The Rise and Fall of Fall Color Trends

The top color trends of fall 2015.

You’d think fall color trends were as constant as the pumpkin-spice latte. But the truth is, they change pretty dramatically from year to year. We asked Polyvore to share its hottest fall color searches for the last few years, and the results say a lot about the way trends rise and fall — and give us a hint about what the color for fall 2016 might be.

This fall, the hottest color is camel, hands down. This tawny neutral was once considered hopelessly dated, but with the revival of all things ‘80s — not to mention camel’s appearance on designer runways from Michael Kors to Dries Van Noten — suddenly swaddling yourself in an oversized camel coat feels cool again. 2015: The year the whole world became Céline wannabes.

Also big for fall 2015 is oxblood — a deep, moody maroon spotted at Givenchy and Altuzarra — and gold, a staple on runways of luxe designers like Ralph Lauren and Roberto Cavalli. Interestingly, those three colors started making waves on the runways a year ago — so that’s about how long it takes a runway trend to trickle down to the masses. Guess no one wants to be the first one to try wearing a spangly gold dress to the office holiday party.

The top color trends of fall 2014.

In 2014, Polyvore’s most searched-for colors were the decidedly less moody hues of nude, red, and yellow. Nude was, of course, a major runway theme from Chloé to Gucci, but let’s give credit where credit is due: It was 100% Kim Kardashian who made head-to-toe nude palatable to the masses. There was even one, glorious moment when she dyed her hair to match, and the universe was happy.

Also in 2014, camel was the number 9 most-searched color — a year later, it’d shoot to the top of the list. What a difference a year makes.

The top color trends of fall 2013.

In fall 2013, Polyvore searches spiked for straightforward colors like red, green, and black. Ah, those innocent times, when Crayola colors still dominated our fall wardrobes.

In 2013, shoppers also searched for “cognac” and “burgundy,” — basically the colors that would soon be re-branded as “oxblood.” At the bottom of that year’s list was “neon” — remember when you simply were not cool unless you wore clashing neons, guys?

If we had to predict next year’s big color trend? We’d say burnt orange looks like a contender for fall 2016. It just scraped the bottom of this year’s top searches, but it was all over the Coach and Opening Ceremony runways, it dovetails perfectly with the drab ‘70s tones people are loving — and it goes well with a pumpkin spice latte, naturally.

See the full lists below:

Top Polyvore color searches for Fall 2015:
1. Camel
2. Oxblood
3. Gold
4. Yellow
5. Pastel blue
6. Olive
7. Royal Blue
8. Blush
9. Black
10. Burnt Orange

Top Polyvore color searches for Fall 2014:
1. Nude
2. Red
3. Yellow
4. Black
5. Gold
6. White
7. Mint
8. Peach
9. Camel

Top Polyvore color searches for Fall 2013:

1. Red
2. Green
3. Black
4. Brown
5. White
6. Orange
7. Burgundy
8. Cognac
9. Rose Gold
10. Neon