Colors that go with purple
Purple is rich and versatile. Below are the colors that pair with it, the wearable purple shades that suit real coloring, and the honest part most combo guides skip: which purple actually suits your coloring.
This is purple. The exact purple that flatters you shifts warmer, cooler, lighter or deeper with your undertone. The wearable versions from real palettes are further down.
Colors that go with purple
Pick an accent and a neutral to see the three worn together. The pairings are proper color theory: analogous, complementary and split-complementary.
Pair it with (tap a color to try it)
Next to it (tonal)
Opposite it (contrast)
Split (softer contrast)
Ground it with (tap a neutral)
Three ways to wear purple
A styling example: three outfits, each built around purple with a different companion color and a neutral.
The wearable purple shades
Not all purple is the same. These are real purple colors from the 12 seasonal palettes, lightest to deepest, each with its hex.
- Light violet#C9A8E0
- Periwinkle blue#7986CB
- Cool lavender#9575CD
- Warm violet#7E57C2
- Soft plum#7E5A82
- Cool aubergine#5D4E6D
- Deep plum#6C3483
- Aubergine#4A235A
Neutrals that go with purple
Neutrals are the base of a wardrobe and ground any color. Buy these first; spend your color near the face.
- Ivory
- Light cool gray
- Soft denim navy
- Bright navy
- True black
Which palettes purple belongs to
Measured, not asserted: these are the seasons whose palette actually carries a purple. Each one wears a slightly different version of it.
Which purple suits you?
The palette above is real, but a page cannot tell you which purple flatters you. That depends on your undertone and how light or deep your coloring is, which is exactly what a seasonal color analysis measures. If you already know your undertone, lean warmer or cooler accordingly. If not, the free analysis reads it from one photo and names the version of purple, and the other 19 colors, that sit with your own skin, hair and eyes.
Frequently asked
What colors go with purple?
Purple pairs cleanly with its analogous neighbours (the colors either side of it on the wheel), its complementary opposite for contrast, and a grounding neutral. In practice that comes out as indigo, magenta, chartreuse, green, light green. Neutrals like ivory, light cool gray, soft denim navy, bright navy, true black sit under all of them.
What colors should you not wear with purple?
There is no color that clashes with purple outright. Clashes come from the SHADE, not the pairing. The real mistake is wearing a version of purple at the wrong temperature or depth for your own coloring: a warm purple on a cool person, or a bright one on someone soft, reads harsh no matter what you pair it with. That is what a color analysis fixes.
Does purple suit everyone?
Not in every version. Purple is a medium color, and the exact purple that flatters you depends on your undertone (warm or cool) and depth (light or deep). It appears in 3 of the 12 seasonal palettes, each carrying a slightly different purple. The way to know yours is to measure your coloring, not to guess.
What neutrals go with purple?
Wardrobe neutrals ground any color, and purple is no exception. ivory, light cool gray, soft denim navy, bright navy, true black all work. Buy your neutrals first: they are what you wear most, and they let a single hit of purple near the face do the work.
What season is purple best for?
Purple shows up in the Deep Autumn, True Summer, True Spring palettes, so no single season owns it. Each palette carries the version of purple that suits that coloring. Find yours with the free analysis.