As a self-identifying fashionably challenged adult, I am constantly looking for ways to make my wardrobe seem more intentional. Part of that means figuring out what my choices, specifically my color preferences, tell the world around me.
Thanks to color psychology and The Color Institute founder Michelle Lewis, I know that colors can have a dramatic effect on how people perceive you, even if they aren’t aware of it. Different wavelengths and colors can trigger emotional and physical responses—including changing your heart rate and cortisol levels. This can help explain why, for example, a person loves blue or red—because it evokes a certain mood or feeling. In fact, it turns out that your favorite color could actually reveal something about yourself through color psychology, like, say, how trustworthy you are.
There are, in fact, seven main favorite colors loved by trustworthy people, but knowing what these colors are and what they communicate to others is only half the battle.
“Color psychology can tell you a lot,” Lewis tells Parade. “But consistent, repeated choices always tell you more.”
It’s one thing to recognize trustworthy colors, but as she explains, sometimes a person’s color preferences and habits tell you more than the colors themselves.
Related: Color Psychologist Says These 5 Colors Are Worn Most by ‘High-Level Thinkers’
What Does Color Psychology Say About Authenticity and Trustworthy People
“The most trustworthy people tend to wear colors that are consistent with who they actually are rather than colors chosen to perform a version of themselves,” says Lewis.
It’s true that color psychology can tell us what colors signal trustworthiness, but it’s also less about the color and more about consistency.
“That consistency is something we pick up on unconsciously—and it’s one reason why someone can look ‘off’ in a color even when you can’t articulate why,” she continues
A color preference can’t exactly tell you if a person is trustworthy on its own, but it can reflect a person’s authenticity.
“Someone who dresses intentionally, in colors that genuinely suit them and communicate something real about who they are, is often expressing the same quality of self-awareness that underlies authentic behavior,” she explains. “It shows in ways people feel before they can name.”
Related: Color Psychologist Says These 5 Favorite Colors Are Loved by Especially Intuitive People
Is There a Link Between Trustworthiness and Color Preference?
As noted above, there isn’t necessarily a strong link between trustworthiness and a specific color preference. That said, Lewis notes, there is evidence that certain colors can “make people perceive you as more trustworthy.” For example, she says, a 2021 study published in the International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology found that “cool colors—including blue—consistently rated higher for trust than warm colors across participants.”
There has also been evidence to suggest that trustworthy people prefer a certain color palette.
“Color preference can significantly predict certain personality dimensions, including Agreeableness, which is the Big Five trait most closely associated with trustworthy, cooperative behavior,” Lewis explains, citing a 2022 study. “People who score high on Agreeableness—warm, considerate, genuine in their dealings with others—tend to gravitate towards softer, more harmonious color palettes rather than highly dominant or aggressive ones.”
Specific colors aside, she says that trustworthiness is reflected in “how color is worn,” not necessarily their specific shade or tone.
“A person who wears colors that genuinely suit them and feel authentic to who they are is communicating something real,” she states. “That ease is part of what we read as trustworthy.”
Related: Color Psychologist Says These 5 Favorite Colors Are Loved by ‘Especially Creative’ People
7 Colors Most Associated With Trustworthy People
1. Blue
“Blue is the most specifically and consistently documented trust color,” Lewis says, citing a 2023 study. It concluded that blue clothing had the highest trust rate of colors tested. Other studies have also found cool colors and blue to have higher trust ratings.
“Blue’s biological associations—clear sky, calm water, environments that historically signaled safety rather than threat—are embedded deeply in human perception,” she shares. “When you wear blue, you’re triggering something in the people around you that communicates: this person is stable, reliable, and not a threat.”
2. Navy
“Navy takes blue’s documented trust signal and deepens it—literally and psychologically,” says Lewis, adding that while blue can signify trustworthiness, navy adds authority into the mix. “Navy doesn’t just signal that you’re trustworthy. It signals that you’re trustworthy and that you’ve earned it.”
According to the color analyst, this is reflected in how society has adopted the use of navy in professional uniforms.
“Darker tones in the blue spectrum subconsciously signal authority and gravitas—which is why navy has been the default professional trust color across financial institutions, law enforcement, military and diplomatic settings for centuries,” she says.
3. Indigo
“Indigo sits between blue and violet on the visible spectrum—and psychologically it carries qualities of both while adding something distinctive of its own,” Lewis explains. “Indigo’s spectral position means it carries those same calming, wavelength properties of blue while adding a quality of depth and introspection that pure blue doesn’t have.”
