The Color Combinations That Will Transform Your Outfit

It might be a stereotype, but on the cloudy days of fall, it does seem like every woman we see is decked out in neutrals — or just black. (Okay, and maybe some millennial pink).

This is hardly surprising. A small survey of 1,000 people in 2015 revealed that men and women preferred the color black on prospective romantic partners. On Tinder, numbers reveal that most users wear white and black, followed by blue and gray. Just look in your own closets. Anecdotally, we find that even those who proclaim to love colors and patterns have a healthy portion of their wardrobes dedicated to blacks, whites, and neutrals.

But after passing the hundredth person on your commute in the same black leather jacket, you can start craving some color. "Changing or challenging your color choices can be one of the most uplifting things to change in your wardrobe. It can change your mood, change your impression, change how other people see you," says Tonya Blazio-Licorish, a research assistant at the Met and lecturer at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

But while some people just intrinsically get what colors go together, some of us need some guidelines. To understand how colors work together, we chatted with two professionals who know their color theory for a crash course on the most basic way to make a statement with your outfit.