A red dress is a bold statement, and it’s important to make sure your nails are on point to complete the look. This post is all about what color nail polish goes with a red dress.
There’s no simple answer, the polish choice depends on the exact color of your dress. We’re going to go deep into this. But if you don’t have a lot of time, here’s the shortest, fastest answer to “What color nail polish goes with a red dress?”:
Black, white, navy, and beige nails go with a red dress. You can also wear red nail polish and most shades of gray. Gold, olive green and teal nails also work with a red dress. Blush pink, orange and purple can also work if you choose the right shade.
Now you have the basic idea, let’s dive in and see what looks you can create!
Here’s a table of contents for easy navigation:
Tips and advice for choosing the right polish color
Neutral polish colors that go with a red dress
Metallic polish colors that go with a red dress
Monochromatic colors that go with a red dress.
Complementary polish colors that go with a red dress
Is your red dress is warm or cool? How can you tell?
Cool-toned colors that go with a red dress
Warm-toned colors that go with a red dress
Does pink polish work with a red dress?
Does silver or gold go better with a red dress?
What color nail polish with red dress and black shoes?
What color nail polish with red and black dress?
Tips and advice for choosing the right polish color
How do you match nail polish to a dress? In this section, we’ll go over 3 simple ways to match your nail polish to your dress.
– Matching with neutral nail polishes
– Complementary color matching
– Matching based on tone
Matching with neutral nail polishes.
One of the easiest ways to make sure your nails don’t clash with your dress is to choose nail polish in a neutral color.
Neutral nail polish colors are great because they work with a wide variety of outfits.
Nude colors are a popular choice. A french manicure, a white, or an off-white (like cream) will go with any color dress.
Gray is also a great neutral nail polish color. Gray can look sophisticated and classy, and you can wear any shade of gray with red.
Neutrals are your safest bet when it comes to what color nail polish goes with a red dress.
But some neutrals work better than others with red. We’ll show you the best later in this article.
Complementary color matching.
Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel. So red and green are considered complementary colors, as are yellow and violet, and blue and orange.
Choosing a complementary color match for your red dress is easy.
You already know that the complementary color that works best with red is green.
All you need to do now is look at different shades of green and find one that looks best with your dress.
Don’t worry, I’ll give you some more tips for matching green and red further down.
Matching based on tone
As well as choosing neutral nail polish or a complementary match, you can match nail colors to your dress by tone.
This is a little more difficult, but it can be done!
For a tonal match, the first step is to figure out what tone of red your dress is.
Basically, you want to know if it’s a cool-toned red or a warm-toned red.
Warm-toned reds have a yellow, orange, or red-orange color to them.
Cool-toned reds have a blue base rather than an orange base.
Looking at images of warm and cool reds side by side can help train your eye to see the difference.
There are many variations on red, but if you focus on figuring out if your dress is warm or cool-toned, you’ll be able to match your dress by tone.
Cool-toned fabrics look better with cool nail polish colors. For example, a dark burgundy nail polish looks great with a blue-based red.
You can check polish descriptions online to see if it’s cool or warm-toned.
Now that you have the basics let’s go over nail polish colors that work with a red dress.
Best Neutral Nail Polish Colors for Red Dresses
You’ve already read about how versatile neutral nail polishes are, but which neutrals work best with red?
Here’s a list of the best neutrals to pair with a red dress:
White.
A bright white is a great choice for a daytime or an evening look.
A pure crisp white like OPI’s Alpine Snow will give you a high contrast.
Crimson and true primary reds look perfect with bright white.
If you prefer a more toned-down look, you can also wear a warm white like cream or ivory which will work with all shades of red.
Navy.
Navy goes great with red for a chic and sophisticated look. if your dress is cherry red, navy is the way to go.
Beige.
Beige and red is a classic and timeless color combo.
It’s more formal than edgy. But it could be perfect for the office, a semi-formal event, or for a job interview.
Gray.
Forget fifty shades of gray – with a red dress you’ll have hundreds to choose from!
Most grays will work with red, but you should keep the lightness in mind. A light gray will look better with darker reds, while a dark gray will be more flattering to lighter reds.
Black.
The truth is, black will never work well with bright or fire engine reds. It’s too much. You should wear black only when you’re wearing a deep, dark, and sexy color like burgundy, ruby, or wine red.
Black also doesn’t always work for pale skin. If you’re ghost-like pale, avoid pairing black with red.
French manicure.
