Top 12 Colors for Summer 2020
Bright and bold or soft and muted – there is a colour for every taste this summer. Here are my top 12 colors for Summer 2020 and some tips for how to wear them.
The Pantone Colour of the Year 2020 is Classic Blue: Instilling calm, confidence, and connection, this enduring blue hue highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build. And if ever there was a time that we need stability and calm then it really is now!
Even though there was plenty of blue to be seen among the 2020 colour trends, another thing that emerged from the runways was the polarisation of colours, with shades either being bright and bold or soft and muted.
So for example we have the bright tangerine or the muted pink coral, bright saffron or the muted sunshine yellow, bright biscay green or the muted chives and pistachio. Which do you prefer? Bright and bold or soft and muted?
Here are my top 12 Colors for Summer 2020, starting with Pantone’s Color of the Year.
Bright and bold Colours
1 Classic Blue
Pantone’s 2020 color of the year is Classic Blue, and this is really easy to style, and suits most skin tones. Blue is many people’s favorite color, and it is all around us, from the sea to the sky.
A blue sky is calm, peaceful and non-threatening and says, “Trust me, I won’t rain on you”, hence the association of blue with calm and stability.
Darker shades of blue are perceived as trustworthy and reliable. They symbolise truth, trust, loyalty, intelligence and security. The brighter blue tones are more fun and energetic and are often associated with dreams and travel.
2 Flame Red
To stand out from the crowd this summer, make sure to add some red to your closet!
Flame Red is a fiery red, which means it is a warm, slightly more orange tone. This bold hue symbolizes confidence and determination.
Red is the symbol of love, sensuality and passion, and it is usually associated with warmth. It is a very powerful colour and it captures our attention immediately.
It is also the colour of attraction. In fact, men are statistically proven to spend more money on a date with a woman who wears red.
3 Hot Pink
Pink is an interesting colour. It is basically a tint of red (a tint is a colour with white added).
Pink is synonymous with tenderness, gentleness and happiness. It is the colour of romanticism, femininity and compassion.
However, the closer the colour is to red (ie hot, bright pink), the more numerous the psychological properties of red are, and hot pink creates a feeling of energy and dynamism, and the more vivid it is, the more it resembles the properties of red.
If you’re worried about how to style it, don’t be, as it goes perfectly with metallics, white, cream, red, other shades of pink and even black accessories, so don’t hesitate to add some to your look!
4 Saffron Yellow
Named after the spice of the same color, this particular shade of yellow is a touch more golden than mustard, but still universally chic, and it adds a bold touch to your outfit.
Yellow is the “happiest” colour, and is the colour associated with ‘smiley’ faces. It is the color of a beautiful sunny day, and it’s joyful, fun and inspiring.
It gives an impression of warmth and light. It’s the most luminous of all the colours in the spectrum and captures our attention easily. It is the colour of a golden sun, daffodils, and cute animals, such as chicks.
5 Tangerine Orange
This shade of orange is particularly vibrant and it’s playful and fun making it perfect for summer.
Orange is associated with energy and action. This colour combines both the warmth of red and the joy of yellow, and it evokes the sun, heat, fire and light. It is a colour that few people mention as their favourite, but it radiates warmth, joy and happiness and conveys values of communication and creativity. Wear it to be seen as a good communicator.
6 Biscay Green
This minty green hue, named after the bay in Spain, is a beautiful aqua shade and it’s both cool and refreshing.
Pantone describes it as a colour that makes people think of vacations, wellness breaks, and escapes to the beach. If you are looking for a new clothing colour to try this 2020, you should go for Biscay green as it is a fashionable shade that is flattering to majority of skin tones.
Generally, green is a reassuring colour, because when we see a lot of greenery, we know that plants are growing and that food is abundant.
It is the colour of hope, green is a lucky colour (the four leaf clover). It is a symbol of growth, health, freshness and nature.
This bright, light shade is one of the most dominant shades we saw on the runway. Wear it with any shade of pink for the prettiest springtime look.
7 Grape
This color is popular with everyone and is slightly more mellow than “true” purple and comes in a range of shades from light to dark.
Grape is a mixture of soothing blue and fiery red, and as such is associated with an air of mystery.
In the past, purple was associated with royalty because it was very difficult to create this colour from natural materials, so it was worn by very rich and powerful people, and it is still the symbol of wealth and status in Japan.
Soft and Muted Tones
8 Baby Blue/ faded denim
Who doesn’t love pastel blue or a beautiful sky blue shade? It’s also a color we saw frequently on the runway in different shades and undertones, and is predominant in the stores now.
As all shades of blue, it is associated with calmness and reliability, and the faded denim shade is as reliable and trustworthy as your favourite jeans!
Faded denim works very well with other colours, but if you are looking to spice up an outfit, you can pair this mellow baby blue hue with vibrant flame scarlet or rich saffron.
