So I’ve been struggling with tan colors lately – you know, that annoying thing when you buy something online and it looks totally different in real life? Yeah, that. Figured I’d finally sort this out myself instead of eyeballing it.
The Lightbulb Moment
Last Thursday I dumped my entire “neutral tones” drawer onto the bed. Found like fifteen things calling themselves “tan” – pants, shirts, even an old handbag. Laid ’em all out and holy smokes, they looked like a rainbow of beige. Some looked yellowy under my bedroom light, others grayish near the window. Total mess.
Gathering My Army
Grabbed:
- All those mismatched clothes
- My phone camera
- A piece of plain white paper (for color balance)
- Coffee (obviously)
Propped everything up against my plainest wall around noon when the sunlight blasted through. The shadows kept messing with me though – had to shift stuff around like three times.
The Sorting Shitshow
Started dividing into piles:
- Sand vibes: Those yellow-leaning ones like my dad’s fishing hat
- Coffee crew: More brown, like spilled latte stains
- Greige zombies: Weird grayish orphans that matched nothing
My cat jumped on the “sand” pile mid-sort. Had to restart after rescuing my favorite scarf from his murder mittens.
Reality Check Phase
Took photos of each group with the white paper behind them. Zoomed in like a detective – the camera showed undertones my eyes totally missed earlier. That “warm tan” sweater? Actually had hints of freaking orange. No wonder it clashed with my skin.
The Aftermath
Now my drawer has little sticky notes: yellow-tan, brown-tan, gray-tan. Feels kinda ridiculous but when I ordered new curtains last weekend? Picked the “brown-tan” swatch and they actually matched my couch. Still hate shopping for neutrals though.