Never underestimate the classic french manicure.
If you’re wearing red for a special evening, an elegant classic like this will be just the ticket.
You might find that when it comes to nail polish colors that go with red dress, sticking to neutrals is too boring.
So let’s check out some more exciting colors you might like to try.
Bold nail colors that go with a red dress
If you want to be a little bolder, try these red-meets-color combos:
Mint green.
Mint green looks great with red. It’s a fresh, young, and vibrant color combination.
It can be worn during the day, but it’s also perfect for a night out.
Mint green is great if you’re wearing a light tomato red or candy apple red dress – it will accent nicely and get your nails noticed.
My current favorite mint polish is Essie’s Mint candy apple.
Turquoise.
Turquoise and red go together like peanut butter and jelly.
They’re both bold colors that are happy, youthful, and fun.
You can wear turquoise or an aqua blue-green color with any shade of red for a look that’s guaranteed to make you feel good.
If you want an exact shade, try Turned up turquoise by China Glaze.
Canary yellow.
Light yellow nail polish works well with most warm-based red shades.
But if you want the maximum wow factor, try an electric yellow to stand out from the crowd!
Bold yellow nails are a great choice for summer, especially if you’re rocking warm-toned skin.
If you love bright bold yellows, try Zoya’s Daisy, Darcy, or Pippa.
Metallic polish colors that go with a red dress
Metallic colors are perfect for evening looks. They make any color look more sophisticated and dressy.
If you want to give your red dress a night-time twist, try one of these metallic combos:
Red and Gold.
Gold and red together make a classic and timeless style statement.
Gold is flattering to pastel or candy-apple reds, while it looks great against cherry red as well.
Remember, gold looks best with warm-based reds. like scarlet and cadmium red.
If you want something a little less obvious, try an antique gold shade.
Red and Silver.
You can wear silver nail polish with deep cool-based reds such as burgundy, garnet, raspberry, red-violet, and wine.
Silver polish looks best on cool skin tones and pairs best with cool-based reds.
Red and Rose Gold.
Rose gold is so hot right now!
It’s a mix of gold and copper tones that looks gorgeous with warm-toned reds.
If you’re wearing a cool-toned red you can still pull off rose gold because it’s not quite as warm as yellow gold.
I’m currently crushing hard on Essie’s Penny Talk.
OPI also does a good range of rose gold polishes.
Red and Bronze.
Bronze works really well with deep reds. Think burgundy, plum, and wine shades.
If you’re a little wary of a full-on gold look, bronze is a nice alternative that still looks great with red!
It’s a great choice for the fall and winter seasons.
I love Zoya’s Cinnamon for a perfect bronze-red combo.
Monochromatic colors that go with a red dress.
If you want to keep things easy and breezy, go for a monochromatic look.
Monochromatic color palettes work by combining different shades or tints of the same color.
A monochrome look is a great option if you’re going for a red dress and you don’t know what to do about your nails.
It’s simple, elegant, and easy to pull off. All you need to do is paint on some red polish and you’re good!
You can wear any shade of red you like. You can choose to go darker than your dress or lighter. Up to you.
It’s ok to be matchy-matchy if you’re wearing red. But be careful with tones.
A warm red needs a warm polish to look its best. If you wear a cool red, pair it with a cool polish.
It’s always flattering to keep your whole look cohesive. Very fashionista!
Complementary polish colors that go with a red dress
The opposite of a monochromatic color palette is a complementary color palette.
This means that you wear colors on opposite sides of the color wheel.
As you already know, green is the opposite of red on the color wheel, so that works particularly well.
That being said, you want to avoid anything too Christmassy looking.
One of the most unexpected combos is red and olive green. It might seem like they’re chalk and cheese, but it actually looks great.
Similar to that pairing is red and dark green or pine green. If you want to be daring with your manicure, go for it! It’s not an easy look to wear, but it looks pretty cool if you finish off the rest of your outfit with neutral colors.
Is your dress warm or cool? How can you tell?
It’s easy to get confused when it comes to color theory.
Here’s a quick and handy guide on how you can figure out whether your dress is warm or cool:
Put the dress next to other items in your closet (or general household items) that you know are either warm or cool colors.
If your dress looks good with other warm-toned colors like yellow and orange, chances are the dress is warm too!
If something looks off when you put your red dress with warm colors, then it may be a cool red.
Another trick you can try is to look at warm and cool reds online and try to match them to your dress.
