Christian Boehm, president of Chicago-based Balani Custom Clothiers, has his stylists follow these tips to find the best fabric shades for customers.

Test Your Tones

The key is to consider your undertone as well as your surface skin color — the way women do when picking makeup. “Look at the veins in the armpit area or in your wrists,” says Boehm. “If they tend to be on the bluer side, you’re a cool undertone. If they’re greener, you’re a warm.”

Learn the Heat Index

Warm colors flatter people with warm undertones; likewise with cool. Wear the wrong color and you can look “sickly and tired.” (If everything looks good on you, congrats: You’re a neutral.) So how does that translate for the trendiest tints this spring and summer? “Eclipse blue and berry are optimal on cool tones, while toffee, moss, and turmeric are better for warm tones.”

Gray is the New Black

“Black is not a neutral. It looks better on a cool person. If there’s a color that looks good on everybody, it’s medium gray.”