We’ve all been there, standing in front of the closet, contemplating your whole life because you can’t figure out an outfit. Well, I’m here to help. One step that can help you out is deciding on the color combination. There are countless ways to arrange colors in an outfit and it's common to feel helpless. However, you can simply the different options into 5 big categories. This includes a monochromatic outfit, “color one, two, one”, “color one, two, two”, all different colors with a common theme, and building and outfit around one central piece. If you have no clue what those mean, don’t worry I’ll explain.
1. Monochromatic
A monochromatic outfit is where you only wear one color in different shades, tones, and hues. It is one of the easiest and simplest ways to go about an outfit and never fails to look good. My personal favorite is to wear all black or white. Black and white can be easier to style compared to other colors, as they match with pretty much everything and anything. The best part about monochromatic outfits is that if you want to wear a certain color on top of your monochromatic outfit, it’s easy to incorporate it in. For example, if there are these bright blue shoes that you really want to wear but don’t know how to, throw on a white outfit and accentuate it with the shoes. Monochromatic outfits are a go-to and beginner friendly!
2. Color One, Color Two, Color One
This pattern is another one of my go-tos when I have a lot of layers and different pieces I want to incorporate into my outfit. For this color pattern, you will want to choose two or three colors and have none of the same colors touch each other. For instance, let’s say you’re building an outfit with the colors cream and red. If you have a red top on, wear a cream tote and pants since they touch the red top but not each other. For the shoes, since they touch the cream pants, you’ll want to wear red shoes. To simplify, red top, cream pants, red shoes. This pattern is perfect for tying the entire outfit together and will allow for the eyes to bounce around and really take in the entire fit.
3. Color One, Color Two, Color Two
Now this pattern is an interesting one. Recently, I came across a TikTok video of someone talking about how the second pattern is bad and how this pattern is so much better because it elongates the figure. Then to that video, someone stitched a counter argument saying how both are great options. I completely agree, both patterns are great: the second pattern is perfect for an overall balanced look, and this one is amazing if you want to seem more elongated. For this color pattern, you want to wear the same color pants and shoes. This can be wearing black pants with black shoes and a pink top.
4. All Different Colors with a Common Theme
Second Photo: @reneeebeller on Instagram
This is one of the more elaborate ways to arrange colors. You most likely want to combine this with the other patterns mentioned above. For this one, you want to create an outfit with multiple colors that are all within a common theme. These “themes” can include wearing only pastel colors, deep colors, cool colors, warm colors and more; the possibilities are endless. I personally like wearing all pastel colors to the beach and during summer. This is really something that you can have fun with.
5. Building Around One Staple Piece
This pattern is another great one to use as a base before you build around it using another color pattern. To create an outfit with this pattern, you first want to pick out a staple piece. A staple piece can be any type of clothing, shoes, or accessory. Once you have this piece down, you want to analyze the colors of that piece. If it has more than three or four colors, I would recommend going with a monochromatic or simple outfit for the rest of the fit. This will really allow for the staple piece to shine through and be the center of attention. If the staple piece has less than three colors, you have more options. You can collaborate the piece with any other pattern mentioned in the blog. In choosing which colors you should match the staple piece with, I recommend you to go look at the color wheel and find complementary colors as well as analogous colors.
have fun and go crazy
Comments