Light blue tones are soothing, peaceful and tranquil and in particular are associated with ideas of freedom, dreams and youth. This shade looks great when paired with bold, vibrant colours.
9 Coral Pink
Another shade often associated with summer is coral. This coral pink shade combines the warmth of coral (orangy tone) with the delicacy of pink and is chic to wear both day and night.
Wear with metallics, white, black or other hues such as lime green. You could choose a summer dress, or wear coral pants or jeans.
10 Sunshine Yellow
The muted version of saffron, this soft pastel yellow is one for the minimalists! It evokes happiness and joy and this sunny, pale yellow is an easy and non-aggressive way to approach color.
Shades of pastel yellow are also known to help memory, which is why legal notes and post-its (as well as yellow pages) are all yellow!
In short, since yellow is associated with optimism, positivity, light and warmth, it is a good colour to create a first impression of someone who is joyful and positive.
11 Lavender
The muted version of grape, this gorgeous shade evokes lavender fields in Provence and is perfect for someone who is a fan of a more wearable shade of purple.
Imagine what a field of lavender swaying in the breeze looks like, and that’s the look we’re going for here!
Like the stronger shades of purple, it symbolises creativity and an air of mystery!
12 Chive
Chive is a healthy, restorative green inspired by our focus on the environment.
It is a rich, dark and herbaceous shade of green and looks chic on its own but also serves as a great neutral hue and pairs beautifully with a wide range of colours— including saffron.
And just to finish it wouldn’t be summer without the perfect summer neutral (non colour) : white to get us in the warm-weather mood.
And the S/S 20 runways were full of head-to-toe white looks—varying in textures and shades from bright, brilliant white, through creamy yellow to a subtle oyster mushroom.
White is ethereal, the colour of clouds, snow, cotton, wedding dresses and the tips of waves.
It represents lightness, perfection, peace, innocence, cleanliness and purity.
White is also the colour of a new sheet of paper – a blank page, ready to be written on, so it also represents a new beginning.
You can never go wrong with this neutral shade in any material from cheesecloth, crisp cotton and linen through to satin and lace
I hope this has given you some inspiration for the top colors to wear this summer, and one of the simplest ways to incorporate colors in your outfit is to think about when and how we see different colors in nature.
For example, on a calm, sunny day, we expect to see a blue sky (calming, serene, trustworthy), green leaves (peaceful, reassuring), brown earth or sandy beaches (down-to-earth, reliable), golden yellow sunshine (bright, joyful) and white clouds (soft and downy).
Using the colours of this quiet, calming scene (blue, white, green) in an outfit will give that impression of warmth and calm.
Conversely, in stormy weather, the clouds become dark grey or black, and give an impression of being “intimidating” and “threatening”, so black is symbolic of “power” and “drama”.
For more posts on colour, have a look here and here, and have a look here for more of our style features.
Faded blue denim is my all-time fav look for summer
Yes, it’s a great summer colour 🙂
As much as I love bright colors for summer I have to say I’m drawn more to the soft muted! Love the coral, chive and lavender!
Jill – Doused in Pink
I really love coral this summer, and I love lavender on other people but unfortunately not on me (:
The colors are beautiful to wear for summer. I love the lavender color!
xoxo
Lovely
http://mynameislovely.com
Thank you Lovely! I love the lavender colour too, although I usually prefer stronger colours, such as the grape xoxo
Such lovely colours, Julia! I never used to like classic blue (or navy) but now I really do, especially in dresses. It’s a softer alternative for harsh black in formal offices like mine and I love combining it with some fire red (heels or maybe a cardigan). I am loving grape and coral pink this year too. What a wonderful post!
Thank you so much Katerina! I’m so glad you liked the post, and navy would look amazing with fire red heels! I am loving coral pink for this summer too xo
Beautiful colours! My favourites are red and lavender! Happy Summer!
http://www.busyandfab.com
Lavender looks amazing on you !
I love them all! Yellow is probably my favorite, but all colors are great!
Lindifique
I love yellow too! It’s my happy colour x
Julia
What a lovely post, I kept scrolling up and down your post several times for some colour therapy. Definitely classic blue and pastel yellow are my top ones for this 2020.
I’m so glad you liked the post! Yellow is definitely one of my favourites too xo
So many beautiful colors! Classic blue has to be my favorite though.
Make Life Marvelous
Classic blue seems to be the favourite – and it’s Pantone’s colour of the year too x
Love all these colors for summer Julia! My fave is hot pink and classic blue. These are constants in my wardrobe. I need to add more coral pink and yellow.
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thanks Kathrine! I love the hot pink and I have a lot of yellow in my closet as it’s my happy colour! I think I need more coral pink though as it’s so pretty for summer, especially with turquoise x
I adore blue and green ❤
They are beautiful colours and always make me think of the sea, so great for summer x
there are so many beautiful colours! totally love the classic blue
xoxo
style frontier
It’s such an easy colour to style and not as harsh as black x