The anime adapts the manga which is black and white so the anime staff didn't know what color Vegeta was supposed to be. They just went with a random color scheme until Toriyama (writer of the manga) clarified what color he was intended to be. Toei Animation's recent Vegeta anniversary post reminds old school Dragon Ball Z fans that the iconic Saiyan prince once had a much different look.
In Vegeta's first appearance in the anime, the legendary prince appears with the red hair and green and orange armor, a decidedly different aspect than what it looks like when it arrives on earth. Why Was Vegeta's Hair Red? When Dragon ball Z first aired, Vegeta and Nappa looked very different than how they do now. They had different colors for their armors and even Vegeta's hair.
Vegeta and Nappa. Credits: Toei Animation The Saiyan Prince has been showcased in white and blue armor for ages, but it was different back then as the character would wear armor of a different color scheme. This is corroborated by the Wikia trivia for the episode, which states: This episode marks the debut appearance of Vegeta and Nappa in the anime.
They are shown in colors quite different from their later ones, especially Vegeta. This is because Toei guessed their colors, as the corresponding Manga volume was not in color. Yes, if you watched the original Z (and not Kai), Vegeta always had this color scheme.
This was the color palette that Vegeta (and Nappa, as his armor isn't quite the same color as it was depicted with when they reached Earth) were originally depicted when first shown, as those first episodes were animated prior to the first full. During his early cameo, debut, and filler appearances in the Dragon Ball Z anime, Vegeta originally appeared with a totally different color scheme from his usual one, where he was shown with red hair and was wearing an outfit that composed of a battle armor that was khaki green with burnt orange guard pieces (the shoulder and skirt guards. With characters that he has already drawn in colour, he generally doesn't go back and check, so sometimes he ends up using different colours.
This inconsistency in colours can be seen in the character Vegeta's hair in the anime adaptation of Dragon Ball Z. In the beginning, Vegeta's hair is coloured brown, reddish-brown, or red. In the manga, Vegeta often appears with a mix of colors.
His hair is black, and his battle suits can vary in shades of blue and sometimes have accents of gold or silver depending on the scene and his power.