THE 3 COLOUR PRINCIPLES
MAKING WEARING COLOUR SIMPLE.
Colour. Did that word scare you or get you excited? Did that word make you feel comfortable or did it send a shiver down your spine?
I’ve been dressing women for almost 2 decades and find there really are 2 parties, those who are for and those who are against wearing colour. But here’s the thing, I find that most don't want to wear colour out of fear. The not knowing how to wear it or what to wear it with makes it overwhelming. It’s not that they don’t want to wear colour, they just don’t know how.
Out of this fear and the not knowing, a million pound industry was born, the colour analysis. How many of you have been tempted to find out if you are a warm winter or a cool summer? How many of you bit the bullet and had it done? Did it change your life and make shopping that much easier? I'm going with probably not and that because it's all total B S…. Of course this is my own personal opinion and you may feel differently. The reason I feel this way is because you already know the answers, you just don't have the words to label it. You know when you put on a green top if that shade of colour works for you by just looking in the mirror. I am also a big believer that makeup and hair colour, which never stay the same, changes everything and I fear that once you have put yourself into the cool winter box you limit yourself and that's not what fashion is about.
What I do believe is that colour always works best with colour. I also believe this is what gets most ladies knickers in a twist so they just throw on jeans and white tee and call it a day. So what's my solution? The colour wheel!!!!
Before we get to the fun part, let’s get the educational bit out the way. Let's break down the wheel. It's essentially made up of red, blue and yellow. In between those colours we get the colours those prime colours create when mixed together which are green, purple and orange. Of course we can mix those colours further to get your teals, your maroons and your pinks. A cool colour is considered any colour with a blue undertone and a warm colour is any colour with a red undertone. Your head ready to explode yet? Right let's move away from this technical stuff and head to the part that you actually need to know.
3 PRINCIPLES OF WEARING COLOUR
MONOCHROME - KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY
This means you stay within the same colour palette. You can play around with different shades and textures or throw in some patterns and print. You have total freedom as long as you keep it in the family. Of course you can add a different colour in your accessories and shoes to break it up a little but the key to this look is keeping it as monochrome as possible.
ANALOGOUS - MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
POV: you've pulled out a coloured item from your wardrobe but have no clue what to wear it with. I've got you. Simply grab the colour wheel and find your colour. Now head to its neighbouring colours on either side. Yip, it's that easy. These colours will always work together because they share a prime colour, for example, red and pink are both still red. Blue and purple share blue, get it? It really is as easy as pairing black and white together!
COMPLEMENTARY - OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Opposites really attract. The saying holds true for fashion too. As you can imagine these colours have nothing in common and therefore create a striking look. Enough said.
Colour doesn’t have to be scary. It really is a lot of fun once you get into it. Summer is the perfect season to dabble and play around with different colour combinations. Go on get yourself a colour wheel saved on your phone and give it a try, you will be surprised by all the compliments coming your way but I wont!
Happy Sunday
C xx