Ask Angie: and others ... help me build a contrast toolkit?

Hi Angie and others as I know there are plenty of color and contrast experts on here!

One theme I'm working with this year is contrast.

The slam-dunkiest type of contrast for me is a dark and a light (e.g. black/ink and white) paired, either in the outfit, or even easier, in a print such as a stripe. As long as the pattern is not too bold, it tends to work well on me and make me happy.

But I won't feel like wearing this every day and many days I'm not wearing an 'outfit' so much as just a simple top and joggers, and I'm wondering about other ways contrast works that might apply to some different circumstances (I've tried with Imogen's articles but somehow I can never place myself and get confused). A few examples, and I'd love you to let me know if I'm on the right track or way off, or if I'm missing anything - thank you!

If I'm wearing a solid colour such as a plain sweater - I presume a saturated colour would be better from a contrast perspective? Does it matter much whether it's bright, or is it just depth that makes it contrasting? E.g. would true red be contrasting vs. deep burgundy, let's say?
If I'm wearing a solid neutral - a dark neutral would work better because it would contrast with my skin tone and now my hair? A light neutral used to contrast with my dark hair, but now that I've lightened it around my face, I guess this doesn't really work from a contrast standpoint? (mind you there's still a good bit of depth in the base colour)
In the light neutral example, would e.g. a brighter or deeper lipstick add at least a bit of contrast or not really enough to matter?
And again with the light neutral example - let's say a white tshirt and dark wash jeans, this is contrasting, but since there is no contrast near my face in this example - does that actually do anything? (again, esp now that my hair doesn't bookend the dark quite as effectively).

Anyways, feel free to take this in any direction; a bit of a brain dump; thanks so much!
ETA - at the most basic level - when we talk about wearing contrast, is it within the outfit, or the outfit against the wearer ... If that makes sense? Tx.

(finds just showing some of the pieces I've got in mind - slamdunk contrast print; brighter vs. deeper colour; light and dark neutral)

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Button-Down Boyfriend Shirt

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2 years ago

Star

Veteran

Well definitely not as knowledgeable as Angie but I have preferred constrasts my entire life. So here goes what I can comment on FWIW:

I don't think a colour needs to be saturated to provide contrast. Your example of burgundy would definitely do it.
I think a dark neutral top will be more contrast-y.
A colourful lipstick definitely helps with contrast.
Jeans & a white T-shirt will need a colourful scarf to supply the contrast.

Helena

Super super helpful Star; thank you so much!

Although the scarf would not have to be colourful, a black scarf against a white T will also provide contrast. Interesting ETA question! I think both.

Runcarla

Interesting question. I assume you are asking about light/dark contrast and not other types of contrast like smooth/raised (texture) or soft/sharp (like tailoring), or colour contrast (like red/green or orange/blue)?

I have a red filter from my quilting days that I sometimes use when creating a colourful outfit. It is a revelation that some colours that seem saturated with colour don’t read as dark and vice versa. https://www.nationalquiltersci.....d-glasses/ (of course the red filter wouldn’t work with a red sweater!)

You can also take a selfie and convert it over to black and white.

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Carla, that's a great question, and I am definitely talking about value contrast, as well as curious about colour contrast, to the extent that it might 'stand in' for value contrast in some instances ...?

Cool idea about the b&w selfie!

slim cat

I often wear cardigan with tee shirt - like light grey tee+navy printed cardigan and either dark jeans or medium blue jeans ( some contrast ). Or grey cardigan with navy tee and dark jeans/pants.
When I'm at work - stronger contrast feels right ( lots of black and white, black and pale blue, etc. ).
My usual trick is colorful earrings - turquoise, mother of pearl, yellow, or shiny silver. I use the choker with black leather strap to add more contrast with neutral tops.
Colorful eyeliner versus typical black that too harsh on me.

Sal

I think red and burgundy would both contrast with your skin to form a high contrast outfit. I think in terms of where the contrast is a few things come into play including Proportions and shapes. A black turtle neck might be better then a white one- but both black and white may work in a camisole for example.

I think a bright lipstick can help as well.

I am moving away from high contrast as it is suiting me less - I used to wear a lot of black and white together and I do personally love the look. My glasses help in winter - they can make me look less washed out.

I think it sound be fun to experiment with pieces you own, take some pics, wear different contrast options and see how you feel about it.

Joy

With jeans and a white top look for cheap cotton bandannas to use as scarves. I like to roll mine tightly on the diagonal and tie a small double knot in back. If you want to shorten it, tie a big center square knot and you can add more at the sides. I like a black with white print bandana or yellow with black and white in the print. You can also tie them around your neck fifties style or wear as a hair band.

There are many shades of white. Find your best one. Same with black and other dark neutrals.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Helena, there are all sorts of ways to create high contrast - subtle or bold - and you've listed most of them. You can create a contrast with your hair, skin, or components in an outfit.

No, the contrast needn't be against the skin of your face. Look at the SUM of the parts, instead of just one part.

No need to wear brights. The saturation of a colour will create enough of a contrast!

White tops will contrast with your still quite dark hair and a deeper shade of lipstick.

I'll add:

white bottoms and dark top
dark nail polish
not sure you're a very dark lipstick gal??? Very '90s!
dark outfit with light bag and shoes
dark and light layering on top
high contrast pattern worn with solids

Add sparkly necklaces for contrast too. Like wearing a silver necklace over a dark top.

rachylou

It occurs to me that contrast maybe requires the elimination of gradation. Like if you wore black, white and a few shades of grey - the outfit wouldn’t be one of contrast any longer.

Angie, thank you so much for the list!!! Going to write it down and play with all of these through the rest of January per Sal's suggestion! I loved a good dark lippie in the 90s ... not sure now, but I've got lots of colours from a Christmas gift to play with.

Thank you everyone for the input and your tips - I'll be adding these to the list as well. xx

Jaime

You ask the most interesting questions! I am a contrast person myself but I have never thought about it quite this way. And I love Carla's trick of looking at a photo with a b&w lens!

MsMaven

Good topic. Contrast is something I haven’t paid much attention to until recently. I did take a color photo and turn it into black and white, confirming what I already knew, I am a medium contrast person. So I’m thinking about this topic and looking at my daily outfits and asking, how come I feel so much better in this today than the one I wore yesterday.

I realize the importance of scarves and jewelry as ways to give a blah outfit some contrast and make it more interesting and why some outfits feel boring. I’m also looking at texture as well, which is part of the contrast issue. I tend to like very textured items as opposed to all smooth textures.

I’ll be following your journey. Hope I can add some useful comments as I think more about contrast.

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