Does your wardrobe have a particular colour scheme? When you go shopping do you look for clothes in certain colours to work with what you already own? In a book I’m reading (which I talked about a little here), it talks about selecting a basic background colour for your wardrobe which all other purchases can be worn with. The idea is that basics such as coats and suits should be purchased in the chosen colour to form the back bone for your wardrobe.
The book was published in 1968, hence the talk of suits being everyday wear for college girls and let’s be honest, unless you work in a corporate environment, suits are probably not something the average woman wears excessively. (I don’t think I even owned a suit when I was in college!) It suggests colours such as navy, dark brown, black or grey are all good options for a base colour for your wardrobe and you might chose one of those colours for autumn/winter, and a different one for spring/summer.
Do you have this sort of approach to fashion? My sartorial purchases are rarely planned with this level of thought. I suppose if you do work in a corporate environment have only a couple of basic suit colours, for example black for winter and grey for summer and then you could make sure any top/blouse/shoe/bag purchases are versatile enough for either suit colour.
I do avoid certain colours that don’t suit me because I’m very pale and some colours tend to make me look ill. But other than that I don’t really stick to a specific colour palette when purchasing new clothes. Maybe I should, though. Hmmm…. What do you think? If I could be more intentional about the colours I choose, in theory I would be able to make my wardrobe work harder because I would only buy colours that go with items already in my wardrobe. I do have a few pieces of clothing that have limited mixing and matching ability because of the colour, which can be somewhat frustrating.
The colours that are fashionable change with every passing season and I don’t wish to be playing catch up, forever buying certain colours and throwing others out just to keep up. So instead I’m going to have a bit more of a think about which types of colours suit me and try to stick to them (for the most part, at least). I’ll be thinking of general colour palettes, rather than specific shades. I don’t want to limit myself to only a handful of particular hues.
I’ve noticed a lot of bright colours and colour blocking are very much on trend this summer. Bright colours are gorgeous, but they usually leave my complexion looking washed out and dull so I’ll be giving them a miss. Softer colours seem to suit me better. That’s not to say I’m limited to pastels, mid range colours are okay, just not the colours that are so bright one requires sunglasses to view them without causing retina damage.
I also want to be considering not just which colours suit me, but which colours make me happy. You know how some colours make you smile just by looking at them? Colour can have a strong influence on mood so I want to be surrounding myself with colours that I love and that have a positive effect on me. What if there are some colours that you love, but they don’t suit you? Well, you can always wear them anyway. It’s just fashion and the “rules” can always be broken. However, if you love the colour but don’t usually wear it because it makes you look ill, you could always have an accessory in that colour, for example a clutch or a pair of shoes. Such an accessory will have less of a negative effect on your complexion because it’s fairly small (as opposed to a dress or coat) and it’s further away from your face. Just make sure that if you do buy a crazy coloured accessory that you do have something in your closet to team it with.
What do you think? What is your approach to colour in your wardrobe?
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I don’t think my wardrobe has a particular color scheme, so-to-speak, but my closet is definitely not neutral. I love color blocking (especially corals on cognacs with a touch of teal, ha), it’s one of my favorite trends this season!
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-Hallie
http://www.coralsandcognacs.com
Same. I don’t have a particular color scheme although I am usually on neutrals. I do however love to pop a burst of color by adding a bright bag or a bright colored shoes. Lovely post! <3
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Renee
http://www.sugarstoned.com
I gravitate towards certain colors, mostly because they look the best on me, but I think the idea of sticking to certain color palettes is an interesting one. Most of us probably do this naturally. How many women have a closet filled with black clothes? I would say 80% of my wardrobe is ether black or white. On the other hand I do want to push myself to try new things. An all-black wardrobe might be chic, but it’s awfully dull too.
I also find that a great place to really play with color is in accessories, especially scarves and purses.
Great article!
Heather
http://thestyleconfessions.com/