The little black dress, pretty in pink, the white picket fence; few things define style like color (or the lack thereof). On clothes, at home and away, color can be the difference between standing out or blending in. Going hue by hue, we take a look at the iconic products that illustrate the color of style.

Black

The Little Black Dress

In womenswear, there’s perhaps no other item that endures like the little black dress. At its best, it’s both classic and modern, and one of the few pieces of clothing that’s never out of fashion.

White

White Linen

If summer had an official fabric, it would probably be linen. While style is about setting your own standards, white as the neutral for warmer weather is one to leave in the rulebook, even if you throw the rest of the rules out. Put the two together on clothing, around the house or just on accessories for impeccably clean, crisp summer style.

Red

The Red Wedding Dress

Depending on where you live red can be the color of sin or purity, and almost universally, passion as well. In China and India, it’s the traditional color of wedding dresses, and (in our opinion) one of the most glamorous variations on bridal style.

Blue

Blue Jeans

It’s been bleached, battered and dyed, but when it comes to denim there’s only one hue that outlasts them all. We’re preferential towards the deep, indigo end of the spectrum, but in all its variations blue jeans have been the definitive color of casual style more than any other shade.

Yellow

Gold

The price of the precious metal has reached record highs as cautious investors seek security, and after a period of surging popularity for platinum, it looks like we’re returning to a bit of a gold standard. Not just any type of gold, mind you. Whether you’re going for jewelry or bars, gleaming yellow gold that clearly indicates exactly what it is looks like it’s poised for a return as the color of luxury.

Green

Emeralds

There are many beautiful green stones, but there’s only one that has its own jewelry cut. Diamonds are forever, and sapphires are having a moment thanks to a certain royal couple, but emeralds have been turning up on Hollywood royalty and reminding everyone why green is the color of envy.

The American Heart Association has been pretty successful in raising awareness for women’s heart health with their red dress campaign. The black dress is a fashion staple for most women, so hopefully we’ll see the effort at tying it to cancer awareness and research extend even further down the fashion chain. The 22 dresses up for auction are beyond beautiful, and with any luck, a high street (mass retail, if you’re not used to the British term) chain will take a cue from the high end and find a way to incorporate this into a future designer collaboration.

Participating designers and labels include Donna Karan, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Lanvin, Jean Paul Gaultier, Givenchy, Vivienne Westwood, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Alexis Mabille, Missoni, Marios Schwab and Diane von Furstenberg among others. The full list is available at Swarovski elements, view a gallery of our 10 favorite dresses below.

Diane von Furstenberg Barita Dress {Shopbop}
$325

Lucky Brand Aimee Flat {Shoebox New York}
$69

Martin + Osa Woven Mesh Bracelet {Martin + Osa}
$39.50

Siman Tu Coral Half Moon Earrings {Vivre}
$285

Proenza Schouler PS1 Large Shoulder Bag {Kirna Zabete}
Smoke Leather
$1995

What would you wear this week’s little black dress with? Let us know in the comments.