There are so many great homecoming looks for people with dark skin. It’s only a matter of figuring out which look is right for you.
The first thing you need to do is find your skin tone; are you a “summer,” or a “winter?” It’s very easy to do, look in a mirror under natural light, as close to sunlight as you can get. Rub your cheeks, or look carefully in the hollow of your wrists. Does the inside skin of your wrist have greenish tones, or bluish undertones? If you see greenish tones, you are what is known as a “summer.” Cooler, bluish tones are called “winter.”
Lighter or darker skinned people can be “summers” or “winters,” it is independent and sometimes a result of your own personal health. Everyone is different. Look in the mirror and decide for yourself. If you can’t tell, try holding different colors against your cheek until you see something you like. There’s nothing wrong with using computers and photoshop to make your choices very, very precisely. A computer can generate any color you can imagine, so it’s easy to try one shade after another against a picture of yourself until you find one you like.
Warm Colors
Warm colors like red, orange, and yellow, compliment the “summer” skin tones, giving them depth and clarity. Stunning coral and the orange-based reds like tangerine are especially preferred. Yellow is a tricky color, especially when it is buttery or pastel, but it can be stunning against the darkest skin. Lighter skin can seem washed out by bright warm colors, though. Of all the magnificent hues of human life, very dark skin is the most enhanced by pastels.
Cool Colors
The “cooler” part of the color spectrum, usually green and blue, are less aggressive and ostentatious, but more balanced and self-confident. Winters will find colors that complement their features include the bluer greens, like aqua or turquoise. Summers look great in the dark jewel tones like amethyst or sapphire. Emerald green can be a show-stopper, or any icy cool pastel.
Intense Colors
Intense colors like purple manage to be warm and cool at the same time. This makes them vibrant and vivacious. Purple, regal and rich, is a wonderful color when used in solid forms, and pink is…pink! Stunning, shocking, and feminine, pink is a color carried as much by attitude as by appearance. The darker your skin the more pink and purple will stand out, so be ready to be the center of attention.
Neutral Colors
Intense colors stand out, just like colors that contrast with your natural tones. When you have an
unique homecoming dress but you don’t want to go overboard, you may want to choose a neutral color like cream, grey, or brown. All human skin is more or less reddish-brown, so be careful not to pick a shade of brown that is so close to your skin tone it confuses the eye.
Black, deep blue, and grey can really fit skin with summery undertones. Nearly everyone looks good in black or white, which explains the eternal popularity of those colors, but if your skin is very dark then the deepest hues should be avoided.
