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What’s This About
This page turns two documented celebrity outfits and four editorial outfits into Deep/Dark Autumn ideas you can wear with clothes you already own.
It covers the practical side of deep, warm-leaning colour, such as:
a burgundy and blue plaid suit with brown shoes, from Morris Chestnut’s 2025 press tour
a caramel suit from the same tour, and how to deepen it for this palette
complete outfits for the office, a wedding, smart casual days and weekends
why ivory and cream belong in a deep palette
and many more!
Nobody here is presented as a confirmed Deep/Dark Autumn; the outfits are the lesson.
Key Points
01Deep/Dark Autumn is deep first and warm-leaning second: dark chocolate, forest green, deep burgundy, burnt orange, deep olive and deep teal, set against ivory or warm beige.
02A celebrity photograph cannot establish anyone’s seasonal palette, including yours; use the outfits as references and compare the colours against your own face.
03Light colours are not banned: ivory and cream shirts give a deep outfit its contrast.
04Grooming products do not change your seasonal colouring; choose them for your skin and beard, not your palette.
A chocolate brown suit, an ivory shirt and a deep burgundy tie are enough to try Deep/Dark Autumn colours at work, and you can test each colour against clothes you already own.
The outfits below show how deep, warm-leaning colours behave in tailoring and casual clothes, using two looks documented by published reporting and four outfits we suggest.
These are outfit references, not a list of confirmed Deep/Dark Autumn men.
The records reviewed for this page document no personal colour assessment for anyone named here, and dark hair or dark eyes alone cannot separate this palette from Deep/Dark Winter.
What to borrow from a Deep/Dark Autumn palette
In the twelve-season convention used across The VOU’s colour guides, Deep/Dark Autumn is the palette where depth leads, with a warm lean towards chocolate, olive, rust and burnt orange.
Its cool-leaning neighbour is Deep/Dark Winter, and its warmer, lighter neighbour is True/Warm Autumn, a position described in The Concept Wardrobe’s Dark Autumn guide.
We use that description as a styling convention, not a scientific classification of the people mentioned below.
Useful neutrals are dark chocolate, espresso, deep taupe, warm charcoal, deep olive, ivory and warm beige.
Useful accents are deep burgundy, garnet, burnt orange, copper, forest green and deep teal.
Retail colour names cover wide ranges, so compare the actual shirt or tie in daylight rather than trusting the label.
The Deep/Dark Autumn men’s palette guide explains the palette in detail and shows how to compare it with Deep/Dark Winter.
1. Morris Chestnut: a burgundy and blue plaid suit with brown shoes
What is documented: during his January 2025 press tour for the CBS series Watson, Chestnut wore a burgundy and blue plaid suit with brown shoes and a long black car coat for a late-night television appearance, according to Black America Web’s photo report, which credits stylist J. Bolin.
How to adapt it: a plaid that mixes a deep red with blue gives you both a warm and a cool colour in one cloth, so the shirt and shoes decide which way the outfit leans.
Try a burgundy-led check jacket with an ivory shirt, dark chocolate trousers and dark brown shoes for a warm lean, or keep the reported brown shoes and add a dark olive knitted tie.
The ivory shirt and olive tie are our suggestions, not reported details.
Why it works: a patterned jacket carries the colour, and plain deep neutrals around it keep the outfit calm.
The long black coat is also worth noticing: black outerwear can sit over a warm, deep outfit without any difficulty.
2. Morris Chestnut: a caramel suit
What is documented: the same report, a gallery of his promotional looks for Watson, mentions a well-tailored caramel suit without describing the occasion, shirt or shoes.
The report does not describe the shirt or shoes with that suit, so the details below are our suggestions.
How to adapt it: caramel sits closer to True/Warm Autumn than to the deepest colours of this palette, so add depth around it.
Wear a caramel or tobacco suit with a dark chocolate roll-neck or a deep olive shirt and dark brown suede shoes.
Why it works: the dark top near the face supplies the depth, while the lighter suit keeps the outfit from becoming heavy.
Four Deep/Dark Autumn outfits to try
The following outfits are editorial suggestions, not photographed celebrity looks.
Use them as starting points with clothes you already own, and change one colour at a time so you can see what each change does.
Office, suit and tie
Dark chocolate or deep brown suit, ivory shirt, deep burgundy tie, brown socks and dark brown oxford shoes.
If your office expects navy or charcoal, keep the suit and bring in the ivory shirt and burgundy tie.
Daytime or evening wedding
Deep olive or forest green suit, ivory shirt, copper or burnt orange tie, dark brown socks and dark brown shoes.
