10 Best Prom Dresses for Darker Skin

Your skin tone will heavily affect the colors that fit you the best. It’s completely natural that pale people can’t fit something as well as people with darker skin, and vice versa. That’s why you have to keep your skin tone in mind when you’re purchasing a dress, as not everything is going to fit you perfectly. Of course, we insist that anyone should wear whatever they feel comfortable in, but just because you feel comfortable in something doesn’t mean that it’s going to accentuate your body well and there’s no guarantee that it will look good.

That’s why we’ve created a guide for buying dresses if you have darker skin. In today’s article, we’ll take a closer look at how different colors work with different skin tones and just how effective your styling can get if you choose the right color. We all have colors, styles, and fits that are more or less flattering for your unique characteristics and some colors are simply better for highlighting your skin than others.

Let’s get started!

1. Cobalt

Cobalt befalls in the category of winter and autumn colors, as it’s recommended by stylists to wear more subdued colors during colder months. It’s also said that saturated jewel tones can work wonders for the season and they’re considered to be some of the best colors for darker skin.

Cobalt is a dark and rich tone of blue. It’s been named after the element which has the same deep blue color, and it offers more life than navy blue. Cobalt is also interesting because it works with more skin tones, not exclusively darker skin tones, and it’s been popularly worn by Michelle Obama.

Expert stylists agree that cobalt fits best when worn on long dresses and caftans, while it’s also popular with pantsuits. Purses in the color of cobalt have also been very popular, and you’ll have no trouble finding some – even high-end designers like Michael Kors have a line of cobalt purses.

Jewelry in the color of cobalt is especially important and it will certainly add another touch to accentuate darker skin tones. These gems and stones will definitely draw attention, and they’re more eye-catching on darker skin, rather than lighter skin.

Take this dress as an example of cobalt dresses. V-neck dresses are especially good at attracting attention, and they’re also adaptable to women with both more flat and larger chest. Follow the link to learn more.

2. Red

Another color for the colder months of the year, red is an absolute favorite for most people – as it’s really well-fitting for both men and women. However, when talking about dresses and relating them to darker skin tones, red is offering a lot of variety. Since this shade is often connected with flair, passion, power – it’s often too bold of a choice for many people, but we don’t think that you should stray away from it.

There are many shades of red to choose from, and each shade can apply well to your dress, so there isn’t too much of a worry when choosing them – any shade of red goes well with any darker skin tone. However, we recommend darker red – almost velvet red, as it’s really striking a note when worn by a woman with darker skin. Bright scarlet and deep ruby are also options you can choose, and they’re all going to look good on darker skin.

Since red is such a powerful color, noticed in the crowd, don’t wear it unless you’re ready to make a statement with your dress. Make sure to choose a shade of red that matches your complexion.

When it comes to accessories, you don’t have to worry about a lack of headbands, hats, scarves, gloves, tights, purses, and anything else you might need. Regarding jewelry – ruby stones and red lacquered jewelry fit very well with any red dress, and they’re classic pieces that will add a touch of class to your outfit.

Red heels to complete the outfit are a perfect choice.

This dress, for example, is something that would fit great on anyone with darker skin.

3. Emerald

Emerald green is an absolutely striking color on any woman with darker skin! This popular gemstone broke its way through to the fashion industry easily, and emerald green clothing became very popular – very quickly. Even though green seems to be a very tame color and some shades blend into the background, emerald green is here to stand out – similar to red.

The saturated hue of the color looks very good on darker skin, and the color is very calming to the eye – but it’s adding a touch of luxury and class to the wearer. In this regard, it’s also very similar to red.

Velvet dresses that are made in emerald green are a great option. This combination is definitely eye-catching, and it looks absolutely stunning. Velvet looks good when combined with skin-tight clothing, as well.

You’re surely not going to find any trouble finding accessories in this color, but we’d recommend that you stick to black purses, as well as heels. Black goes very well with velvet emerald green dresses.

Regarding jewelry, however, you should insist on emeralds to catch the light. A simple emerald necklace goes a long way here.

Here are two good examples of green emerald velvet dresses. These dresses can really fit anyone with darker skin, and they’re going to accentuate the tones very well.

4. Violet

Purple is usually thought of as the most romantic out of all the colors, despite some assigning that title to the color red. Stability and energy are their effects, and dark purple is associated with royalty. This winter shade is going to make you look like a queen.

When choosing this dress, we recommend that you stray away from velvet – as violet looks best when it’s simple fabric. This outfit can be accompanied really well by jewelry, but you don’t necessarily need to stick to amethysts – as various emerald stones are actually fitting really well with violet. You should also not limit yourself to violet heels, as black or open-toed black works just as well.

Take a look at this dress, which is a high neck bodycon dress in the color of violet. It’s a perfect fit for all occasions, and it’s definitely going to draw attention. Remember what we said about using velvet with violet? This dress is a good example of how to incorporate the color of velvet in any piece of clothing, and it’s surely going to make your evening.

5. Rich Winter Pink

Although pale pink can work wonders for darker skin (and it usually does), we recommend that you choose warmer tones of pink with rosy undertones, as they can really complement your complexion well. Blush tones look great on dark skin, as they contrast perfectly with the deep skin tones. 

