How to Wear, Mix & Match Colors in Fashion

HOW TO WEAR NEUTRALS

Know your skin undertone and color palette... Figure out your skin tone and hair color to match the perfect neutral. Otherwise, you may look dull and washed out with these outfits. People with cool skin tones look good in neutrals with cool blue undertones while people with warm skin undertone look good in warm yellow undertones.
Check out our Seasonal Color Guide to find out your seasonal colors.

ALL BLACK

Wearing all black might seem daunting since black can sometimes be seen as boring or “gothic.” However, black is usually considered a chic, fashion-forward color for both masculine and feminine outfits, and wearing all black is a great way to make a statement.

Whether you’re looking to create a casual, “street style” type outfit or dress up for a formal occasion, you can easily pull off an all-black outfit by selecting the right pieces, cuts, and textures.

Mix different fabrics, patterns and textures ... When you’re looking for items, mix textures, such as wool and leather, or sequins and suede to provide contrast without a variety of colors. Since all the items are black, they don't clash with each other.

You can also mix styles and textures, like sheer, flowy tops, and heavy, structured jackets, which will help to create contrast. If you are having the same fabric for the whole outfit for a more cohesive look, make sure all of them have the same dark black shade or use gray instead.

Remember, you don’t have to wear solid black pieces from head to toe. You can add some patterns to break up your look.

Use statement accessories... For casual outfits, draw attention to your style with your footwear. If you’re wearing a form-fitting outfit, go for combat boots, which tend to be larger and chunkier. For flowy, loose-fitting outfits, try structured oxfords or over-the-knee boots to add contrast. If the weather is warmer, try wearing a pair of platform sandals or knee-high gladiator sandals to make a statement.

Show a little bit of skin... Select a dress open back or V-neck dress to show some skin to break up your outfit. For a more masculine look, wear a pair of black distressed denim to show some skin on your legs, which adds visual interest to an outfit.

Use sunglasses for a cool look....Whether you’re going for a classic look or a street-style outfit, black sunglasses make the perfect accessory. If you want to stand out, choose a pair with metal accents in an interesting shape.

Use belts to accentuate your waist ... Cinch your waist with a metal or classic black leather belt to highlight your figure. If you’re wearing a dress or longer overcoat, fasten a belt around your waist to draw attention to your shape and prevent your body from disappearing under layers of black fabric.

Add a stylish black hat... Top off your outfit by throwing on an interesting hat such as leather berets, black ball caps, wide brim felt hats, black denim, or leather bucket hats. This is a great way to dress up a simple all-black outfit, like a black tee and black jeans.

Add an accessory that provides a bit of contrast... Jewelry is one of the best ways to accent an all-black outfit because it’s subtle and eye-catching without clashing with the color of your outfit.

For a feminine formal outfit, choose a statement necklace to draw the eye upward to your face. If you’re wearing a short sleeve dress, stack some chunky bracelets to compliment your look. For masculine outfits, stick to a thin gold or silver chain necklace or a watch with metal finishes.

Show your figure... Opt to choose more fitted outfits. When you’re wearing all black, fitted clothing will accentuate your shape and help to make you look more polished and put together. If you feel more comfortable in loose-fitting clothes, try to choose an outfit that’s fitted in either your top half or bottom half to provide some contrast.

Finally, add drama... Choose voluminous pieces, add sheer, use something edgier to the mix, choose statement accessories that pop up, and go for interesting cuts like peplums or statement sleeves; for cool street style vibes use black graphic tees.

MONOCHROMATIC LOOK

A monochromatic look is wearing one color from head to toe, it is very trendy and creates a statement look. When you keep your overall outfit the same color, the outcome can be just as striking as wearing a bold pattern or vivid color.

Your shade and tint could change from item to item, so you could wear dark blue jeans, a sky-blue shirt, and navy shoes. sometimes you risk looking washed out or overwhelmed with a single color. Therefore, variation in shades and tints is important.

The trick is all in the tones. Darker colors are easier to style up and are a lot more subtle, while bright colors are a real fashion statement when done well look awesome.

