et’s talk navy. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of navy is “being of a very dark blue color.” I’m not sure how the names of colors were created, but the navy blue color got its name because it was the color worn by the British Navy. Colors are often associated with meanings based on the feelings the color evokes. The meaning of navy blue is reliable, responsible, and trustworthy.

Unfortunately, not everyone can wear navy and still shine. Plus, your best navy blue color is probably not the same as my best navy.  What it truly comes down to is, which navy is right for you? The answer to that question is determined by your season. If you aren’t sure of your season, you might consider a personal color analysis.

Navy Blue By Seasonal Color Palette

It’s hard to create images that adequately show the variances in the navy blue color that looks best on each season, but believe me they exist! Winter and Summer have the most versions of navy, because it is a cool color and these are the cooler seasons. In the image below, you might be able to see that Winter has the darkest of navy blue colors, Summers have the softest, Spring the brightest, and Autumn the warmest. Honestly, most Autumns and super warm Springs don’t look their best in navy, but these are their best versions of the navy blue color.

Winter

We’ll start with Winter, because navy is often seen as a quintessential Winter color. All Winters have a navy blue color in their palette. Actually, they all have at least three versions! Since they are a darker season, all Winters seem to look good in dark navy blue. Beyond that, though, they vary a bit in terms of which navy is each sub-seasons best navy.

Deep Winters or Dark Winters have the most navy blue colors. This is probably because they have “shaded” versus “intense” coloring and there are lots of shaded versions of navy. Winters who are shaded look great in colors shaded with black, so Deep Winters have the most blackened navy colors. True Winters have the most intense coloring, so they look best in pure colors. Therefore, their navy blues are the truest navy colors. Cool Winters lean to Summer, so they have the softest navy colors of the Winter seasons. Clear Winters lean to Spring, so they have the brightest navy colors. The best navy Blue colors by Winter Sub-season:

Deep/Dark Winter: dark navy blue, deep navy, midnight blue, navy blue, true navy

Cool Winter: dark navy blue, true navy, cool navy

True Winter: dark navy blue, true navy, dark navy

Clear/Bright Winter: dark navy blue, warm navy, bright navy

Spring

Since Spring is a generally warm season, there are less navy blue colors that are harmonious with Spring color palettes. The neutral Spring seasons – Light Spring and Clear Spring – each have two bright navy colors. For obvious reasons, Light Springs have light and bright navy colors as deeper colors overwhelm them. True Spring and Warm Spring generally don’t receive a navy in their color palette, because they have a warm skin tone and navy is cool. However, when I complete custom color palettes for True and Warm Springs, I often find that many look lovely in a navy with a bit of green in it. Dark marine blue is often a nice version of navy on them, as well as, warm navy. The best navy Blue colors by Spring Sub-season:

Light Spring: new navy, light clear navy

Clear/Bright Spring: warm navy, bright navy

True/Warm Spring: warm navy, bright navy

Summer

Summers look lovely in navy, but look their most harmonious when it’s a softened or brushed version of navy. Summers truly look best in a muted navy. Light Summers are the exception as they shine in the same light clear navy that looks best on Light Springs. Cool Winters aren’t an exception, in that they also look great in a muted navy, but they additionally look beautiful in a softened deep navy. They receive the most versions of navy in their palette due to the depth of their coloring. Soft Summers have have more grey in their navy than any other Summer. The best navy Blue colors by Summer Sub-season:

Light Summer: light clear navy

Cool Summer: cool navy, soft navy, muted navy, grey navy

True Summer: soft indigo, muted navy, grey navy

Soft Summer: Dark Marine Blue, Dark Slate Blue, Deep Blue Grey

Autumn

It’s very rare that I give an Autumn a navy blue color in their custom color palette. I tend to only do this when they have blue eyes, because otherwise, it just doesn’t work with their warm coloring. Having said that, traditional color palettes usually include a few versions of navy for Deep Autumns and Soft Autumns as these two sub-seasons are neutral and lean to either Winter or Summer. Deep or Dark Autumns receive the same midnight blue and deep navy as Deep Winters. Soft Autumns receive the same dark marine blue and dark slate blue as Soft Summers. The navy versions that Deep and Soft Autumns receive have quite a bit of green or brown in them making them potentially work for True and Warm Autumns who don’t traditionally receive navy in their color palette.

Deep/Dark Autumn: midnight blue, deep navy, navy

Soft Autumn: dark marine blue, dark slate blue, marine navy

True/Warm Autumn: dark marine blue, marine navy (as possibilities, but many are not harmonious with navy)

Making Navy Work For You

I love navy, but it doesn’t always love me. As a Light Summer, I really only look best in my light, bright navy. Given my lightness; however, I don’t have very many dark neutrals that work for me, so navy is my “go to” dark neutral. In the video below, I show you the differences between the navy colors in my closet and how I make the ones outside of my color palette work for me.

If navy isn’t the best color for you, but you still want to wear it, try wearing it on your bottom half paired with one of your best colors in your top or as the base of a great print. If you’re wondering, “What colors go with navy blue?” No worries as navy is a neutral and looks great with so many colors. I especially love it with versions of green, yellow and tan. For warm Springs, it looks great with citron, chartreuse, violet, and peach. Warm Autumns might try mustard, pumpkin, and light moss.

How do you feel about navy? I’d love to hear in the comments.