Jacqueline Ames
Sprucing up your wardrobe with a bold color, like teal, can breathe new life into your everyday attire and snap you out of a black and beige rut (not that there’s anything wrong with black or beige outfits, done right!).
Now that you’ve taken the plunge into the deep, blue-green you’re wondering what color nail polish goes with a teal dress!
You’ve definitely come to the right place because we are going to give you the lowdown on all of our favorite nail colors that will go with a teal dress. We’ll also go over the difference between teal and turquoise and give you a few pointers on how to match your nails to any dress.
If you’re looking for the short answer, you can:
- Match the nails to the dress
- Choose the complementary color (which is vermillion for teal)
- Opt for a cool neutral, like taupe, grey, or cool beige
- Nude is always a solid choice
We also have a few more colors that you may not have thought would work with teal, so keep reading!
Contents
What’s The Difference Between Teal And Turquoise?
Teal and turquoise are two colors that are very closely related, but they are not the same. There is often confusion between these two colors, and it doesn’t help that people often use the terms ‘teal’ & ‘turquoise’ interchangeably.
But there is indeed a difference.
Why is this important?
If you are looking for what nail polish goes with a teal dress, and your dress is actually turquoise, then a lot of the colors we’re going to go through below won’t really apply because teal and turquoise are different colors.
teal is a tertiary color (which means it’s a color that’s mixed using a primary color and secondary color – blue and green), whereas turquoise is a mix of blue, green, and yellow.
And although there may be a few colors that go with both, the best nail colors for a turquoise dress will be different from those that best match a teal dress.
Teal
The color teal actually gets its name from a duck! Or rather the swath of iridescent blue/green feathers on either side of the teal duck’s head.
Teal is basically the darker, more sedate cousin of turquoise. Both these colors are a combination of blue and green, but turquoise is much lighter than teal and also has a bit of yellow mixed in with the blue and green.
Teal is associated with rest, rejuvenation and peace of mind. With its darker tone, teal is a much calmer shade than turquoise. Teal is more understated and elegant and can be worn all year round.
Turquoise
Turquoise is an uplifting, lively color that embodies a sense of growth and renewal. It’s most associated with the color of the Caribbean ocean and it’s considered primarily a summer color.
What Color Nail Polish Goes with a Teal Dress?
Unlike like grey, beige, or black which goes with pretty much everything, teal is not a neutral color. This means you need to mind the nail colors you wear with it to make sure they don’t clash.
For any dress that’s not a neutral, teal included, you have three basic ways to go with nail polish colors that will always work:
- Match the dress
- Choose a complimentary color
- Go neutral
These three options will work with any color dress, but different colors will have additional colors that also work.
Teal is no exception, so we are also going to look at a few additional nail colors that don’t fall into the three categories above that will also look great with a teal dress.
Option 1 – Match The Dress
Matching the dress is an option that works most of the time for muted tones, pastels, and dark colors. The only time matching your nails to your dress can backfire is if you have a very bright-colored dress.
Having equally bright nails might have your nails and dress competing for attention. Luckily, this is not a problem with teal, which makes it a fantastic nail color option.
Though true teal has technically more green in it than blue, any deep blueish-green tends to be referred to as teal. So ‘teal’ fabric colors can vary a little from dress to dress in the shade and tone.
You can go a few shades lighter or darker on your nails as long as you match the same tone as your dress.
You can go a few shades lighter or darker on your nails as long as you match the same tone as your dress.
These are a few of our favorite greenish-blue and blueish-green ‘teal’ nail polish colors:
Although nail colors like teal, yellow, and black are now mainstream nail polish colors, it wasn’t so long ago that any colors other than pinks, reds, and nude nail polish were really only worn as a sign of rebellious teenage angst.
If you aren’t ready to cross over into the non-traditional nail colors yet, or you are having trouble finding a color that matches your dress, don’t worry!
We have a lot of other nail color options that will work with a teal dress.
Option 2 – Choose A Complementary Color
This is where you get to have a little fun! We’re here to help to show how to use a little color theory to choose its natural complementary color for your teal dress.
There are 12 main colors on the color wheel.
- Primary colors: Red, Blue, Yellow
- Secondary colors: Green, Orange, Purple
- Tertiary Colors: Amber, Vermillion, Magenta, Violet, Teal, Chartreuse.
Complementary colors sit directly across from each other on the color wheel. Complimentary colors have a high contrast to one another. So if you go this route, just know your dress and nail color pairing is going to be noticed!
Teal’s complementary color is vermillion, which is a fiery, orange-red. So if you are looking for a statement nail color that will definitely make your nails stand out, vermillion is your color!
Here are some of our favorite vermillion polishes:
Option 3 – Go Neutral
Teal is a cool color, so cool neutrals like cool beige, grey, taupe, and of course nude polishes will look stellar with a teal dress.
Cool neutrals go together with teal like the beach and the ocean.
Any teal and cool neutral combo will never steer you wrong.
Option 4 – Other Nail Colors That Work With Teal
Dusty Pink Salmon
Infuse a little boho chic into your outfit with a dusty pink salmon nail polish, like ILNP nail polish in Radiant Neon Peach
Gold and Silver
Have a glitzy occasion to attend that makes you want to bring on the bling? Both gold and silver will work with teal. If you are wondering whether to go with gold or silver, match your nails to your jewelry (and also consider your skin undertone).
And if you’re having trouble deciding whether you should go with teal or a metallic, why not do both?
Dark Colors
You’ll notice all of the other colors we’ve added to our list of nail colors that match with a teal dress, except for teal, are on the lighter side.
It’s not that there aren’t any dark colors that match with teal! But dark on dark has a tendency to get a bit heavy and depressing sometimes. However, if you’re feeling moody and want to try out a darker color, plum, raspberry red, and chocolate brown will also work with teal.
Conclusion
We love teal, it’s such a beautiful color. Now you have a good sense as to how to pair your nail colors with your teal dress.
Teal, vermillion, cool neutrals, like grey, cool beige, taupe and nude, as well as dusty pink salmon, silver, and gold will all look fantastic with a teal dress.
If you want to go for a darker color, try plum, raspberry red, and chocolate brown.
