Can Wearing the Right Colors Keep You Warmer in the Winter?

One of the hottest topics debated is what colors to wear for the weather and seasons. There may be doubters out there, but science shows us that colors can determine how heat and light affect us, including how warm or cool we feel outside.

It may sound complicated, but it’s actually a simple concept. If you’re still wondering if wearing the right colors keeps you warmer in the winter, you’re asking the right questions. Let’s investigate this further.

Light Waves

Because we understand light to be a form of electromagnetic radiation, we know that it draws everything into it. While that is happening, it emits radiation in the form of wavelengths.

Now, it truly becomes interesting when you look at how the frequency at which waves radiate dictates what color we see. Color is the measurement we use to find different wavelengths.

Heat Absorption

Now that we have most of the science broken down, we can uncover how this affects our daily wardrobe. Colors are on different frequencies, which means they will radiate differently the higher or lower they are.

This is important to note because different colors can generate higher and lower levels of heat. Therefore, if you’re wearing women’s thermal wear in winter, you could potentially stay quite warm in those thermals, depending on the climate and conditions.

The Spectrum

What things boil down to is the spectrum between opposites. In the spectrum of color, some colors radiate at different frequencies but absorb different amounts of heat through their movement and speed.

Contrary to belief, lighter colors will reflect most—but not all—heat, whereas darker colors absorb more heat. For this reason, you will want to dress in darker hues in the winter and lighter hues in the summer.

So, can wearing the right colors keep you warmer in the winter? According to science, the answer is yes. You should dress darker in the winter and lighter in the summer, but your comfort will also depend on how heavy the fabric is and how many layers you wear, so dress smartly.