More fun with colour - YouLookFab Forum

While we're talking about colour, I posted an outfit with lots of it the other day. I thought the colours worked well together, but I couldn't quite say why. Judging by your reaction, you all thought so too. Thanks again for being so very generous.

I'm a bit of a colour freak myself. I have a reasonable intuition for what works, but it's far from infallible so as a designer I use colour theory to help me understand it. I took a look at the colour wheel to see how the combination I wore that day played out.

Surprisingly enough, it's a perfect polar tetrad - two pairs of complimentary colours in opposition. The pale blue sings with salmon pink, orange and cognac. The greenish gold plays well with the mauve taupe in my shirt and purple hair. The two pairs align at right angles on the colour wheel. That explains my hunch that I should have gone for a pink lip.

Colour nerds, have at it. I'm definitely wearing that outfit again.

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7 years ago

Anonymous

OMG, that outfit looks AMAZING. I love the colours with your hair. How did I miss this beautiful combo the first time around?

I know nothing about colour so no wisdom there. Just wanted to gush about your look ;). The McQueen scarf is jaw droppingly lovely. So glad it found you.

Sisi

Veteran

That's very interesting, thank you Approprio.

Murph11

My inner art school geek LOVES this explanation on why your outfit works so well!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Fun scientific analysis, Liz. That's the engineer in you.

I'm not a colour nerd, but I DO have a high affinity for colour and pattern mixing. I feel my way through all of it. And the person's complexion, specs and hair colour play a large visual role too.

I think that all the colours can work together somehow.

tulle

Another color-obsessive here, but, like Angie, an intuitive rather than scientific one. Playing with color, especially with the added dimension of texture (weave, nap, luster, pattern) in fabrics can literally make my mouth water! Sadly, I can't wear lots of my favorite combinations without washing out my cool, muted coloring. Love to see them on those who can wear them with flair, though.
I remember one of Martha Stewart's television programs: She was in Mexico, in one of those amazing little shops selling giant paper flowers in the brightest colors. Martha asked the proprietors which colors looked best together, and he answered gently, "ALL colors look good together, Martha."

approprio

Aliona: thanks! Honestly, this outfit seems so "right" I can't imagine why I didn't think of it before. Maybe I needed purple hair to inspire me.

Angie: I agree, we should always intuit first and overthink later. I do believe that anybody who is visually aware will pick up on these colour harmonies and find out for themselves what works and what doesn't. But I like knowing how things work. As you say, once an engineer, always an engineer

tulle: it's entirely possible that all colours can work together, but I know for sure they can be made to look pretty terrible if you're not careful. It's a delicate balance, one I don't think I appreciated until I started designing websites

Murph: I'm not sure if I have an inner geek. It's all geek front and centre with me. Maybe there's an inner normal person waiting to be found.

And Sisi, isn't it just? Colour theory is fun. I like colour theory.

Suz

This is sensational on you! Wow. And it's not just the colour (although that is part of it). There is something about the tailored but slightly ladylike jacket along with the drapey scarf and your bold specs and hair and the oxfords --- these feminine/ masculine elements play well with the colour juxtapositions.

rachylou

Yummy!

But you've made me wonder now: what colors does the color wheel say 'no' to? And why? Hmm...

Suz: thanks! I love VW's tailoring, but she can skew too bombshell glam for me if I don't toughen it up a bit. I think you're right - this look is all about binary oppositions.

Welcome back from the writer's retreat by the way. I trust it was productive. And I've been meaning to thank you for the encouragement you gave me on my Big Man Pant project. You swung that decision for me and it's working out.

rachylou: now that's a good question! The colour wheel doesn't say 'no' to anything in particular, rather it gives some insight into why things might feel a bit off, and what you can do to bring some harmony. I've used it occasionally on colour palettes in graphic design but I don't think I've ever used it on an outfit before.

Ooh this is fascinating. I've never really studied colour to that extent but what you say makes perfect sense and I see it so well now that you've pointed it out. This sparks off my interest now

Approprio, it is very fascinating. Yesterday I wanted to add (but was in a hurry) that I always choose my colors instinctively, and sometimes something seems to work together particularly well and I don't know why. Now I know that it's color theory!

Staysfit

My DD is in Australia but when she returns I plan to show her this post. She will love your color sense and how you mapped it out. While she is a painter, she is also a scientist, and things like this greatly appeal to her, plus she loves anyone and anything with wonderful color!

Janet

I love it! That jacket and scarf are totally gorgeous, and your hair looks amazing.

I am always fascinated with how colors play together, and I'm taking special note of it as I have been working with patterns made from my photos. Color combinations that work in a stand-alone photo can be overwhelming and garish when that photo is made into a pattern. (I've attached a couple that are a bit more bold combinations but still seem to work well.) I want to read up and refresh myself on color theory as a result!

Ok, now please indulge me while I go full art school science geek...

Sisi, Diane, thanks for confirming that. It makes a certain logical sense that our eyes would fix on these harmonies when we see colour combinations, but the relationships between them are complex and there are many factors at work.

Staysfit, I'd love to see some of your DD's work. I was in The Hague yesterday for an exhibition by Op-art painter Bridget Riley. Her works are filled with optical effects and illusions that challenge our perception. The exhibit gave a fascinating insight into the way she uses colour theory and geometry to generate an optical response. Her methods are very technical and rooted in science but the impact is pure visual poetry.

They used this quote from her in the show:

"Sensation of colour is a different thing, it takes in attendant qualities so to speak, such as glitter and sombreness, buoyancy or weight, dull glow or full brilliance, impalpability or density, softness or hardness - in short, a surprising variety of sensual relationships."

Janet: those are really beautiful. They'd make amazing textiles. Are you going to print them?

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