Citing a 2024 BMC Neuroscience study, she says that indigo is associated with calm, and thus can signify confidence and self-knowledge, which “is one of the most reliable trust signals available.”
4. Violet
Trustworthiness can also be measured in how open a person is to others, which is where violet comes in.
“In color psychology, people drawn to violet and lavender are consistently described as the most open and internally oriented personalities—people who are genuinely interested in what others have to say rather than managing how they appear,” Lewis states. “That receptivity is one of the most powerful trust-builders available.”
5. Soft lavender
Slightly separate from violet, soft lavender has a similar, but more inviting effect.
“Lavender specifically—softened and grayed—carries violet’s openness without its intensity,” explains Lewis, “Making it approachable and warm rather than mysterious.”
6. Green
Lewis cites deep and muted green as colors that “project stability, groundedness, and warmth in a way that makes people feel psychologically safe to open up.” Green can cause an immediate calming response, which she explains, “is one of the fastest routes to building trust.” Making others feel calm is reassuring and, thus, increases trustworthiness.
7. Teal
“Teal is particularly compelling for trust because it combines the two most research-backed calming wavelengths—blue and green—in a single color with no red in its composition whatsoever,” Lewis explains.
It also happens to be a color that she calls “universally flattering,” which can also increase trustworthiness.
“Someone who looks genuinely good in what they’re wearing reads as authenticity without trying,” she notes.
Are There Colors Linked to Deceitfulness?
Yes and no.
“From a scientific standpoint, there’s no peer-reviewed research that responsibly links specific color preferences to deceptive or dishonest personality traits,” Lewis states.
That said, there are colors that are linked to deceitfulness through culture, including visual media (film and TV) and other societal norms. In American cinema, for example, Lewis notes that yellow and green have historically been used to relate contradictions and unsettling tones.
Furthermore, when thinking about color psychology, it’s important to think about the cultural context, as different colors are used in various ways across continents, religions, and ethnicities. This means that your color preference can accidentally express distrustfulness without even knowing it.
“Someone wearing a color without awareness of its cultural register in a given context can create unintended trust or distrust signals—not because they’re dishonest, but because the color is landing differently than intended,” the color analyst explains.
Related: These 3 Favorite Colors Are Often Linked to Emotional Intelligence, According to a Color Analyst
How To Use Color Psychology in Everyday Life To Build Trust
Building trust with those around you is no small task, but there are a few ways you can use color psychology to make it a little bit easier.
“The most powerful thing you can do is dress with genuine consistency,” Lewis advises. “Wear colors that actually feel like you, that you reach for repeatedly, that you’re comfortable in. The ease of someone who is genuinely themselves in their clothing is one of the most trust-generating signals available.”
If you’re hoping to build trust during a specific interaction, then she suggests using different colors depending on the situation.
“For a job interview, navy or deep blue is your most defensible choice,” she says, noting that the color “projects competence, reliability and calm authority.”
But for a difficult conversation with a friend or family member, she suggests trying green or teal. “You want to signal openness and emotional safety rather than authority,” she says. “These colors say: I’m here to connect, not to defend myself.”
Finally, you can also use color psychology to discern how trustworthy someone is.
“Watch less for specific colors and more for the ease with which someone wears what they have on,” Lewis says, adding, “Genuine comfort in one’s clothing—the sense that someone is dressed like themselves rather than dressed for effect—is one of the most reliable non-verbal trust signals we have.”
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Sources:
Michelle Lewis is a color psychology expert, founder of The Color Institute and ColorAnalysis.com, as well as the creator of the Universal Color Psychology Standard and Color Language. She is the author of Color Secrets, a TEDx speaker and a consultant whose work has been featured in Fast Company, Inc., HuffPost, the Daily Mail and the New York Post. You can follow her @colorpsychologist. “Influence of Clothing Color Value on Trust Perception.” (2021) International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology. “Exploring the relationships between personality and color preferences.” (2022) Frontiers in Psychology. “Association Between Patient Perception of Surgeons and Color of Scrub Attire.” (2023) JAMA Surgery. “The effects of multi-colour light filtering glasses on human brain wave activity.” (2024) BMC Neuroscience.Hence then, the article about color psychologist says these 7 colors make you appear more trustworthy was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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