What Colours Suit Me? Shirt Colours for Your Skin Tone (Men)
The colours that suit you depend on your undertone and skin depth. Warm undertones suit earthy colours like rust, olive, cream and mustard. Cool undertones suit navy, crisp white, burgundy and sky blue. Neutral undertones suit most colours. Deeper skin carries stronger contrast; fair skin suits medium tones.
The fish knew the colour of every depth of the water. Your skin has its depth too.
Undertone and depth: the two things that decide your colours
Your skin has two qualities. Depth is how light or deep it is: fair, wheatish, dusky or dark. Undertone is the colour beneath the surface: warm (golden, peachy), cool (pink, rosy) or neutral (a mix). Depth decides how much contrast you can carry; undertone decides which family of colours makes your face look alive rather than tired.
Most Indian skin is warm or neutral, but cool undertones are common at every depth. Two men with the same skin depth can suit quite different shirts.
The skin tone test: three ways to find your undertone
The vein test
Look at the veins on the inside of your wrist in daylight. Green or olive veins suggest warm. Blue or purple suggest cool. If you cannot decide, you are probably neutral.
The jewellery test
Hold gold and then silver against your skin. If gold looks richer, you lean warm. If silver looks cleaner, you lean cool. If both look fine, neutral.
The white paper test
Hold a sheet of plain white paper beside your bare face by a window. Next to the white, warm skin looks yellow or golden, cool skin looks pink or rosy, and neutral skin looks neither.
The quiz above combines these with how your skin reacts to the sun, so you do not have to judge any one test alone.
Skin tone chart: best shirt colours by undertone
| Undertone | Best shirt colours | Be careful with |
|---|---|---|
| Warm | Off-white, cream, beige, rust, olive, mustard, warm brown, coral, teal | Icy pastels, stark optic white, cold grey |
| Cool | Crisp white, navy, sky blue, charcoal, burgundy, emerald, lavender | Orange, mustard, yellow-beige that sits close to the skin |
| Neutral | Most colours: white, indigo, taupe, sage, soft pink, black | Colours exactly matching your skin, which flatten the face |
How skin depth changes the rule
Fair skin looks best with medium-depth colours that do not wash it out. Wheatish and dusky skin carry earthy, rich colours beautifully. Dark skin carries strong contrast: crisp white, bright colour and deep jewel tones all glow. Every skin tone has colours that make it look its best; the aim is never to look lighter, only to look like yourself on a good day.
Guides for your skin tone
- Shirt colours for fair skin
- Shirt colours for wheatish skin
- Shirt colours for dusky skin
- Shirt colours for dark skin
Where mtsya shirts sit
Warm undertones: Geru (rust-brown) and Silt (warm taupe). Cool undertones: Manu White, Deluge (indigo) and Hard Rain. Deep skin with high contrast: Deep Water and Ash. Once you know your colours, the shirt and pant matcher finds the trousers.
Each shirt carries the Matsya fish, the small fish that guided Manu's boat through the flood, stitched at the left chest.
Shop the shirts
Questions, answered
How do I know my skin undertone?
Look at your wrist veins in daylight: green suggests warm, blue or purple suggests cool. Check whether gold or silver jewellery looks better on you, and hold white paper beside your face. If the results are mixed, you are likely neutral.
What is the difference between skin tone and undertone?
Skin tone, or depth, is how light or deep your skin is, from fair to dark. Undertone is the colour beneath the surface: warm, cool or neutral. Two people with the same skin tone can have different undertones.
Which shirt colour suits every skin tone?
Navy, soft white, indigo and teal suit almost everyone because they sit between warm and cool. Pick off-white if you are warm and crisp white if you are cool.
Do Indian men have warm or cool undertones?
Many Indian men have warm or neutral undertones, but cool undertones occur at every skin depth. Do the vein and jewellery tests rather than assuming from skin depth alone.
What colours should I avoid?
Avoid colours very close to your own skin, which flatten the face. Warm undertones should go easy on icy pastels and cold grey; cool undertones on orange and mustard near the face.
The fitting room
Read next:Best colours for wheatish skin (full outfit) ·Shirt colours for wheatish skin ·Shirt colours for dusky skin ·Shirt colours for fair skin ·Shirt colours for dark skin ·Shirt and pant combination ·The fitting room