I stumbled upon Emma Klug’s blog,
The Style Note, while
researching for a post I was planning to write about color combinations for the
Village Shoes blog. She wrote about the same subject, and since I found it impossible
to explain it better, she was kind enough to allow me to share what she knows
about color with the VS fans.
Here’s what she had to say:
Inspired by the warmer season that are approaching us (slower than I
would like but whatever), I feel that now is an appropriate time to talk
about one of the most basic principles of fashion design and styling:
color. I’ll admit, I’m not a color person and my closet consists of
mostly black and gray. However, whether you’re like me or you’re the
type of person who has an abundance of color in their wardrobe,
understanding color theory and combinations can prove useful for a
variety of reasons.
A new color combination can add innovation to a seemingly dull
wardrobe and can completely transform a look from winter to spring,
spring to summer, and so on. Color theory is relevant to several aspects
of style besides clothing as well. For example, hair color, makeup
choices, interior design, and more are all types of style and design
that revolve around color choice.
The Basics:
While the color wheel may seem intimidating at first, I can assure
you, it really is easy to use and super helpful for piecing together
flattering and unlikely color combinations. Like any great skill, you
have to know the rules first in order to test them and break them if you
so choose to. The color wheel holds a lot of information and quite
frankly, more than I’m willing to discuss within the limits of this blog
post. However, these basic elements of color theory are more than
enough to get you by and help you understand color relationships.
1. Hue, Tint, Tone, & Shade.
Hue is essentially the color in it’s purest form. Tint, tone, and
shade are all derivatives of Hue. Tint = hue + white, tone = hue + grey,
shade = hue+ black. These four elements are used to create the color
your eyes see.
2. Saturation
Saturation, not to be confused with any of the previously mentioned
elements, refers to the intensity/vividness of the color. Colors that
are highly saturated are bold and rich, while those that are desaturated
lack in vibrancy. For example, saturation could be the difference
between wearing a hot pink sweater or a baby pink sweater. Both can
actually be the same exact color of pink but are just at different
levels of saturation.
3. Primary colors
Basically what you learned about colors in elementary school, the
primary colors are red, green, and blue. These colors can not be formed
by mixing other colors together, but can be combined in 100+ ways to
make every color imaginable.
4. Secondary colors
Secondary colors are the colors that are
formed after mixing each one of the primary colors together. Yellow +
red = orange, red + blue = purple, blue + yellow = green.
5. Tertiary colors
Tertiary colors are the colors that are made
from mixing secondary colors together along with primary colors. Some
tertiary colors you may be familiar with would be orang-yellow,
green-yellow (lime), orange-red (coral), blue-green (teal), etc.
5. Cool colors
Cool colors are all derived from shades of
blue, also known as cool hues. The easiest way to remember what cool
colors are, is to think of what colors would best illustrate a cool
temperature such as greens, violets, light pinks, etc. Cool colors look
wonderful on pale skin with pink undertones and silver jewelry.
6. Warm colors
Warm colors, the opposite of cool colors,
are based around hues of reds, oranges, yellows, etc. Warm colors look
best on warmer skin tones and gold jewelry.
7. Neutrals
Neutrals are colors that do not pop out or
attract a lot of attention to the eye such as black, beige, taupe,
olive, and more. They literally go with everything and anything, and can
be used to slowly integrate color into your wardrobe by pairing bolder
color combinations with them.
So…now what?
Once you have a general idea of what the
color wheel encompasses, you can begin to combine the colors together.
There are a million different color combinations out there. From prints
and patterns, to color blocking, accessories and everything in between
there are so, so many ways to utilize these combinations. Here are some
of the basic ones:
(Michael Kors, Roksanda Ilincic, DKNY)
1. Monochromatic
The simplest color scheme to make, but often
the hardest to pull off: monochromatic. Monochromatic is a color
combination that is comprised of just one color. Wearing an outfit that
is entirely blue, pink, green, etc, isn’t something that you seen often
but if it’s done right it can look super cool. The best way to pull of
monochromatic is to mix different elements of a specific color together
such as saturation, tint, or shade and design elements such the texture
and structure of the fabric.
(House of Holland, Victoria Beckham, Jonathan Saunders)
2. Complementary
These are the colors that are directly
across from each other on the color wheel. Because of their high
contrast, as the name implies, they complement each other the most out
of any color combination. Because of this not only are they the simplest
color combinations to create but they’re also the most bold. An easy
way to add a complementary color combination to your outfit is to start
out with a primary color as the base for the look and then wear its
complement in your accessory choices.
(Roskanda Ilincic, Gucci, Nanette Lepore)
3. Analogous
A combination of any three colors that are
directly next to each other on the color wheel are analogous. This color
combination is the most harmonious out of all the color combinations.
It’s important to note that when creating an analogous color combination
that you choose colors that have enough contrast between them, whether
that be through shade, tint, tone, etc, so they’re not overwhelming.
Although this color combination does encompass three separate colors,
only one of them should be the dominate color while the other two can
support.
(Prabal Gurung)
4. Split complementary
This color combination is found by taking a
base color then pairing it with colors directly next to it’s adjacent
color. For example, in the picture above, a green-blue (teal) is paired
with red and red-orange to create a split complementary. This color
combination has much of the same lasting impression that complementary
color schemes produce but because of it is split, it’s generally more
flattering.
(Moschino)
5. Triadic
Colors that form a triadic are groups of
three colors that are all equidistant from each other on the color
wheel. Because of their placement on the color wheel, when paired
together, triadic color combinations tend to be very vibrant. Just like
other color combinations, it helps to choose one color as the dominate
color and the two others as supporting colors in accent pieces.
And remember have fun,
These are just the beginning of all the
possibilities that the color wheel can hold for your style choices.
Taking into account your personal style and when and how you decide to
take color risks is why it’s worth knowing a thing or two about general
color theory. However, when it comes down to it, don’t forget to just
have fun with it and seriously take risks, make mistakes, and do
whatever the hell you want.
post by Amanda
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