My Secret to Compliment-Worthy Fall Style? These Delicious Color Recipes

When you think of a chic fall look, color doesn’t immediately jump to mind. But I’m here to challenge the idea that to be a minimalist, you can only wear black, white, grey, or *shudder* beige. Right now, my absolute styling obsession has been finding delicious color combinations—ones that an extremely well-trained interior designer could cobble together, ones that make you second-guess what you know about color theory—while still sticking to my comfort zone of clean lines and tendency to under-accessorize.

Generally, coming up with these fall color recipes takes a lot of research and trial and error. I, for one, take a lot of inspiration from runway stylings by brands like Miu Miu and Shushu/Tong, but I also like playing with color generators and discovering my own pairings. If you don’t have time to explore on your own, fear not, because that’s why I’m here: to give you some yummy color palettes to kick off your fall 2025 outfit layering, while still looking tailored and chic.

To start, let's acknowledge that some colors just work together—think of complementary colors on the color wheel. But to avoid looking like a children's book character, we can swap out one of the shades for an unexpected yet similar hue. For example, concord grape purple and yellow go hand in hand, but instead of a bright lemon yellow, we can opt for a lime green. What about classic blue and orange? Let's do blue spirulina and autumn plum instead this season, to go for an elevated yet playful look.

Okay, now we’re ready for level two: throw in one more color that pairs with the warm tone of the combination. For example, adding to our blue and deep plum pairing, let’s mix in Laffy Taffy yellow. It not only lightens the color combo, but it also creates depth in the flavor profile of our recipe.

Another trick I have for color combinations is to use adjacent hues on a color gradient. For example, let’s imagine a gorgeous raspberry crème fool pink with a crisp crimson red. Or, navy blue with a seafoam green. Both colors are statements, yes, but they don’t fight for attention. Instead, they complement each other and feel rooted in a common theme since they share real estate on the color wheel.

However, one important detail I keep in mind when playing with color is that I tend not to incorporate patterns, as this helps the combinations not look too busy. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try to include different silhouettes or textures—don’t forget that color can come from anywhere, like a pair of fun socks and tights or a simple draped scarf.

So what do you think? Will Fall 2025 be the season we stop confining ourselves to the safety of earthy hues and step into mouthwatering, more surprising color combinations instead? At the very least, I hope you remember that it's possible to put together minimalist and refined looks without resorting to all black this season.