Welcome back to Fall Trends Week! I shared my 2024 Fall Fashion Trends Forecast on Monday, yesterday we discussed the Top Denim Trends for Fall 2024, and today we’re talking about the trending colors you may want to have in your closet this upcoming fall season.
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As far as fall fashion trends go, colors are just colors. They never go out of style, but some are more popular than others at any given time. You shouldn’t feel the need to get rid of non-trending colors in your closet that you enjoy, and you shouldn’t feel obligated to wear any of these trending colors, but this is the time to lean in and stock up on any of the colors that you love while they are plentiful in stores.
This year we’re seeing a return to the rich, earthy color palette that we typically associate with fall, and I am here for it!
photo credit: Pantone.com
Here’s a little blurb from the Pantone® Fashion Color Trend Report Autumn/Winter 2024/2025:
“According to Pantone Color Institute experts, colors for NYFW Autumn/Winter 2024/2025 are infused with an inherent richness and earthiness that highlights our deeper connection to nature. A compendium of warm tones derived from natural pigments, opulent mid-tones, accessible neutrals, and universal greens, they are characterized by a mix of elegance and practicality linked to conscious consumption and slowing trend cycles. Fun, but also functional, essential but not un-exciting, colors for Autumn/Winter 2024/2025, are straightforward, exuding a self-assured, no muss, no fuss demeanor.”
Pantone® USA
Okay, so I had a little giggle at the “slowing trend cycles.” But I love how they describe the warm tones derived from natural pigments, opulent mid-tones, accessible neutrals, and universal greens, all characterized by a mix of elegance and practicality.
I think it’s the “mix of elegance and practicality” that particularly resonates with me. Even though they’re talking specifically about colors, I think that’s a great way to describe the current fashion trends.
Color Trends for Fall 2024
After I read what the Pantone Color Institute experts had to say about fall fashion color trends, I spent quite some time perusing the websites of some of my favorite retailers, noting the common color themes, and these are the ones that stood out to me the most. It’s still quite early in the season, so these will evolve as fall weather sets in, but at the moment, these are the 5 most important color trends for Fall 2024, as I see it.
#1. Pop of Red
photo credit: Evereve
If there is any color I’m seeing talked about more than another in reference to fall trends, it is red. This is the second year in a row that red has been in my fall color trends report, but last year, it was more about wearing red as a bold statement, even head-to-to red outfits. While that’s fun, it just isn’t that practical for many of us, and I didn’t really see red take off in the mainstream stores and on the everyday influencers I follow the way the trend reports predicted it would.
This year, the red color trend is more about a “pop of red,” which is more accessible to most women and allows us to integrate it more easily into our existing wardrobes. For that reason, and maybe also because it takes a while for the runway trends to trickle down to the rest of us, red is showing up everywhere this season.
Red looks great with all shades of denim, and especially dark denim, which is trending this year. (See my post on Denim Trends for Fall 2024.) And it also pairs well with black and other neutrals.
Shop Reds for Fall:
#2. Shades of Blue
photo credit: LOFT
Blue is another color trend that was on the horizon last fall and is really coming in big this season. Blue isn’t a color you normally think of when you think of fall, but I see it everywhere right now, and I love how it pairs with the warmer hues that are trending, like chestnut and chocolate brown.
Blue is mentioned twice in the Pantone® Fashion Color Trend Report — Winter Sky, a cooling blue hue that takes our breath away, and Baritone Blue, a deep blue hue with a dark and rich quality. I’m seeing lots of both extremes in stores, and lots of in between. Sometimes they’re even combined in one garment, as in this Rails stripe sweater and this pretty printed top.
#3. Chocolate (and other shades of Brown)
photo credit: Evereve
We’re seeing a lot of earth tones and shades of brown this fall, but the one is showing up big time is chocolate brown, and I love how it pairs with all shades of denim. If you don’t like wearing brown near your face, it’s easy to incorporate into your wardrobe with shoes and handbags.
Shop Shades of Brown:
#4. Shades of Green
photo credit: Evereve
Green is another color popping up everywhere this season. It often takes the form of the more traditional olive tones that we tend to associate with fall, but I’m also seeing some of that pretty leafy green represented by the Pantone color Fern and some of the more vibrant Aventurine, a rich mineral-based tone. Once again, these shades of green pair beautifully with chocolate and other shades of brown that are trending, as well.
#5. Plum
photo credit: Ann Taylor
If you enjoy wearing saturated, moody colors with cool undertones, as I do, you will be happy to know that plum and burgundy will also be plentiful this fall. The Pantone color report includes Italian Plum, “a deep dark purple full of magical energies” in it’s trending colors for fall, and I’m starting to see this along with deep burgundy popping up at some of our favorite retailers.
