What to wear to a wake or viewing
A wake, also called a viewing or visitation, usually takes place before the funeral, at a funeral home or the family's home. Guests come and go. Wear dark, neat clothes, a little less formal than for the funeral. Below: what to wear, and dark and quiet colors for each of the 12 color seasons.
By Jane MitchellCertified color analystPublished
The short answer
- Wear dark, quiet colors: black, navy, charcoal, dark brown or deep green.
- Neat business casual is enough at most wakes: trousers or a skirt with a shirt, a blouse or a sweater.
- If you go to the funeral the same day, wear the funeral outfit to both.
- Skip bright colors, loud prints, gym clothes and anything ripped.
- If the family asks for something else, such as a favorite color, follow that.
How a wake differs from a funeral
At a wake, people visit the family and say goodbye, often for a short time, and leave. Some wakes are held at home and feel relaxed; others are at a funeral home and feel close to a funeral. When in doubt, dress as for the funeral, and keep it simple.
Dark colors for your color season
Dark, quiet shades from each season's own palette, and quiet mid shades for a wake where the family says come as you are.
Dark, quiet colors
- Soft denim navy#5C6B8A
- Light taupe#9E8C74
If the family says come as you are
- Camel#C9A87C
- Periwinkle#A3B8E8
Skip: buttercup, apple green, coral.
Dark, quiet colors
- Warm denim#4E6E82
- Warm mushroom#A1887F
If the family says come as you are
- Warm beige#D6B98C
- Peach blossom#FFCCBC
Skip: bright tangerine, golden yellow, terracotta.
Dark, quiet colors
- Dark warm brown#3E2723
- Bright navy#1A3A5C
If the family says come as you are
- Warm cocoa#8D6E63
- Warm stone#D7CCC8
Skip: bright violet, vivid orchid, bright orange.
Dark, quiet colors
- Soft navy#4A5C78
- Soft plum#8E7C9E
If the family says come as you are
- Blue gray#7C8894
- Soft denim#6C97BF
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Dark, quiet colors
- Cool navy#2F4058
- Cool aubergine#5D4E6D
- Soft plum#7E5A82
If the family says come as you are
- Teal blue#4A8FA8
- Medium gray#8E8F92
- Blue gray#5A6B7C
Skip: rose red, cool raspberry, cool lavender.
Dark, quiet colors
- Soft navy#3F4A57
- Muted aubergine#6B5E70
If the family says come as you are
- Soft berry#A5677A
- Dusty lilac#8E7C9E
- Slate blue#6E8CA0
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Dark, quiet colors
- Soft olive brown#57503F
- Slate blue#5F7386
If the family says come as you are
- Sage green#87905F
- Soft mulberry#A86F7E
- Pecan#96795F
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Dark, quiet colors
- Coffee#5A4632
- Deep olive#4A5340
- Forest teal#2E5E4E
If the family says come as you are
- Terracotta#96604A
- Warm plum#A0637C
- Bronze olive#7B683F
Skip: rust, goldenrod, burnt orange.
Dark, quiet colors
- Dark mahogany#3E2A1E
- Deep olive#2F3325
- Deep petrol#154360
If the family says come as you are
- Wine rose#7B3F51
- Cinnamon#8A5A44
- Dark teal#0B5345
Skip: deep amber, tomato red, dark mustard.
Dark, quiet colors
- True black#1C1C1C
- Midnight navy#12243D
- Blue charcoal#263238
If the family says come as you are
- Pine emerald#00695C
- Cool espresso#4E342E
- Charcoal#5A5A5A
Skip: indigo, deep violet, true red.
Dark, quiet colors
- True black#000000
- Charcoal#37474F
If the family says come as you are
- Cool gray#78909C
- Silver gray#B0BEC5
Skip: vivid purple, royal violet, cobalt.
Dark, quiet colors
- Bright navy#0D1B3E
- True black#212121
If the family says come as you are
- Cool slate#607D8B
- Icy lilac#E1BEE7
Skip: bright violet, electric purple, vivid orchid.
For the service itself, see what to wear to a funeral. For a later, lighter gathering, see what to wear to a celebration of life.
How we picked the colors
Each season card reads that season's own palette and neutrals on this site, 300 named colors across the 12 seasons, measured in CIELAB: lightness (L*), chroma (C*, how strong the color is) and hue angle. A shade is on the card when it is dark and quiet (L* under 45, C* under 30), darkest first, as for a funeral; a season with fewer than two gets its two darkest quiet shades. For a casual wake: quiet mid to deep shades (L* 20 to 60, C* under 30), 35° of hue apart. When fewer than two shades fall in that range, the card adds the shades of the same chroma closest to it in lightness.
The skip line lists up to three of the strongest colors of the palette (C* 50 or more). Where a palette has too few shades that far apart in hue, the gap narrows to half, then to 12°. No color is typed by hand, and no brand or store is used. The same rule runs on every season, so two cards can be compared.
What this page cannot do
This page lists dark and quiet colors in each season's palette. It cannot know the family's wishes: the funeral home or the family can. It cannot tell you which season you are either. Our free analysis reads your season from one selfie, in your browser.
How this is different from other color analysis tools
- 01
Your photo stays on your device
Many photo apps upload your selfie and read it on their server (see our comparison). Ours measures it in your browser. There is no upload.
- 02
The result is free
Your season and palette, with no account and no email. At least one app in our comparison takes payment before you see any result.
- 03
A close call says so
Every result names the runner-up season and how close the call was. Borderline is a result we print.
- 04
We publish our accuracy
We tuned the method on faces that experts had labelled by season, then tested it on 410 celebrity photos we collected. The results, misses included.
Questions
Is a wake more casual than a funeral?
Often, a little. Guests come and go, and neat business casual is usually fine. Dark, quiet colors are still the safe choice.
Can I wear jeans to a wake?
Dark, clean jeans with a neat top can be fine at a casual wake in a home. At a funeral home, trousers or a skirt are the safer choice.
Do you have to wear black to a wake?
No. Navy, charcoal, dark gray, dark brown and deep green are all respectful.
Which dark colors suit me for a wake?
For example, a Light Summer can wear soft navy or soft plum, and a Deep Autumn dark mahogany or deep olive. This page lists dark and quiet colors for all 12 seasons.
What you can do on this page
This page explains what to wear to a wake or viewing: dark, neat clothes, usually a little less formal than a funeral, and the family's wishes first. It then lists, for each of the 12 color seasons, dark and quiet shades and quiet mid shades for a casual wake, from that season's palette with hex codes, picked by a stated CIELAB rule, and the loud shades to leave at home. The free photo analysis finds a season from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.