Even though pink has been used as a corny color that nobody took seriously up until ten years ago, nowadays it isn’t connected to the same stereotype. Pink definitely is a color that’s automatically noticed in the crowd, especially if you take neon pink into account. However, trends have shuffled and moved and pink is now not a color worn by blonde Hollywood heiresses, but rather a free color that can be donned by any woman.

When you’re purchasing a pink dress, make sure to stick to darker pink, as lighter shades of pink (aside from pale pink) don’t really match well with darker tones. When matching this dress with your purse and your heels, feel free to go with a white clutch and dark heels.

Darker pink stones and floral jewelry are really good at incorporating this color, and they’ll certainly be adding a pinch of class to your outfit.

Take this dress as an example of the color you should be aiming for, but feel free to choose an even darker shade.

6. Gold

Associated with royalty by many, gold is a color that doesn’t suit pale people very well. Darker skin tones, as well as medium (olive skin) tones, are the ones that go really well with this color. However, it should be seriously pondered whether this color can really fit well for a prom or any formal event for that matter.

The color, actually, isn’t the issue – rather the way many designers distastefully incorporate it into their dresses. In this article, we’ll be showing you a few examples of what a gold dress should look like (at least the dress you should be aiming for), but know that a mistake can be made very easily with gold.

When it comes to accessories, wearing a simple silver or gold necklace should be enough. We recommend that you stick to minimalistic styling when wearing gold. However, when you’re choosing shoes, we recommend that you either stick to black heels or open black heels – not gold heels. Beige is another color that can go well with a golden dress, but that has to be tried on before purchasing.

Here’s a good example of a great outfit with a golden dress. As you can see, this model has worn open beige heels, and they fit perfectly! In this example, however, you can see a more shining tone of gold, and that can also fit very well.

7. White

Finally, we’re moving on to warmer colors that fit better in the summer and spring. The generally longer presence of sun in spring and summer is here to allow you to create contrast with various colors, and white is the first on that list.

There are many different tones of white that fit well, such as snow white, off-white, ivory, and ecru. All of these colors can complement your tone very well, and you shouldn’t stray from trying them on. Almost anyone can wear white, aside from very pale people, but women with darker skin tones can experiment with any shade of white. A starker shade will make you more of a standout, while off-white is a good pair with more neutral colors and blends in very well.

Make sure to play around with different shades of white, as you have the advantage of your complexion being darker – this basically conditions you to try out more colors and it guarantees that more shades of white can fit. Regarding jewelry, simple gold necklaces are all you should aim for – everything else could be overdoing it.

When you’re choosing your footwear, stick to either open beige or closed beige heels.

This is an example of ivory, and it can fit just as well as off-white.

8. Orange

Orange is a very robust color and it’s definitely more active than pink or red. Even though the TV show is called Orange Is the New Black – in terms of fashion, some agree that orange is the new pink. Many people overuse this color in the worst ways possible, so it’s beginning to be considered informal and something that should be avoided. However, as we said in the introduction, we do insist that you wear whatever you feel comfortable with – just keep in mind that orange isn’t exactly the most formal of colors. A cocktail party would perhaps suit this color better than a prom.

However, a positive is a fact that orange is impossible to wear on anything except darker colors – this means that you get an exclusive on wearing this. That’s also part of the reason it gets so much attention – it’s not seen enough, and when it is – it’s creating such a wild contrast that’s impossible to ignore.

Orange is generally considered to be fun, so make sure that you feel that way if you’re wearing it. There is, of course, such a thing as too much orange, so watch out for that.

Match a black clutch and simple gold earrings and a necklace with this dress.

Here’s an example of an asymmetrical spaghetti strap dress that’s definitely fitting well on anyone with a darker tone. Complete the outfit with black heels, be it open or closed.

9. Lavender

Not only is it an absolutely beautiful smell, lavender is also an incredible color on darker-toned ladies. It’s very similar to violet, but it’s not quite the same, and they definitely belong to different categories. This color is ideal for women with deeper tones of skin.

It’s also ideal if your prom is taking place during the summer or spring, as this really is a warm-weather color. This color is complimented very well by simple gold necklaces and earrings, while we suggest that you stay away from silver jewelry with this color. Once again, finish the outfit with a pair of black heels, be it open or closed.

Lavender is applied very well with this dress, and this is something you should aim for when choosing your dress. This is another example of a lavender dress, it’s only more slim than the previous one. Whatever you choose, make sure to choose a tone that complements your complexion well.

10. Light Yellow  

Our last entry on the list, light yellow is a much less invasive color than her big sister – yellow. Yellow is often avoided by designers as it’s an odd choice for a palate: a crucial color in the system of colors, but it still has a lack of taste and really isn’t bringing anything powerful and noticeable to the table.

Light yellow, on the other hand, allows you to show others your joy – as this color, sometimes also called pastel yellow, is cheerful more than anything else. It’s also a very good fit for warmer events, similar to orange and white, as it really is a summery color. Also, just the way it works with orange, this color is a darker tone exclusive – meaning that it won’t fit well on anyone with lighter skin. It often washes out lighter skin tones, but on brown skin, it looks vibrant and rich.

Match this dress with a pair of open heels, and complete the look with minimalistic gold jewelry, nothing more than that. Some experts suggest that an emerald necklace can go really well with light yellow, but that’s on you to decide. Light yellow is supposed to fit like this, and even though this dress is less formal and more of a cocktail party fit, notice the contrast. Here’s an example of a more formal light yellow dress.