Last update: March, 2023, 14th
Wearing your best colours to project a good first impression
You might find relevant and great tips and advice that will assist you in understanding colour in clothing. In the first article, we are introducing you to colour psychology, we are explaining how and why colours are influencing your personal image and we are helping you understand the colour vocabulary to initiate your homemade colour consultation. Once you better understand the impact of colours and manage to recognise yours, you are ready to learn to mix and match them.
The (too) easy colour combinations in clothes
There is a reason for everyone to wear so much black, it is challenging to wear colour. Most people don't know how to mix and match colours and simply don't even dare to try. Then, when people dare to wear colours, most of them just create easy combinations by pairing colours with black, white or grey. I wouldn’t say that this is a fashion mistake, it is only slightly boring. You will never get wrong when mixing a colour with black but you can do more than black and white, black and grey, black and red, black and everything.
We can split colours into two main categories: neutral colours and the others. The neutral colours are easier to wear as creating colour combinations is pretty easy and simple. Neutral colours are white, grey, black, brown, beige and blue.
NEUTRAL COLOURS
The other colours can be more challenging to wear, explaining why most people will associate those colours with black. The ‘other’ colours include yellow, orange, red, purple, pink and green.
THE OTHER COLOURS
Here is a list of some easy and beautiful colour combinations to create in your outfits:
- Pink and grey
- Navy and white
- Blue and pink
- Turquoise and warm sand
- Navy blue and mint
- Grey and lime
- Navy and pink
- Peach and blue
- Burgundy and blue
- Turquoise and chocolate
- Brown and beige
…
NAVY & PINK PINK & GREY BURGUNDY & BLUE
Paying attention to more than the colours
When selecting your colours, you will want to pay special attention to their temperature, brightness and saturation. To create a great harmony, you will need to get the right balance between dark and light colours and matte and bright ones. Find out more about temperature, brightness and saturation.
If you are only wearing matte colours, your outfit will look a bit washed out or boring. Adding a piece of bright colour will ‘wake up’ the final result and add dynamism to your style. If you are only wearing bright colours you might end up with a highly extravagant outfit that doesn’t fit in every situation and context.
TOO BRIGHT TOO MATTE
With the same principle, you don’t want to only wear dark colours or light ones. You want to balance light colours with darker ones and vice versa to add dynamism and energy to your outfit.
DON'T ONLY WEAR ONE COLOUR TONE
Colour harmony in clothes
Once you understand how to use the colour wheel, you can create the best colour combinations.
The monochrome harmony in clothes
The simplest and safest harmony to create is the monochrome harmony. A monochrome harmony is using the same colour from dark to light with a nuance between bright and matte tones.
Easy examples:
Classic blue jeans with a light and bright blue shirt and a navy jacket or cardigan.
Dark brown pants with a lighter matte top and a bright coat or jacket.
Monochrome Harmony
The analogue harmony in clothes
The analogue harmony is also very elegant, temperate, and easy to create. Using the colour wheel, you will choose 2 to 3 following colours to create this harmony. Be sure to create a balance between matte and bright colours as well as dark and light ones.
Easy examples:
Classic blue jeans with a bright turquoise blouse and purple shoes.
Dark brown pants with a light bright mustard shirt or t-shirt and a neutral jacket.
Blue jeans with a green t-shirt and brown shoes.
Analogue Harmony
The complementary harmony in clothes
The last harmony I will show you today is my favourite one, the complementary harmony. It might be a bit more challenging to create it but the impact is amazing. You will pick 2 opposite colours on the colour wheel and pair them. With this particular harmony, be sure to use both bright and matte colours as well as light and dark ones.
Some easy colours to pair together:
- Blue and orange
- Green and red
- Yellow & violet
- Some easy examples:
- Blue-green & red-orange
- Yellow-green and red-violet
- Blue-violet and yellow-orange
Complementary Harmony
Final advice to create your colour harmony in clothes
Create a good balance focusing on brightness and saturation
Once you understand how to use the colour wheel, you can create the best colour combinations. When mixing colours, always pay attention to details in your outfits. A line, a print, a pattern can bring a new colour to the final result. To ensure a great final result, be sure to use both light and dark tones as well as bright and matte ones. If you only pick bright tones, people might not trust you, you might look a bit too colourful, when if you only pick matte colours, the result might be a bit sad and boring.
Pay attention to the proportions
When mixing and matching colours, you don’t want to wear more than 3 different colours. When selecting those colours, you will pay special attention to the proportion in your final result. Wearing up to 3 colours doesn’t mean that you will have different colours for your major pieces of the outfit. You will not have a highly colourful jacket if your t-shirt or pants are already bright and colourful. Details and accessories are the best pieces to play with colours and create beautiful colour harmony in clothes.
Purple & Yellow