The Art of Colourful Clothes: However Lets Begin with the Opposite

In the vein of sounding like an art teacher, I am going to talk about how to match colours and which colours are best suited to being paired together. There is a simple method of wearing coloured clothes successfully. To ensure you look like a beautiful rainbow, not a confused, chaotic one, you need a basic understanding of colour theory.

Colour theory is a combination of art and science and its core component is the placement of the colour spectrum onto a wheel, known as the colour wheel. This tool can then be manipulated to easily show which colours complement one another. This is applied across various forms including fashion, website and graphic designs, alongside artistic works. A good site to visit if you would like more information on the colour theory and complementary colours and their position within the colour wheel is the following Canva site (https://www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel/).

Furthering this there are primary and secondary colours. Red, yellow and blue are the three primary colours. These colours cannot be created by mixing other colours together. These colours can also be used to complement each other when varying shades and tints of the colours are used.

Secondary colours are composed of orange, green and purple. These colours are created when the primary colours are mixed together. Orange is created by the mixing of red and yellow. Purple by the mixing of blue and red. Green by the mixing of yellow and blue. Much as is the case with primary colours varying shades and tints of these colours can be used to complement one another effectively.

Additionally, with clothing, you can always match your clothing to the colours which are reflected in the statement pieces pattern – should it have a pattern. If you can successfully match this, it will add another layer of colour coordinated harmony to your outfit. A feat which I can promise you will impress people.

Over the next coming weeks, my blog posts will be looking into colour in more depth. My post next week will be about matching primary colours in your outfit. The post in the following week will do a similar thing but for secondary colours. From there I will do a series of posts on wearing different tones of the same colour. However, for this week I would like to focus on the non-colours. Namely, black and white.

Black clothing is prolific. People wear black every day, in both formal work attire but also athletic leisurewear. Black clothing is worn often in workplaces as it is seen as a professional and stylistic colour. Black is also versatile and composing an outfit from purely black and white components is easy for those who are time-poor. Black clothes also are considered by many as a flattering colour as black clothing can be seen to be slimming.

Additionally, lots of active-wear is black. Whether that be leggings, track pants or shorts. These pieces are often black and then people pair them with various coloured tops and jackets. This once again has a practical purpose – namely that it makes them easy to pair with coloured sport team shirts, jackets or any other coloured clothing you may choose. Additionally, there is the slimming component but also the practicality of not wearing light-coloured trousers – particularly when exercising. No one wants their sweat on show to everyone.

Lots of everyday wear is black. The prime example is black jeans. These come in all different styles – skinny, boyfriend and distressed, for example. The takeaway point is that people frequently wear black in everyday life.

Considering this you would think this would be very easy for me to compose an outfit from my wardrobe which features black clothing. This is not a reality for me. It will be a big struggle. I do not own black clothing. When thinking about what to write for this post I had to seriously consider its viability as I had to contemplate whether I would be able to construct an outfit which was comprised of black and white clothes. Let alone an outfit which could be considered fashionable.

White clothes were mentioned above and admittedly I do own a lot more white clothes than I do black. But they aren’t really pieces to compose an outfit. The pieces I do own mainly compose of white tops in various styles to put with outfits.

This I believe is the core strength of white clothing. It is an accompaniment. Something which you pair with other clothes. Clothes which have interesting patterns or are brightly coloured. The white base then provides a contrast to the brighter or busier component of the outfit. Thus working to effectively highlight that piece.

I have always admired people who are brave enough to wear white trousers. I would be much too afraid of getting them dirty which would not be ideal. Thus, I have always strayed away from them. As a consequence I find white trousers to be a massive statement piece.

As mentioned above composing an outfit for this week’s blog has been a challenge and I’ve settled on the clothing highlighted in the image above. The style is slightly different from my normal because I normally wear some aspect of colour. But what I will do is use this outfit to explain why I enjoy wearing colours so much.

In this outfit, I am scraping together the items I can to compose something. I am wearing a very generic pair of black jeans. These are skinny jeans – a style I don’t normally wear. To be honest I brought these jeans for work. But they are black, and I do find myself on occasion wearing them because they are very plain coloured, so they pair well with bolder coloured and patterned pieces. This pairing of more vibrant and bold pieces, one which could be considered the “statement piece” is something later blog posts will touch on further.

I am wearing with the jeans a white turtleneck and a white jumper. The jumper has a three-dimensional element composing the little white spots which are placed across the jumper. This adds a second layer to the jumper which brings interest and engagement.

Over this ensemble, I could wear a black puffer jacket – an uncontested winter staple. These jackets whilst not necessarily the savviest of all fashion choices are practical and warm. It is such a good feeling on a cold day to slip on this jacket and feel warm. It also has the added bonus of being wind-proof hence protects you from the wind as well which can make you feel significantly cooler through wind-chill.

As this outfit shows white and black complement each other well. The two provide a good contrast to the other. This is due to both being opposite shades. Thus, it makes logical sense why many people choose to compose their outfits with primarily black and white components. It is easy, efficient and it is stylish.

However, I will attempt to show you, over the next few weeks, how colours can be as stylish and add so much to an outfit. For example, in these pictures, I am wearing an orange corduroy jacket. This jacket is a completely different style and alters the conception of the outfit. However, it doesn’t diminish the outfit and in fact, can act as a statement piece in a way which a generic black puffer jacket will never be able to.

This illustrates one of the core conceptions behind this blog – namely, a site which will endeavour to explain to readers how to wear colour. The jacket adds so much to this outfit. It acts as a statement piece - it draws the eye and it brings a talking point to the outfit. The other components of the outfit are not. The other aspects of the outfit are not to say boring, but they are not very me - to the extent that when a couple of friends were helping me take photos for this post, I was requested to keep the jacket on.

I hope this post has shown to some extent why I personally love to wear colours and how colours can become an important part of your individual style. Over the coming weeks, I will be providing advice on how to match colours successfully in outfits. This is not to discredit those who chose to wear black and white but more an exploration of my own personal style and the features of it to allow you to realise the core components of your own style and own those components.