The best part when dressing mono-chromatically is, that your outfit has one uninterrupted line from head to toe that elongates your silhouette, making you appear slimmer and taller. No matter your shape or style, monochromatic style always looks sharp and polished.

Some tests show that people feel more confident with monochromatic style, and the more confident you are in what you are wearing, the better you look. Whether you stick to the same hue or play with a different shade is up to you.

Know your colors... You don’t have to keep your colors muted, it will work with any color you choose, but make sure you don’t select colors that clash against your skin tone or hair color, choose the ones in your color palette. Otherwise, you look washed out and disappear behind your outfit. Click here to find out your Seasonal Colour Palette.

Keep the balance... A general rule also applies to monochromatic style is keeping the balance when combining outfits to look tall and lean.

To achieve this make sure you combine fitted tops with flowy skirts or wide-leg loose pants or form-fitted bottoms, pencil skirts, skinny jeans with billowy tops or bulkier sweaters.

With a monochromatic look, it becomes important to understand what kind of effect lighter and darker colors can have. Darker shades absorb light, making things look smaller, while lighter shades make things appear larger. You can play with various kinds of illusions to flatter your figure when doing monochromatic color blocking.

Accentuate the right areas of your body using the right color. When wearing the same color in different tints and shades, you want to pay attention to how dark or light each piece is.

For example, if you have wide hips, you will want to wear a darker shade of the same color on your bottom half and a lighter shade when you choose your shirts and layers. Or you can use strong, slimming stripes to create a column of color which would give a slimming, elongating effect.

Add patterns and prints... Monochromatic outfits don’t just have to be made up of solid pieces; you can incorporate patterns or prints. You can find a pattern that matches your color scheme.  

To add visual interest and to break up the solid blocks of color, add a print piece made up of the same color you’re working with. You can also try adding a patterned shawl or scarf for fun.

Add textures... Make sure you mix textures within your monochromatic outfit! The texture is an important element when putting together monochromatic looks. You want to add visual interest, depth, and dimension to your look so it’s not one-dimensional. If your monochromatic outfit were comprised of the same fabric throughout, it would likely come off looking dull and boring.

Add accessories... You could also add a belt to accentuate your waist in the monochromatic colors you’ve selected. A belt is a great option for your flowy dresses if you need to add some structure or definition. Add jewelry that provides a bit of contrast such as statement necklaces chunky bracelets or dangle earrings.

COLOR BLOCKING

Color-blocking is a bold and fun way to dress!
Color blocking is a popular trend that involves mixing solid colors to create a striking statement outfit. It’s a vibrant way to express your dramatic and creative fashion personality by using an eye-catching appearance. You can wear several bright colors at the same time and still look very chic.

Types of Color Blocking

The main principle of the color blocking trend is to combine different colors and hues. You can create a more modest color pair with two hues of the same color family or go wilder and try three or more eye-popping hues.

To understand how to combine colors, it is important to know how the color wheel works. Please check out our color theory and color analysis page for more information!

Complementary Color Combination 

Two colours are on opposite sides of the colour wheel. Provides a high contrast, therefore these colours will appear brighter and more prominent. For example, purple and yellow, or green and red.

The easiest way to mix complementary colors is to choose one of the colors dominate and add its complementary color as an accent.

The other way of using complementary colors is by playing with tints and shades, using pastel tones and avoiding overly saturated colors. Like combining pastel pink and green instead of true red and forest green.

Analogous Color Combination

Analogous color schemes use three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. This color combo approach is more harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

For example, red looks gorgeous with orange with pink while turquoise goes with blue or green.

It’s better to use one dominant color and use the others as accent colors to balance the look.

Such as combining two colors and a neutral, or two analogous colors and one shade or tint of one of those colors.

Triadic Color Combination

The triadic scheme for color blocking includes three colors that are evenly spaced on the color wheel.

This provides a high contrast color scheme and creates a bold, vibrant look.

Opt to avoid wearing all three colors at full strength, and to opt for darker or lighter shades, rather than something overly vibrant.

