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The debate about whether blondes or brunettes have more fun is always running strong, but in reality, it might be the gals with light brown hair -- elements of dark and light hair tones -- that have the best mane situation. Of course, that depends on whether light-brown-haired ladies can find the right color clothes to make their hair zing.
Complementary Colors
To get the gist of what color clothes you should sport with a light brown 'do, you've got to understand the concepts of primary and complementary colors. Primary colors are the ones you can mix together to get another shade. Red, blue and yellow are primary colors. You get the complements for these colors by mixing the other two together; for example, if you want the complement of red, you mix blue and yellow. So, red complements green, orange complements blue, yellow complements violet, and so on. Another way of looking at complements is that they are color "opposites" in a color model. In color theory, experts put colors on a color wheel, which has all the colors from red to purple moving counterclockwise. In one color model, you get complementary colors by cutting straight across the wheel at any point.
Mixing for Brown's Complement
The most basic way to make a brown color is to mix a color with its complement, such as mixing blue and orange. To get a little more technical, to make brown, you've got to mix green and blue with lots of red. To find the complement of brown, you have to mix the complements of all the individual parts. That means mixing up cyan, magenta and yellow, according to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Physics website. The result will be a blue-green. Stepping out in a blue-green outfit is the best choice for a brown-haired woman. Typically, the lighter brown your hair, the more you should lean toward blue.
Autumn Colors
Fashion and color experts sometimes describe hair and skin color in terms of seasons. Gals with light brown hair usually fall into the autumn category, specifically, "muted" autumn. Based on the way complementary colors and color mixing work to make brown and its complement, blue-green, good colors for muted autumn ladies include orange-reds, such as rust. These orange-red tones complement shades of blue, which you need to make brown. Try olive and jade green, too, which complement the darker red tones. You also will look stunning in dark periwinkle and teal blue. If you can't nab these colors, second-best options are blue-red, burgundy, plum, dark blue-green and navy, according to the Carol Thompson Cosmetics website.
Anything Goes
Some colors are neutral, meaning they aren't on the color wheel but can be made from mixing up colors that are. Brown is one of these colors. Because light brown is a neutral color, although some colors pop with light brown a little better, pretty much any color clothing goes with it, says color expert Andy Gilchrist.