It can be tough to tell the difference at first, but with experience, it’ll become easier.
The best way to learn is through trial and error!
Cool-toned colors that go with a red dress
Cool-based reds work well with colors that are the opposite of red on the color wheel.
This means cool colors like blue, green, and purple look particularly good with them.
You can wear a range of shades from pastel to dark depending on your preference.
Here are some ideas for cool-toned nail polish colors that work well with red dresses.
Purple.
Like olive and red, purple and red is totally unexpected.
It might seem weird, but if you get the shades right, these two colors can really work.
Deep purples like eggplant look great with warm reds.
You can also play around with lighter, cool-toned purple shades like lavender.
If the purple you’re looking at looks more blue than red, it’s probably cool.
Try pairing light purple with your red dress if you want to be daring with your polish.
Green.
Green is technically a cool color. But there are plenty of yellow-based greens out there, so again we need to pay attention to the undertone.
Muted or dark greens, like olive or forest, are stunning with red.
Olive green works like a neutral, so it’s a great color to have in your polish collection.
If you wear a cool-toned dress, choose a shade that’s more on the cool side.
If you’re struggling to find the right shade, use the clothes guide above to help you out.
Blue.
Deep jewel tones are perfect for red dresses. For a bolder than bold look, try a cobalt blue.
Berry shades of red look great with royal blues like midnight.
Avoid primary red and true blue together, it looks a bit pre-school.
A rich, dark navy is the perfect complement to a red dress.
Teal.
Teal is a blue-green shade that airs on the cool side.
This shade works well with red dresses, especially cool tones.
Teal looks good with scarlet reds, but it also looks great with dusty roses.
This color won’t be for everyone, but if you want something different, give it a go!
Warm-toned colors that go with a red dress
If you’re rocking a warm-toned dress, consider one of these colors.
They will harmonize with other warm tones to create a well-put-together look.
Here are some ideas for warming up your look with nail polish.
Yellow.
As you probably already know, yellow can be a tricky polish color to pull off. The trick to matching yellow nail polish to a red dress is to use a bright or a light pastel yellow.
If your red is a clear true hue, you’ll want to avoid anything muddied or muted and go for the brightest option.
But if you’re wearing a softer, more muted red tint that almost looks pink, a soft, pastel yellow will go with it.
Keep in mind that yellow is a warm color, so avoid pairing it with the cool-toned reds mentioned above.
Orange.
If you want to add some warmth to your red dress, orange is the way to go!
It’s one of my favorite colors on women with dark hair and medium to dark skin.
Stay away from pastel oranges like peach and coral as these will clash.
Go for stronger tones like a bright citrus orange, and if your dress is a coral red (orange-based not pink-based coral) then go for apricot-orange nail polish.
Does pink polish work with a red dress?
Pink and red is a marmite combo.
Some people love it! But me, not so much.
The problem with pink and red is that the combination can be too sweet or too playful for some people’s tastes.
Whether you want to put pink and red together is up to you. It doesn’t clash, but it doesn’t always look great either.
If you decide to go for red and pink, remember that the darker your skin is, the better this color combination will look!
If you must wear pink nail polish with your red dress, blush pink is the best way to go. It’s elegant, modern, and romantic.
Or choose a shade that looks more neutral and less sweet on your skin tone.
Does silver or gold go better with a red dress?
If you’ve been paying attention, you should already have a pretty good idea of the answer!
Gold has a yellow undertone that harmonizes with just about every shade of red there is.
The one exception would be dark blue-based reds, but even then you can still get away with wearing gold.
Silver is less versatile when it comes to red. But if your dress is a berry or red-plum color, silver is a fine choice.
Go by the undertones in your dress – silver for cool and gold for warm and you can’t go wrong!
What color nail polish with red dress and black shoes?
This is a question I get asked a lot. so let’s answer it!
The obvious choice would be black, a soft off-white, or another neutral like gray.
But that can be a little boring.
If you’re wearing a red dress with black shoes, try metallic nail polish. It will add some extra glam to your look.
If your dress is wine go for gold nails. Wine-red, gold, and black work really well together.
Nude nail polish works well too – it’s a classy choice that will go with everything. It doesn’t fight for attention and creates a balanced look that is both demure and chic at the same time!
I hope you found this article useful on what color nail polish goes with a red dress?
Have an amazing time in your dress and I’ll see you next time 🙂
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Coral dress + nails? We’ve got the guide for you!
Green dress + nails? Our guide has got you covered.
