point rather than a rule; if you like one, a tie or a pocket square is the easiest way to wear it.

None of that is a rule about your life. A jumper you love in a colour outside the palette is still a jumper you love; wear it where you like it, and buy the next one in a colour that does more for you at the collar.

What to Consider Buying First

There is no single best first purchase, and no garment here is the cheapest or most useful for every reader. What to buy first depends on the dress codes you actually meet, what your wardrobe already holds and what you can spend. The list below is a suggestion to adapt, in the order that suits a man who wears tailoring during the week; if a suit is not part of your week, start at the knitwear instead.

A midnight navy suit, if you wear tailoring. Deep and cool rather than bright or greyed.

A plain white shirt, if your week includes shirts. Pure white rather than off-white.

A deep forest green or midnight navy knit, the colour that shows the palette off.

Charcoal trousers or a charcoal suit, as the mid-dark neutral that keeps a wardrobe from being entirely black and navy.

A black or black-brown overcoat. Both belong; choose by which one you prefer beside your face with the collar up.

One accent: a deep burgundy tie, a dark plum pocket square or an icy blue shirt.

Those pieces combine: white shirt with midnight navy suit and burgundy tie; charcoal trousers with the forest green knit; black coat over any of it. For a structured way to extend a short list like that, the step-by-step capsule wardrobe method sets out how to choose garments that combine, and the Old Money capsule wardrobe applies the same idea to one particular style.

Buying online adds one step to all of that. Screen colours can differ from the garment you receive. Check the return policy before ordering, and compare the actual garment in consistent daylight before deciding whether to keep it.

Outfit Options Through the Year

The palette does not change with the calendar; the weight of the cloth and the balance between light neutrals and deep colours can. The table below holds options rather than formulas, and some of them appear on the other Winter pages too, because an outfit that suits one Winter palette often suits another.

Two of those rows are all dark by design, which is one of the things this palette is good at. “Business” and “evening” are not single dress codes: a creative studio, a bank and a black tie dinner ask for different garments, and what a particular office or invitation requires comes first. Business attire, smart casual and styling by occasion, location and season cover the codes themselves. Black tie is governed by the invitation and the garments it names, whatever your palette.

Finish matters as much as fibre. When the colours of a dark outfit are close, contrasting finishes are one way to distinguish its pieces: a cable knit, a flannel or a grenadine tie are three to try; a smooth, lustrous cloth keeps a deep colour looking deep. Silk can be smooth or matte, so judge the cloth in front of you rather than the fibre name. Tailored suits and Savile Row tailoring cover how cloth and construction are chosen.

Colour Combinations That Use the Depth

This palette works by depth, so the combinations below either place a clear light against the dark or stack two darks that are visibly different from each other. They are options, not conditions.

Light against dark. A white or icy blue shirt under a midnight navy or black jacket, when you want the outfit to open up.

Two darks, one step apart. Charcoal trousers with a black-brown knit, or a midnight navy jacket over a deep forest green knit. The trick is to make the two darks visibly different rather than almost the same.

One deep colour against two neutrals. Charcoal trousers, white shirt, deep burgundy knit.

All dark, with texture doing the work. A black rollneck under a black-brown overcoat with charcoal trousers is a complete outfit and needs no light in it; this is a palette that carries that well. A navy blazer over dark trousers is the same idea in tailoring.

The monochrome outfits guide shows how to build a single-colour outfit that still holds a difference in it, and the sprezzatura guide makes the case for breaking a rule deliberately once you know what it is for.

Wearing the Palette With Your Body Shape

Colour and cut are separate decisions, and the palette does not change with your build. What can change is where you put the light, the dark and the colour, because a strong difference in lightness draws the eye. Nothing below is a correction of anything; it is a set of options for a reader who has decided where he would like attention to go.

If you prefer less contrast across your middle, one option is a deep-coloured top with a lighter collar; the oval body shape guide covers the cut.

If you prefer the strongest contrast away from your shoulders, try a small accent at the collar or a contrasting colour below the waist; see the inverted triangle guide.

If you prefer the strongest contrast above the waist, one option is a lighter shirt colour above it and the deep colours below; see the triangle body shape guide.

If you like a dark outfit with a single clear light at the collar, that is one option; see the rectangle body shape guide.

The body shape guide explains the categories, the free body shape quiz is another way in, and The VOU’s body shape analysis service is the paid alternative. Different garments suit different silhouettes, and the fitting guide covers what fit does that colour cannot.

Metals, Glasses and Small Details

Metals. Silver, pewter, white gold and polished steel are the usual recommendation for a cool, deep palette. A dark or antiqued yellow gold is easier here than in the lighter Winter palettes, because the depth of the metal matches the depth of the colouring; hold it beside a silver piece at the collar in daylight and decide by what you see. If your wedding ring is gold, keep wearing it.