Tetradic Color Combination

Four colors are evenly spaced on the color wheel. Better to use one dominant color and use the others as accent colors to balance the look, it has a bold and vibrant appearance.

Color blocking with tetradic colors is an expert-level fashion choice that can create really interesting looks.

One way to think about the tetradic scheme is as two-color pairs, one pair being the dominant and another pair being neutral or less bright that acting as an accent.

For example, if you are color blocking with yellow, blue, purple and green, you can choose the warm shades as dominant, and the cool shades as the accents.

It could be a yellow top, purple bottoms, green jacket, and blue headband in this picture.

How to start?

Start simple… Try color blocking by simply wearing a solid-colored dress with a contrasting color belt or purse. Or wear neutral outfits with some bright accessories, such as a pair of bright shoes or a colorful handbag.

Or, start with pairing a neutral color outfit with a bold vivid color, this will make the bold color stand out without being overwhelming. Neutral shades work best with bold and bright colors like fuchsia, kelly green, cobalt blue, purple or orange.

Add a Third or Fourth Color ... While you can work with just two colors, you can start experiencing adding one or two more colors to your combination. For example, if you chose fuchsia, you could bring in a shade of purple or pink depending on what color blocking type you’d prefer. A helpful way to start is to look at a color wheel and select colors that sit opposite the color wheel.

As with most color-blocking fashion choices, it is better to avoid symmetry. Have one color stand out as the main color in the look and use the other two colors for accents. 

Use Accessories... When it comes to color blocking an outfit, accessories take an important role. After choosing your color palette, select a few accessories to complement the outfit. They can be one of the colors already in your palette or an entirely new color that coordinates with what you've already chosen.

If you're already wearing clothing in three colors, simply choose an accessory in one of those shades or create a fourth shade. The bolder the accessory, the better; think wide headbands, jewels, pumps, waist belts, and clutches. Stay away from accessories that are embellished and detailed. Your accessories should be simple and graphic and should build on your overall look.

Tips & Tricks

The main rule of color blocking is to avoid sharp contrasts. The color pair must remain within the same sentiment. Major colors go with major ones, while minors combine beautifully with minor ones.

The same rule applies to neon colors. A neon would be a "highlighter" version of a color, such as neon pink, green or yellow. It’s important to stick to the same saturation of colors: neon colors go well with neon colors, while pastels go with other pastel hues.

Jewel factor... You can mix jewel tones or combine them with neutral colors, for example, emerald green and bright red blend perfectly with each other which is called the “jewel” factor.

Jewel tone colors are richly saturated hues named for gems including sapphire blue, ruby red, amethyst purple, citrine yellow and emerald green.

You can also opt for darker jewel tones if you feel that these shades will be more in your comfort zone. These include deeper, richer colors such as eggplant purple and maroon.

Stay away or minimize prints... Prints aren't the best option for this styling method, as they would take away from the "blocked" visual.

Stick to solid colors mostly and you may use some printed texture with one of your accessories such as a printed scarf or shoes. Color-blocked stripes and other architectural color-blocked patterns are very popular.

Pay attention to your complexion and hair color... You look great in blues, purples and emerald greens if you have a cool undertone in your features. If you favor earth tones such as reds, oranges, yellows, and olive greens, it means your features have warm undertones.

Your hair color also has undertones that can work well or clash. Try your color-blocked outfit on in good lighting to figure out if it works with your natural coloring.

Keep in mind that colors that are too bright tend to make your figure look bigger... For example, if you have wide hips, you will want to wear darker shades on your bottom half and lighter shades when you choose your shirts and layers.

Keep the balance... While wearing color-blocked outfits, it’s important to feel the limits. If you have already combined up to four different hues, then complete them with neutral and minimalist accessories. Also, make sure to wear natural makeup with color-blocked outfits.

Neutrals are your friends... Complete your look with neutrals. You can always fit a neutral into a color-blocked look, they best support your chosen color-blocking style technique and sometimes it can add a whole level of sophistication. Whether you throw nude pumps, a white jacket or some black jewelry, it’s hard to go wrong with a neutral.