Deciding what to wear for a portrait is less about fashion and more about structure. In a painted portrait, clothing becomes part of the composition rather than a surface detail. Colour, fabric, and form are translated slowly through observation and layering, and what works well tends to be clothing that feels intentional rather than decorative.

The aim is not to dress for a particular moment, but to support the portrait as an image that will endure over time.

Starting With Structure

In most cases, portraits benefit from clothing that has a clear underlying structure. This does not need to be formal, but it should feel considered.

Garments with shape — such as shirts, blouses, knitwear, jackets, or tailored layers — provide clarity in the painting. Clean lines allow attention to remain on posture, expression, and presence, rather than competing details. Clothing that is overly loose, heavily embellished, or visually fragmented can draw attention away from the sitter rather than supporting them.

Structure provides a foundation on which the portrait can be built.

Material and Texture in Paint

Material behaves differently in paint than it does in photography. Fabrics with texture often translate with greater depth and richness when observed over time.

Wool, tweed, velvet, linen, silk, and other woven or tactile materials tend to hold paint well. Subtle patterns can work, provided they are restrained. Fine checks or natural motifs usually read more generously than bold graphics or high-contrast designs.

When considering what to wear for a portrait, it is often helpful to think about how a fabric might feel to look at repeatedly, rather than how it appears at a glance.

Colour and Longevity

Colour choices benefit from restraint. Neutral tones — blacks, whites, greys, soft browns, and muted blues — tend to age well and allow small accents to carry weight.

Where colour is introduced, it is often most effective in limited amounts. A scarf, tie, pocket square, or subtle detail can introduce warmth or emphasis without overwhelming the composition. Strong complementary colour relationships can be striking, but they also tend to assert themselves more strongly and can date more quickly.

In portraiture, subtlety often proves more durable than boldness.

Personality in the Details

Personality rarely needs to be announced. It often emerges most naturally through small, familiar choices rather than through overt statements.

Accessories, jewellery, or items worn regularly can help a portrait feel specific without becoming illustrative. Whether understated or expressive, these details work best when they feel comfortably worn rather than newly adopted for the sitting.

When deciding what to wear for a portrait, familiarity often reads more convincingly than novelty.

Multiple Sitters and Coordination

When more than one sitter is involved, coordination helps the portrait read as a unified image. This does not mean matching, but balancing tones and materials so that no single element dominates.

A useful approach is to allow most clothing to sit within a shared neutral range, with small amounts of colour echoed across the group. This creates cohesion without uniformity. Strong contrasts can be effective, but they require careful handling to avoid visual competition.

Deciding in Context

Uncertainty is common, and it is never a problem. Bringing a small selection of clothing options allows decisions to be made in the studio light, where relationships between colour, material, and posture can be seen clearly.

What matters most is not arriving with the “right” choice already made, but allowing the choice to emerge in context. Clothing decisions, like the portrait itself, benefit from being approached gradually rather than fixed too early.