Glasses. Frames sit closer to your eyes than any garment. Black, gunmetal, deep navy, a dark cool tortoiseshell and a dark horn are the ones usually suggested here; a warm honey tortoiseshell or a copper wire frame is worth comparing before you buy.

Shirt collars. White and icy blue are the two collars that give this palette a clear difference in lightness. A cream collar is the one to compare against if you are deciding between this palette and Deep/Dark Autumn.

Ties and pocket squares. A grenadine or textured silk tie in deep burgundy, dark plum or forest green is one way to add surface contrast to a dark suit.

Watch straps and shoes. Black leather is the usual partner for this palette, with black-brown as the alternative, and accessories covers how the small pieces are chosen. A mid or light brown is usually placed with the warm palettes.

Tattoos, scars, beard colour and grey hair are part of the picture, not exceptions to it. Compare the colours beside your face as it is today rather than as it was.

Where Deep/Dark Winter Gets Confused

With Deep/Dark Autumn. Both are deep, and dark hair and dark eyes appear in the descriptions of both, which is why depth alone does not separate them. Deep/Dark Winter leans cool; Deep/Dark Autumn leans warm. Some men find a midnight navy, a cool plum or a black sits better on them, where a Deep/Dark Autumn man does better in a warm forest green or a dark chocolate. The light neutral is a second observation: pure white here, ivory there. Repeat the comparison on another day if it stays close, and keep both palettes in play while it does.

With True/Cool Winter. Both are in the Winter family. True/Cool Winter is the cooler of the two; this palette is darker throughout and described as neutral-cool. If clear royal blue and a true red look better than midnight navy and deep burgundy, read the True/Cool Winter guide.

With Bright/Clear Winter. Very dark hair with bright eyes is described in both. Try whether vivid colour holds its own beside your face or whether depth suits you better: a bright emerald against a deep forest green, watching your face rather than the cloth.

With the other families. The Spring palettes are described as warm and clear, the Summer palettes as cool and muted, the Autumn palettes as warm and muted. Deep/Dark Winter’s nearest outward border is Autumn.

If you have grey hair, do not assume what it has done to the picture; compare the colours beside your face as it is now, including the True/Cool Winter colours, rather than relying on a palette you were given years ago.

Men Often Described as Deep/Dark Winter

The three actors below were listed as Deep/Dark Winters on the earlier version of this page. Lists like that differ between sites, and this article cites no verified assessment of any of them, so their names are kept as a pointer to outfits rather than as evidence about anyone’s colouring. No description of their colouring is offered here, and none should be read into the pictures on this page.

Idris Elba was listed as a Deep/Dark Winter on the earlier version of this page.

Adam Driver was listed as a Deep/Dark Winter on the earlier version of this page.

Rami Malek was listed as a Deep/Dark Winter on the earlier version of this page.

A list of names is a starting point for looking at outfits. What you wear is settled by the comparisons you run for yourself, and even those leave the question open.

Where This Guide Stops

Seasonal colour analysis is a working method used by image consultants, not a measurement. Different providers use different numbers of palettes and different names for them, and a man can be placed in neighbouring palettes by two competent analysts. This guide gives you trials you can run yourself and a palette to shop from; it does not settle the question, and a palette does not guarantee how you will be treated, paid or perceived.

The free seasonal colour quiz for men is another optional route to a first suggestion you can then test, and the free fashion style quiz for men is the equivalent for style rather than colour.

A professional draping appointment is one way to take a close call between Deep/Dark Winter and Deep/Dark Autumn further; it does not promise a settled answer or a quicker one. The guides to what an image consultant does and how to choose one explain what an appointment involves. The VOU’s image consultants and fashion stylists offer colour consultations, listed on the shop page, and you can contact us to ask how an assessment is run. A prepared Deep/Dark Winter palette reference is also listed in the shop; at the time of writing that listing is marked unavailable, so treat it as a reference rather than a next step.

Related Guides

The main seasonal colour guide covers all twelve palettes in one place, and the family guides compare the palettes within each season: Winter, Autumn, Summer and Spring. The palette across the nearest border is Deep/Dark Autumn.

Colour is one of three decisions, and the other two are cut and occasion. The fashion style guide covers how a personal style is chosen, and the aesthetic style guide covers the newer style categories. Several named styles wear a deep, cool palette comfortably: preppy, Sloane Ranger, Parisian Chic, Italian old money, equestrian and nautical.

For the wardrobe itself, the guides to clothing, garments, outfits and accessories define the terms used above; the guide to designers and stylists explains who does what; and the guides to heritage brands and to luxury brands worth avoiding help with shopping. Expensive clothes prove nothing on their own; what makes an outfit work is choosing colour, cut and occasion well.

The other Winter guides are True/Cool Winter and Bright/Clear Winter; the Winter family guide compares the three.