| slug | title | beforetoc | guide | tactic | updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
darker-colors-thinner |
Choose accent colors brighter and main colors darker |
Bright colors reflect more light and appear wider. Use brighter colors for accents and darker as the main ones. |
visually |
style |
2024-02-02 |
According to the lightness illusion, light colors expand objects, while dark colors narrow them.
{% include image.html name="dark-smaller-light" alt="A dark square on a light background appears smaller than a light square on a dark background" caption="Image. Lightness illusion. Bright stimuli on a dark surface appear larger than similarly sized dark stimuli on a bright surface." %}
From an evolutionary perspective, this feature of our vision is useful because it allows us to see objects better in the dark, such as predators at night.
Research has found that light hair color can visually reduce body height, blur facial features, and make shoulders and neck appear wider. In contrast, black hair slims and emphasizes contours.[^dct-263631321]
Clothing has a similar effect. Dark colors visually make people appear a few kilograms lighter.[^dct-8438770][^dct-9241513] The effect is enhanced if there is a dark background behind the person.
In the study, 6 dress colors — black, gray, white, red, green, and blue — black and red enhanced body attractiveness. The same colors, along with blue, added a slimming effect. Conversely, green and gray had the opposite effect. [^dct-103338]
Use clothing details in bright and colorful colors to grab attention to desired parts of the body.
As main colors, they are less suitable. In clothing of a saturated color, you will appear more larger.[^dct-2939542] Moreover, observers will scrutinize your outfit more carefully, which can lead to a shift in focus towards less important details and lower the eye line. It is better to choose something darker.
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