Practical Color Help

by Andy Gilchrist

What colors really look good with what other colors!

Our goal when we put the various elements of our clothes together is to produce harmony.

Harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic.

At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged.   The human brain will reject under-stimulating information, such as a monochromatic ensemble with all the same texture.

At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it cannot organize, or understand, like four conflicting patterns and colors in an ensemble.  Movie costumers often have characters they want to depict as weird wearing two incompatible patterns.

In summary, extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, while extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation. Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium.

To use the chart below we need to know these definitions:

Core Color is the dominant color in a color scheme.  It’s the color of the principal item in your ensemble like your suit or a sweater. 

Accent colors are the second and sometimes third colors used in a color scheme.  The accent colors may be complementary, triad, analogous or neutral. 

Triad.  The first or primary triad colors in the color wheel (or spectrum) are red, blue and yellow.  (Navy suit, pale yellow shirt, burgundy tie)  These are called pure colors because mixing them with each other and/or with white or black can make all other co colors. 

The second (or secondary) triad colors in the color wheel are orange, green and purple.  Made by mixing two primary colors together.  Mixing red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue make green, and combining red and blue produce purple. 

Complementary colors:  

are those directly opposite one other in the color wheel.  When placed next to each other, complementary colors intensify each other and make the colors seem brighter. Green and red are opposites and that’s why hunter green pants look great with a burgundy sweater.  Blue is opposite of orange so gold, rust, and brown complement shades of blue.  

Analogous colors: (also known as adjacent colors, harmonious colors, and related colors),

are Colors, which lie next to each other on the color wheel (contiguous colors).  They harmonize since they each contain some of the same color.  An example would be blue pants, a blue-green shirt and a purple sweater.   

Warm and Cool:  
Families of analogous colors include warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and cool colors (green, blue, violet). Designers often build color schemes around two or three related colors.

Select two warm colors with one cool or two cool with one warm to create dynamic harmony.  Examples:  navy suit, light blue shirt and red tie, or a yellow shirt, rust jacket and blue jeans. 

Neutral: shades of white, black, gray or tan.   

Neutrals work well with all colors or may be worn together.  Khaki pants, white shirt and a gray sweater worn together create an ensemble made up of all neutral colors.  Together, all neutrals may not be a dynamic look, but it is sophisticated.  

Black, White, Gray, Tan, and Brown are not separate colors on the color wheel, but are made up of different percentages of red, yellow and blue. To make neutral colors mix either all three primary colors, or mix a primary and secondary color (secondary colors are made from mixing two primaries).  

          For example: 

How to make a brown?
Mix a color with its complementary color. Add orange to blue, purple to yellow, or green to red. Each of these combinations makes a different brown. 

How to make a grey?
Mix some orange (or yellow and red) with a blue then add some white. You can also mix blue with an earth color, such as raw umber or burnt sienna. 

Caveat:  You must pay attention to tone (adding gray), tint (adding white) and shade (adding black) of a hue (pure color).  Green and red are complementary colors, but if you match pure green and red you’ll look very Christmassy!  Which is fine for Christmas!  But burgundy and hunter green are quite stunning together. 

You can also opt out of mixing and matching color and go: 
 

Monochromatic: all one color, but different shades, tones or tints. All blue attire could consist of a Navy suit, light blue shirt, dark blue tie, blue pocket square, etc.  Add some contrast to this combination by using texture and pattern.  Some of your clothing items should be smooth; others rough in texture.  Some items could be patterned; others solid.

Putting the Core color and Accent color chart to specific practice:

These are Colors that traditionally go well together, but remember this is only a guide. 

*A note on Pocket Square coordination:

Compliment, don’t match, your shirt and/or tie with your pocket square.  If you do have a yen to match go for the shirt, never the tie.  For a very conservative look try plain white, even if it is a little stuffy.  There was a brief period such as the early 1940’s when men did match tie and pocket square, but thank goodness we’ve moved on. 

There is some school that believes that the tie or jacket and pocket square should contrast in fabric.  If you’re wearing a silk tie opt for a linen square, or a tweed jacket is best worn with a heavier more casual square of wool or cashmere.  White linen would appear too formal.   This theory has some merit, but silk still looks great with any fabric.

Andy’s Tip for matching trousers to sports jackets:  The bone buttons of your jacket have a range of colors.  You can choose trousers that match any of the colors of the buttons and they will go perfectly.

Some additional considerations:

• Seasonal Colors: Some colors are more appropriate at certain times of year than others.  Like the pastels of yellow, are usually associated with summer, while autumn colors are rust, brown, green, and burgundy.  Wearing rust in the summer, or light yellow in the fall looks out of place.
   
• Think contrast.  Try one light element with two dark, or one dark with two lights, such as a charcoal suit, white shirt and red tie, or tan suit with yellow shirt and green tie. Or Khaki pants and a dark blue shirt.
   
• Color Value: Dark colors recede thus making you look thinner, and light colors project, which tends to bulk you up.  Dark colors are more formal than light.

This is the stuff artists, master gardeners, and interior decorators study, but now you can use this knowledge to paint a picture with your clothes!

Now, go get dressed!!