Follow the invitation first; a coloured suit is not black tie, and some formal weddings expect morning dress.
Smart casual
Deep taupe trousers, cream oxford shirt, forest green crew-neck jumper and dark brown suede boots.
The cream collar adds the light contrast this palette relies on.
Weekend
Dark wash jeans, burnt orange or rust T-shirt, dark olive field jacket and brown leather boots.
Dark denim works as a deep neutral, and the field jacket frames a stronger colour without overpowering it.
Body shape and fit are separate decisions
Colour placement can work alongside silhouette and fit, but it does not replace a garment that fits well.
The VOU’s guide to dressing for your body shape covers silhouette and fit.
Start with how the jacket fits at the shoulders and how the trousers break, then decide where a stronger colour should go.
Questions about Deep/Dark Autumn celebrity inspiration
Q. If I look like someone on this page, am I a Deep/Dark Autumn?
No; resemblance, skin depth, ancestry or one shared feature does not establish a seasonal palette.
Compare a chocolate brown or forest green with a cool navy or blue-based plum of the same depth against your own face, as described in the Deep/Dark Autumn guide.
Q. Should I avoid pastels and light colours?
No; light colours such as ivory, cream and warm beige are part of this palette because they create contrast against the dark colours.
Very pale cool pastels may compete with your face, but compare them rather than banning them.
Q. Will tinted moisturiser or beard oil make my colouring warmer?
No; the sources reviewed for The VOU’s colour guides do not establish that skincare ingredients or beard oils change seasonal colouring, so choose them for your skin type and grooming needs.
A tinted cosmetic adds visible colour for as long as you wear it, which is a separate choice from your palette.
Q. Can a Deep/Dark Autumn man wear black?
Yes; many men prefer espresso or dark chocolate near the face, but black shoes, black coats and a black-tie dinner suit remain appropriate.
Q. Where can I compare Deep/Dark Autumn with its neighbours?
The Autumn colour season guide compares the three Autumn palettes, and the Deep/Dark Winter guide covers the cool-leaning neighbour.
Related guides on The VOU: Triangle Body Type, Inverted Triangle Body Type, Oval Body Type, Rectangular Body Type.
Styling Beyond Seasonal Colours
Before you go, here is a simple way to put this guide into practice, and when to ask an image consultant for help.
Professional styling starts with knowing your body shape and seasonal colour palette, which help you choose clothes that fit well, in colours that suit your skin, eyes and hair.
Our guides also cover styling by occasion, location, season and time of day, garments, footwear, accessories, heritage fashion brands and old-money style.
Take our three quizzes to find your body shape, seasonal colour palette and fashion style, then book a consultation if you want personal help:
1. Find Your Body Shape
Different garments flatter different physiques, so knowing your body shape is the first step in dressing like a confident man; take our body shape quiz for men.
Once you know your unique body shape, take the second quiz to discover your unique colour palette.
2. Find Your Seasonal Colours
Remember, fashion comes in various colours, but not every hue complements your natural colour.
Take our seasonal colour quiz for men to find the colours that suit you.
3. Find Your Fashion Style
By now, you should already know your body shape and unique colour palette; the next step is to discover your personal fashion style.
To find it, take our fashion style quiz for men; it includes a suggested style, outfit ideas, relevant fashion brands, and much more.
Personal Help from The VOU
For personal help, you can book a consultation with our image consultants and fashion stylists.
Our styling services for men are paid consultations; the shop page lists what each one includes.
Owning luxury clothes is not enough on its own; knowing your body shape and colour palette first makes styling by occasion, location, season and time of day easier.
Contact us to book a consultation once you have taken the three quizzes.
Mandy Meyer’s focus at The VOU is men’s body-shape styling, garment fit and outfit proportions. Her coverage addresses the practical questions behind a wardrobe choice: how a jacket sits across the shoulders, how trousers fall and how different cuts change the silhouette a wearer wants to create.
Her subject areas include the triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle, oval, trapezoid, hourglass and diamond labels used in body-shape styling. These provide starting references for comparing visible proportions; they do not capture every body or prescribe one correct way to dress. The focus connects those observations with garment shape, construction, length and the relationship between the upper and lower parts of an outfit.
Mandy’s editorial coverage combines visual comparisons with fit checks for comfort and movement. Readers can consider whether a cut gives them the room they need, where clothing pulls or gathers and which changes might support their preferred look. The aim is to make menswear choices more understandable while keeping personal preferences and the wearer’s own styling goals central.