The one thing that often takes the online shoppers by surprise is the color difference they find between the graphical colors of the dress portrayed in the online shopping store and the actual color of the fabrics. Well, this is a disaster because a lot of expectations are at stake.

Why there is such a big difference in actual fabric colors and its graphical colors?

There is not one reason to blame, there are plenty. Let’s start with the light in which image is taken. Some vendors like to take pictures in natural light while some want to take pictures inside with sufficient lighting effects.

And then when you get the actual product, how you perceive it will depend on the light you are seeing it in.

It is recommended for retailers to take pictures in natural light as it helps the customers in getting the actual representation of the image.

Another reason that causes such a big difference is photoshop effects to make the dresses look simply amazing. It involved adding filters, changing colors according to the different colors available also affect the actual look of the outfit.

In actual, this is not the fault of online retailers because the colors look different on different devices.

Other Major Factors That Affects the Digital Colors

The Screen

Yes, the screen is one major factor. If you don’t believe me, try viewing the same picture on different devices like different laptops, different, mobile phones, or different tabs. You will understand that your screen colors can actually affect the graphical representation of any image. Please remember that the images of the outfits tend to look slightly different in real life. So, build your expectations around this fact.

Further Editing

Once the picture is taken, it goes for further editing to make it look flawless. This involves removing the backgrounds, adding effects, changing colors etc which affects the natural look of the outfit.

Things to remember about the color difference while shopping online

You might have noticed that many websites display a warning or a note that says “The color in the picture might vary slightly from the actual color.” Therefore, set the realistic expectations for that.

But remember, you might not always get worse than your expectations. Sometimes the actual color is way better than the graphical color of the fabric.

Whenever you want to wear ethic gowns, lehengas, sarees, and other dresses online, just remember that you can experience some differences in the colors that you are seeing online and the colors you are going to get.

However, it is always advisable to use the good resolution phone or device to view the fabric images because good-resolution devices give the good representation of actual color up to a great extent.

The Same Color Might Look Different on Different Fabrics

Another factor that might confuse you about the fabric color is the fabric itself. The same color tends to look different in different fabrics. For example, when we dye different fabrics with the same color, the color will give the matte look on georgette and cotton, glossy on satin, and on velvet, it will give a shiny and glittery appearance.

Furthermore, it’s not only the type of fabric that matters, it’s also the composition of fabric, weaving pattern, and texture of the fabric that matters too. Some textures and composition give a gradient look with the light and dark shades of the color and some fabrics-textures gets the absolute color.  The fabrics with low density textures exhibit the light and bright color whereas the same color might look dark on the high-density textures.