It's all in the lighting!
By jillhill
@jillhill (37353)
United States
November 9, 2009 10:41am CST
Have you ever went shopping and bought an outfit just to come home and find that they don't really match? I have done that twice....once with an orange shorts outfit. In the store it looked so good together...when I got it home the top looked much redder then the shorts....and recently I bought some sweatpants...dark turquoise....well I got a sweatshirt I thought that would match..and when I put it on at home it looked good....but when I ran to the store the pants looked greener and the sweatshirt looked bluer....Like I didn't know how to match colors...so has this ever happened to you? In different lighting the colors look completely different?
6 people like this
15 responses
@cher913 (25781)
• Canada
9 Nov 09
i have seen people take an article of clothing outside the store to see what the colour was.(of course, this is frowned upon in most stores!) the fluorecscent lighting does change the colour of the items in the store. they are much different than the natural light of outdoors.
1 person likes this
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
10 Nov 09
I agree. The lighting is supposed to make it look more enticing; the colors, that is. If anything, try to bring to a fitting room light. Sometimes, they use the white light and the colors can be seen in its natural form.
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
9 Nov 09
Yep, I have had this happen. Most often we don't have the same kind of lighting as the stores. They use flourescent lights which makes colors look much brighter. The lighting at home is not as sharp and makes the colors look totally different, in my case. It's so frustrating but think the lighting at home is really true to life which is what I base my bad choice on when I come home with the totally wrong color(s). Have fun returning your clothes. Will give you something to do this afternoon..lol
@Maggiepie (7816)
• United States
9 Nov 09
[b]I don't doubt this is so. Why not ask the sales person if you can step over to a window & see what it looks like in normal light?
You know, this is also true in food stores. Next time you're checking out meat or produce, get them into normal light & look at them. You'll find--especially with meat--that the color is usually less vivid. There's some factor built into the type of bulbs lighting meats (always, & sometimes fruit & veggies) that makes it look "warmer" in color...redder. It's a common trick. Now that you've been informed, tell others. It's time consumers were on to their little frauds! 
Maggiepie
IMPEACH THE IMPOSTER[/b]
Maggiepie
IMPEACH THE IMPOSTER[/b]@Maggiepie (7816)
• United States
12 Nov 09
[b]Ah, de nada, mi amiga!
Maggiepie
C02?PLANT FOOD--NOT POISON! MORE CO2, PLEASE; GROW MORE FOOD--FEED THE HUNGRY! GW/CC COULD END FAMINE![/b]
Maggiepie
C02?PLANT FOOD--NOT POISON! MORE CO2, PLEASE; GROW MORE FOOD--FEED THE HUNGRY! GW/CC COULD END FAMINE![/b]
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
9 Nov 09
That is very aggravating, isn't it? things do look different under the store light. Another thing i have trouble w/is naavy blue & black. I have gotten places thinking i was matching & found out i wasn't.
. There are so many shades of one color anymore it's hard to get all matched up.
. There are so many shades of one color anymore it's hard to get all matched up.@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
11 Nov 09
LOL, My grandmother did the same thing when she went to work one day. We really teased her about it. She worked for my dad so it wasn't too bad for her. Have a good night. Jill.
@neelianoscet (9615)
• Philippines
10 Nov 09
yeah, i experience it and it is really annoying and very disappointed to buy an outfit which i really like then after i go home just like you did the colors is different. Thus, the reflection of light have effect on the way we see an item. They may look perfect but the truth some light is not too bright that the way it reflect on the clothing could gives the color different interpretation from the display.
@sweetgirl_k1 (3972)
• United States
10 Nov 09
I've never had that happen with clothes but I've had that happen with paint before. I bought some paint to paint my son's room with and it looked very different in the store than when I got it on the wall. I had to take it back and get a different one. Now, at our Lowe's Home Improvement store they have some things where you put the paint sample under the light and you can see how it looks different in different lighting. It's pretty neat how things change color in different lighting though.
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
10 Nov 09
My sister has a pair of pants that are actually an olive green when you look at them in the fluorescent lighting in her home, but the other day at her friends house they looked brown and totally did not match with her shirt.
Have you ever noticed when black fades sometimes it starts to look more purple and sometimes it starts to look more green? I hate that.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
9 Nov 09
No, that's never happened to me, and probably never will. I tend to stick with whites and blacks to go with other colors. If I get purple sweat pants I'd end up wearing a plain white top with them. If I get a colored shirt I'd wear either plain white or black pants, or most likely blue jeans. It's much easier this way, plus I can mix and match my outfits since there's no color coding!
@frankiecesca (2489)
•
10 Nov 09
Oh yes all the time - I think stores do this deliberately to make people feel more comfortable in clothes whilst trying them on in store so they buy and then when you get them home you either find they don't look quite as good or colours look different when on!
@VANILLAREY (1470)
• India
10 Nov 09
Clothes look good in the store. This is mainly due to excess lighting in the stores. This makes the clothes look good. I think I had purchased some dress from the streets. Since it was night the color of the cloth looked different. I realized that after reaching home. Since then I don't shop for clothes at night.
@peter790702 (107)
• China
10 Nov 09
The coloe of the lights inside the mall a little dark ,as well as purple light ,so colors margin of error ,must be in the sun to see the true color
@bryandairogarcia (265)
• Philippines
9 Nov 09
yeah I agree. Good lighting does make even ordinary or even bad looking things look good.
Take for instance an ordinary room or apartment, give it good lighting finishes and it'll turn hotel-like :)
@rg0205 (2636)
• Hong Kong
9 Nov 09
This not only happens to me with clothing, but with people, too! Well, of course people don't really change colors like that but what I mean is, some people look gorgeous in certain types of light but in bright sunlight, they don't. LOL. Rude awakening, sometimes. Same applies to clothing.
