Wearing and mixing colors is one the most powerful ways to enhance your brand image, make a statement, and stand out, not to mention that colors look great on stage and on camera. But many people are scared to do it because they don’t know how to mix colors properly or because it’s easy to go overboard. Well now you can do it too without second-guessing yourself. It will allow you to create a beautiful, interesting, and attractive personal image to look at. You will stand out and people will remember you. Get ready to learn 5 easy principles on how to mix colors like a pro and look like a million bucks.
Here are the different color combinations you can use to create outfits starting with the most simple combination all the way to the most complex or difficult to pull off:
1) Neutral and Color
2) Monochromatic or light/dark
3) Monochrome Neutral or achromatic
4) Analog Combination
5) Complementary Colors/complementary adjacent
6) Triade
When going through this blog, it might feel like anything goes. I wanted to give you all the options available for the people with more experience playing with colors, but my recommendation is to pick 2 or 3 that feel the easiest or the most interesting to you. Then you can start playing around with the other color combinations once you feel comfortable and more experienced. The important is when you pick one combination, stick to it when creating your outfit, and don’t try to see how you could maybe incorporate another color combination.
Neutral and Color
The easiest combination is to Mix a neutral color (black, white, grey, beige, navy) with a bold color. It’s always and interesting and safe bet. The more the contrast the most impact it will create. VIDEO This is why red and black always looks interesting not to mention it’s a strong statement that stands out. To look even more stylish and bring extra interest to your outfit, mix, not only one neutral, but two neutrals with a color. It’s best if the neutrals you pick are part of your power colors. For example, if you wear a grey and your palette is spring, make sure you pick a warm grey such as taupe as opposed to a cold steel grey. Here are examples of different ways you can use neutrals and colors in an outfit:
- 1 Neutral + 1 Color
- 2 Neutrals + 1 Color
- 1 Neutral + 2 Colors: (we will learn how to mix 2 different colors in further details in the upcoming videos, but for now, just know that mixing a neutral with 2 colors is a great way to make sure you can still look really chic even when wearing more colors, which can easily make you look less sophisticated when not done properly).
Monochrome or Light/Dark
The use of shades or tones of the same color gives a lot of depth to an outfit and makes for a cohesive and nicely put together look. This is also a relatively easy way to play with colors and to make sure you will look chic and sophisticated. When using the exact same shade of color, it makes for an extra chic look. There’s a reason that no matter what color it is, a suit always looks very put together and high-end. The color is uniform, which makes everything tie together effortlessly. When wearing a monochromatic look, you need to follow the rule of three as to not look overdone or like you are trying too hard. Fashionistas sometimes break this rule, but as I said, it’s very difficult to pull off if you do. You can wear the same color shoes as the outfit and even accessories so long as there are no more than 3 different textures at play. For example, when wearing a pantsuit, the fabric is the same for both the blazer and the pants, which means that you can incorporate two other items of the same color. If you are wearing a skirt (or pants) and top in a different fabric, then you can go for only one other item in the same color such as shoes or handbag.
Monochrome Neutral or achromatic
Neutral colors (black, white, grey, beige) for an outfit without any defined color. This combo is not necessarily monotone but quite the opposite – its impact can be extremely polished and elegant even more elegant than wearing a colored monochrome outfit I think. This option also allows us to play with textures, prints, and shapes without risking to be over-styled. This look is according to me the most polished looking one. Most celebrities wear monochromatic outfits all the time because it makes them look instantly chic and they need to project a successful movie star image. The rule of three also apply here, but it’s more flexible. It’s ok to wear a pantsuit and top and shoes in the same colors because of the neutral color, the outfit will not look like you are trying too hard as easily as if you were wearing a bold color. Another way to spice up a neutral monochromatic outfit is to use 1 Metallic + Equivalent Neutral Color (ex: Silver dress with grey shoes or Gold dress with yellow if gold is more yellow or beige shoes if gold is more neutral – this look will work nicely especially when the hues of the metallic and the corresponding color are similar).
Analog Combination
This combination is made of two or three similar colors that follow each other on the chromatic circle. This combination of colors is not the easiest concept to grasp or achieve, but it can look extremely flattering and pretty to look at. It can also make you look extremely stylish if you do it right. These are the different color combinations you can play with.
Most people mix two analog colors together as opposed to three. You can go with three like some fashionistas, but it’s easy to go wrong and look off, so I recommend sticking with two colors.
Other color combinations that can be considered analog and look very pretty are White with pastel colors or Black with dark colors.
Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are opposite colors on the opposite end of the chromatic circle. This combination creates a balanced chromatic composition and is sure to make any outfit stand-out. Here are the complementary combinations:
Combination of complementary adjacent colors
Colors that are adjacent means they are next to the complementary color on the chromatic circle. Instead of mixing Red and Green, for example, you would mix Red/Blue-Green (Turquoise). This makes colors look even more lively and more interesting. Again you will be able to refer to this image in the handout.
Make sure one of the colors takes center stage and covers at least two-thirds of the body to flatter your figure and to make sure you don’t look like a clown. In other words, be careful with the proportions.
Triade
Here we are Mixing three colors together that are at the exact and equal opposite on the chromatic circle. You can also use this color combo with only two colors if you prefer such as red and blue or blue and yellow. This is the most intense combination when mixed together in primary colors. An easy way to make sure you keep looking really chic when mixing colors using yellow or blue is to use the neutral hue of those colors. For example, the neutral version of yellow would be a warm beige. So you could wear a warm beige dress with purple shoes (complementary color) and it would make the outfit stand out and stylish. A blueish grey could be used instead of plain blue mixed with red (triade) to create a really pretty outfit.
If you are having difficulties assessing which color goes well with a specific color, you can go to this website “Color.adobe.com” and play around with the different features. They help you figure out which colors work well together and find what colors work with a specific color whether you want to go monochromatic, analog, or complementary. It‘s a very useful tool that I have used personally.
Now that you learned how to mix colors to enhance your personal brand image, you can develop your personal brand style even more by taking this quick personal brand style assessment I created. You can click here to access it. In it, you’ll learn what personal brand style you are, what inspires your brand, and specific stores you should start paying attention to. You can also check my youtube video called “super stylish outfit formulas” to learn ways you can look super polished and stylish.
Au revoir! Xx
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