What Is the Best Colour to Wear for Speed Dating?

Your appearance has much to do with the first impression you’ll create on a potential partner. So to make it count, what is the best colour to wear for speed dating? It’ll depend on your skin tone, the time of year and what kind of an impression you’d like to make!

How to choose the best colours to wear

Has dating in the wake of a pandemic left you lost when it comes to knowing what to wear? You’re not alone. Many of us have arrived at the latter half of 2021, needing a wardrobe overhaul, especially for those all-important date nights. Fortunately, this is a great excuse/opportunity, to go shopping and get a whole new look, to which you’re really well suited. And if you already have a bulging closet with plenty of choices, you’ll be able to pick through it and find items that’ll perfectly fit the occasion. Colour in your clothing is an excellent way to make a statement about who you are. And with just minutes to form an impression on other attendees, everything you can do to project your personality is worthwhile.

How to know which colours look good on you

Colour has the power to demand attention, communicate a message, convey personality and even build an emotional connection with others. It makes sense, therefore, that you’d give some thought to not only the style of your attire but the colours also.

There are four considerations when choosing your colour:
What does the colour (or colours) represent in general terms?
Which colours suit the occasion and time of year?
Which colours reflect your personality?
Which colours do you enjoy wearing?
Which colours suit your natural appearance (hair and complexion)?

To get the very best results, it helps to balance each of these. Especially as there will be many overlaps between the categories. And it’s here, you’re likely to find your apparel sweet spot.

Let’s take a look at each of these factors, one by one, so you can identify your best options.

Clothing colour psychology

Certain colours give off particular vibes, no matter who is wearing them. Often we find that the colours we’re naturally drawn to wearing, match the generic colour profiles. To find out if this is the case for you, check out the meaning of each shade...

Red: Romantic, energy and passion - but it can also have undertones of dominance and a sense of risk-taking. Red is the boldest choice.
Pink: Love, femininity, comfort.
Blue: Calming and peaceful - perfect if you want to put other attendees at ease.
Navy blue: Success, quiet power and confidence (perfect if you're feeling nervous pre-speed dating).
Purple : Artistic, charming, self-assured.
Yellow: Fun, bright, uplifting, positive and creative.
Orange: Fun, lively, vivacious.
Green: Soothing, comforting, caring - close to nature.
Brown: Reliable, stable, grounded.
White: Innocence, freedom, optimism, simplicity, perfection.
Black: Elegance, style, luxury, power, mystery, sadness, sophistication - many of these seem contradictory, this is because the colour is so versatile and depending on how you wear it, it will give off completely different feelings.
Grey: Unassuming, neutral, classic.

And the seasons play a part too. Generally, we wear darker clothes in winter and brighter ones in summer. While this isn’t a hard and fast rule, it might look a little odd if you turn up to an event in January, wearing a floaty yellow dress. Similarly, dressing head to toe in black or grey on a hot July day will seem a little out of place. The time of day is also a consideration as certain colours can suggest more or less formality. Browns and greens are often suited to casual or daytime wear, although brown leather accessories are timeless and evergreen. Blue is rarely affected

What colour suits my skin tone?

Black, grey, white and blue are universal and suit everyone. Most of us can wear nearly every other colour, however, some will look better than others, depending on your complexion and hair colour. And it may be you need a darker or paler version of some of the harder to wear options (like yellow, pink and green, which vary wildly depending on their intensity). To find out what hues are going to suit your unique colouring the best, take this clothing suitability test, or watch the video below.

Neutral colours are always safe, but they can also cause you to fade into the background. It will create more of a stand out effect (something that’s very useful in a group, speed dating scenario) to add in some brighter or more unusual colours, staying in line with what suits you. If wearing bolder colours seems scary, don’t forget, you can use colours as accents - your shoes, a scarf, headband or motif on a shirt will point to a colour communication, without going all out in a block of one shade. You should feel comfortable in what you’re wearing - don’t pick something just for the sake of being outlandish. But do plug into your adventurous side and see if you can mix your current garb up a bit.

Choose the right outfit for speed dating and you’ll increase your chances of success. This is a great tip for life in general too. Finding ‘your’ colour and learning how to send a subtle message with your clothing, can help you succeed at work as well as in love.

Related Questions

**What should I wear for speed dating? **

We recommend dressing smart-casual for speed dating. This equates to the kind of thing you might wear to dinner with friends, or drinks somewhere nice, but not overly fancy. Don’t dress up like you’re going to a wedding or a club. But don’t turn up in jogging bottoms and a faded t-shirt either!

**What colour should I wear on a date?

Once you get to the one-on-one stage (as opposed to speed dating in a group, there will be less of an emphasis on standing out. Sure, you’ll want to be remembered, but if you tend to go with more muted shades, then this is totally fine on a date. As with speed dating, allow your personality to shine in your colour choice and choose a hue that flatters you.