Color do's
Mitch-matching colors, are a myth. Allow me to explain myself. There is a guide that new designers and design students use, called a color wheel. Now the color wheel can be almost infinite, but for all practical purposes it is very simple.
There are three primary colors, from these three all other colors are mixed. if you pick any two colors from the color wheel and splice them together for an outfit, they will look good together. one "color" does not clash with another color of the same shade. Yes but that's where it gets a little more complicated. This is still no obstacle, however, for someone who's really working toward caring about how their clothes look.
My guess, and this is hearsay, is that most people can see what shades look good together when comparing them. Provided they don't have some kind of sight impediment. There are also people who can picture the colors together in their heads and tell which ones are "no-no's". If you are at all unsure of your own abilities to do either, I would suggest you acquire a color wheel. You could use either a physical one that you could hang on the wall in your closet, or a reference on your phone. Be creative. Having a guide, although it may seem rudimentary, is an easy way to avoid hurting your pride, or someone else's eyes.
As a finishing touch, and I'm hoping the very useful bit, I am going to run off a few color schemes and their names. The first, and the least commonly used in our date and time is called "monochromatic."
A monochromatic color scheme is when you choose one color, for example red, and use various different shades of it together. I personally think this color scheme is very underrated, and I wish I saw it more.
Another underplayed colour scheme is called "complimentary." this is simply when you combine two colors that are exactly opposite from each other on the color wheel.
A "tetrad" is a continuation off of complimentary. it contrasts four or more colors opposite from each other.
Triadic is the name for three colors, equally spaced from each other on the color wheel. It is more common than the tetrad scheme, and also plays off very beautifully.
"Analogous"
What a mouthful. It means three colors, adjacent to each other on the wheel. It is perhaps the most commonly used combination of colors in fashion. Yet there are still so many unused possibilities and combinations in it,that it will never be overused.
Finally we have reached my very favourite. The color scheme which has been named "Achromatic."
The so called "colorless scheme," is the perfectly balanced use of greys, blacks and whites. Probably the second most common fashion color scheme. It is elegant but not old, eye-catching but not loud, subdued but dramatic and it can be the most formal, and yet the most casual color scheme of all. This ageless combination is always a daring and safe bet.
In a later post I hope to match colors to personalities, and shades to seasons, but that will have to wait.
I hope this has been an educational and revealing experience, but also enjoyable to read.
Also I soon aspire to have set deadlines and post release dates set in advance.
Thanks!