3 Color Combinations to Wear for an Elegant Summer Look

If you’re anything like me, summer is your season to play with color. As a New Yorker and someone who loves a polished, elegant look, I tend to lean towards neutral shades for the rest of the year. This summer, I’m embracing brighter and bolder hues and wanting to have a little more fun with my warm-weather outfits. This led me down a rabbit hole of searching for stylish color combinations that felt fresh and sophisticated for summer. After looking at tons of color combinations to experiment with this summer I found three that stood out among the rest.

Keep scrolling to take a look at which elevated summer color combinations I’ll be wearing this summer.

Butter Yellow + Powder Blue

Powder blue trousers and butter yellow top outfit

(Image credit: @monikh)

It doesn’t get any more 2024 than this color combo. Fashion people everywhere can’t get enough of both of these dreamy pastel hues and paired together they look even more divine. There is something so airy and ethereal about this combination that I can’t get enough of. I’m personally going for a “New England chic” vibe this summer and I have a feeling many of my outfits will be in this color combination.

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Chocolate Brown + Tangerine

Brown and orange outfit

(Image credit: @emnitta)

I know, I’m surprised too, but I’m obsessed with this color combination. Tangerine has always been one of my favorite colors to wear for summer with the bright and bold nature of the shade. Paired with a chocolate brown instead of white or black, these two together are unstoppable. I’m filing this under color combinations to wear on a European summer vacation.

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Cherry Red + Crisp White

red and white J.Crew outfit

(Image credit: @lefevrediary)

It doesn’t really get more summertime than this color combination right here. Cherry red has been a color the fashion set has been obsessed with all year and it looks like this summer won't be any different. Whether you’re into the striped or gingham vibe, or just pairing them as solids together a crisp white and cherry red outfit just oozes summertime chic.

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Assistant Editor

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Grace has always been a lover of all things fashion and beauty. Upon receiving her first degree in visual communications from FIDM in Los Angeles, she moved to New York City and continued her education at LIM College, majoring in fashion media with a minor in society and culture. Grace has worked for PhotoBook magazine, Insider, and Harper's Bazaar. As a writer, Grace has had pieces published covering topics including racial justice, fashion, politics, and current events. During her free time, she loves wine tasting, creating content for her social media, spending time with friends, traveling to new places, and Pilates, and has a love for reality television, especially The Real Housewives. Grace is the person in your friend group everyone goes to for recommendations for the best place to grab drinks in NYC on a Friday night or the best hotels and restaurants to try when traveling to a new city. While fashion is her main love, she loves all things wellness and lifestyle as well. Her ideal sunday is brunching with friends then walking around furniture shopping and listening to a podcast. As the assistant shopping editor at Who What Wear, Grace loves finding the best buys out there for the WWW readers.