Aside from the style of your prom dress, the colour is the most important decision to make. But how do you pick a colour that suits you?

Here are some tips to help you figure out which colour is best for your prom dress.

Look in your wardrobe

It might sound stupid, but you may well already know which colours suit you the best. Look at what you tend to pick for yourself, and focus on the pieces you like to be seen in the most. These are usually the ones that get the most compliments when you wear them. Are there one or two colours that feature more than others? Well, that's likely to be one that looks good on you, as our choices are shaped by the feedback we've had in the past.

What colour eyes do you have?

If you have blue or green eyes, then picking a dress in a similar colour can make your eye colour stand out even more, making them look particularly striking. Sorry to people with brown eyes, but brown dresses don't tend to have the same impact.

Colour wheels, colour seasons etc

There are sophisticated colour consultants out there who talk about finding your right 'season' or area of the colour wheel that contains the colours that suit you the best. These can help you, but as there are lots of different systems out there, make sure you find advice that is cohesive within an approach, i.e. follow it through from start to finish as they do differ from each other.

Tricky prom dress colours

Citrus: As a general rule, the darker your skin, the better you will look in bright yellows, oranges and greens. Watch out for fake tans by the way – citrus colour dresses will really bring out any orange…

Cream and white: There are different shades of cream and white – don't think that if one white piece of clothing looks good on you, they all will. It’s really important to hold the fabric against your skin and see whether it makes your skin glow with health or makes you look sickly pale. And remember – just one spot on that dress will show! Do you want to risk it?

Aren't there rules for which colours suit different people?

Yes, there are all kinds of rules for everything, but when it comes to prom dresses, the fabric, colour saturation, shine or matt fabric effects, accessories etc all make a difference. That means any rule will have exceptions.

What finding the right colour for your prom dress really boils down to is this:

A colour that really suits you makes you look healthy and brings out all of your best features. If you compare it with a colour that really doesn’t suit you, you can see a real difference.

If you hold up a colour against you skin and it washes you out, or makes you look sallow and unhealthy, it simply isn't for you, no matter how lovely the dress design is.

When you're out shopping for your prom dress, ask to be able to try it on somewhere that has natural daylight – if it's a shop, ask if they have a mirror they can carry to near the shop window so you can see yourself in natural light, rather than just looking in the changing room.

Over to you!
Anyone else got advice about this? If so, share it in the comments below!