I’m going to try something out where instead of creating a whole other style blog, I’ll do little bits of what I wear and how I figure out what to do under a new series called: Shopping your closet.
I don’t want to create another style blog because:
- I already tried it
- It’s a LOT of work to take photos, crop them, upload them and make notes
- I’m a workaholic and I will stress about not having posts scheduled a year in advance which puts too much pressure on me
- I don’t think I can really do a post 3x a week on the subject to give it my full attention
So there you go and here we go!
I was asked how I thought up of these colour combinations by mixing and matching ‘unexpected’ combinations, so here’s my thought process.
I begin with a piece that I want to wear, like a skirt, a top, a dress, a necklace, a pair of shoes… etc
I had picked up this Forever 21 skirt recently for $23 in mustard yellow.
I love the retro look of it and .. POCKETS!!!!
I didn’t think I could wear it because:
- the colour is really awful against my face
- …but if it’s worn on the bottom, I think the colour works
- it’s a bit shorter than my other skirts, although it isn’t a miniskirt
- ..well, mustard yellow!?, I didn’t think I had anything to match in my wardrobe
Turns out, it’s a super colour. Not only is it neutral and not as bright as the rest of my wardrobe, it goes with almost every colour, as long as I choose the right tone.
There are two methods I use to mix and match colours:
- Experimentation: Just try anything I think that works, looking only at cut and style
- Inspiration: Looking at what I already wear and own
METHOD #1: EXPERIMENTATION
I basically grab the skirt and lay out all the tops that work with the skirt.
Since the skirt is a bit flared and not tight (which balances out my shoulders), I need simpler, cleaner lines and/or something that is ruffled, but not so much that it fights with the quiet beauty of the skirt.
The following tops are all simple, in a t-shirt style, tank top, vest, or with a simple ruffle that won’t detract from the skirt.
(Incidentally, as I was doing this I realized that I almost own the entire saturated rainbow, I don’t own any orange tops and I forgot to add WHITE in there as a neutral with the grey.)
Here are my notes on the combinations of what I’d like as colour combos out of what I’ve pulled:
(It can be hard to see why I made certain notes, like with the light blue top, but that’s because it really is too light/bright to match with the skirt, it’s just hard to take a photo of it)
All the shirts could technically work with the skirt with the exception of the red, yellow and the light blue top, but the fact that all these tops COULD work doesn’t mean I’d wear the colour combination, so I have to place the tops against it to check how I feel about the combination.
For anything that is very neutral or ‘boring’, I can just add one of my many patterned obi belts or think of a bright necklace.
My favourite combinations up there so far have been with the violent magenta top and the cobalt blue. The pops of such a bright, saturated but still dark colour makes the skirt look even better.
METHOD #2: INSPIRATION
Seeing as I own a yellow-green ruffled dress that has a blue/purple/grey bottom (Anthropologie Seaside Fields Dress), I have an instant colour combination that I can pull from.
The top is a bit more green than the mustard skirt, but look at how well the blues and purples go with it!
It’s the reason why I think I prefer blues against the yellow (and also if you learned about complementary colours in the colour wheel, it helps with matching pieces).
AFTER THE COLOURS HAVE BEEN PICKED
Then I just decide on the combo I decide to wear, then the easy part comes.
If I pick a bright combination like the mustard yellow and pink, then I keep it neutral in the accessories (although I have been known to wear a really bright bold chunky necklace with a bright outfit, so it all depends on my mood).
I never do something like wear a bright outfit with a bright chunky necklace and then finish off with really bright shoes. It just makes your head hurt. I try to keep a nice balance between neutrals and brights.
Or sometimes, I just let the outfit speak for itself and I don’t wear any accessories at all 🙂
If I wear something more neutral, I am more likely to go wilder in my accessories and colours.
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I had to laugh at how great this is! My wardrobe has all the exact same colors. I have been on the hunt for a mustard cardigan or skirt and it has been near impossible to find in my size . . . so most of my neutrals are blue or black with grey accessories. Seeing your combos, I am back on the hunt! Sometimes it is hard to get inspiration from all the earth-toned fashion blogs when you have only primary or jewel tones in your closet. I have been getting inspired by African, Indian and Oriental prints. (Yes, I adored the kimono and obi belt you posted too!) I sooo appreciate you for posting this!
Great idea pulling inspiration from another garment. I like the use of colour and knowing what goes together ahead of time makes getting ready so much easier. I don’t own anything mustard but I would probably be tempted to only wear it with white; I am glad you opened my mind to other combinations.
I’ve been reading you for quite a while now and I’m delighted you’ve decided to do style posts. I love the clean, no nonsense approach you have to everything else, so I assume this will also translate into your style advice. So, there, nothing to contribute from me, just a shoutout to the idea.
Awesome! 🙂 Now I have pressure on me to come up with ideas.. hahaha
I admire your ability to mix and match clothes! Not only on this post but from previous fashion posts as well. 🙂
I’m awful at mix and matching. In fact, I’ve started just buying earth tones (browns, whites, beige, greens, golds, etc.) because it all goes together and looks good on me. That way I don’t have to worry about matching, but I still have a few pops of color in case I get bored. This is my lazy way out. haha
Thank you *blush*
I think that works beautifully. Nothing wrong with a great neutral wardrobe that you add colour on top of 🙂
This is a cool post. I like this idea on putting the shirts against the skirt to decide what to wear. Very helpful, thank you.
Interesting but more than a little subjective; I would happily wear the red top with red flats and the mustard skirt, the yellow makes a very coherent combination and the light blue would also be great with a patterned cardigan that incorporated both colours. Like most of the other colours. I actually dislike the cobalt blue the most, then the magenta.
See, subjective..!! It depends on personal likes and dislikes, though of course, there are people who haven’t a clue with colour, so maybe this kind of article is helpful to them.
I really hated the red against the mustard because it was too orange for such a mustard skirt.. as I said, the camera didn’t really capture the real colours of the t-shirts, because the light blue looked awful in tone against the mustard yellow (too cold for such a warm colour).
Fair enough!
I really love this idea and used to enjoy the style posts you had so am pumped to have it back. I also love this post…I am terrible at matching colours!
The only problem is getting the real colours to photograph!
My favorite is the magenta and cobalt blue!
Love the skirt!
Ditto 🙂 The pop of saturated colours against the yellow made it look less dowdy and dull and more bright & hot
I have been a visitor to your blog for a long time now but this is the first time commenting. I love the way you mix and match the topics that you write about. This is what I want to do with my own site.
There is so much attention to detail. I love the clothing collection though I am a bit lazy about my own dress.
I look forward to reading more. 🙂
Thank you!
I kind of just write for myself.. whatever I want to write about, which is probably why it’s all over the place. Thanks for commenting.
Awesome post! This is so helpful, thanks!! 🙂
Love this! I love mixing and matching unusual colors. My favorite is a simple coral cotton dress I wear with a chunky torquoise necklace and torquoise flats. It’s actually not too loud and works well. I also have some adorable mustard flats that I love to wear with pretty much anything I can.
On a side note, I really like the “shopping your closet” series. I definitely look forward to it!
Coral + Turquoise is what I do a lot of as well. I have a LOT of teal in my wardrobe 🙂