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Fun with colour palettes

Helena

Veteran

Despite my neutral tendencies in clothing, I do LOVE colours - looking at them, contemplating them, and organizing them! I think the combination of lack of work, dreary days and pining from spring had me playing around with a colour palette refresh, and this is what I landed on. As neutral as my wardrobe is, I do have all these colours represented in at least one or two pieces and it's been bringing me joy to wear them, even if I'm the only one who sees them for now! (maybe especially because?)

The only colour I'm not sure of is the purple - I felt I needed one other colour and that's one that has consistently shown up in my wardrobe in some shade or another over the years - although not recently. BRs sweaters are on good sale at the moment, but sadly no purple left for me to test out. We'll see if it gets added or I decide I'm good without it (or something else distracts me ha!)

What do you think? Have you been using colour to brighten your days lately?

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19 replies

Latest reply was from rachylou

nemosmom

Veteran

I love all of these colors for you, TG! Especially the fun spring ones! I hope you find the purple you are after - I could see it working beautifully year 'round.

I went down David Zyla's rabbit hole of color recently and have been trying to play with ways to wear them. His pinterest boards are even deeper holes of color!

Helena

Veteran

haha Nemosmom, yes! I have his book and went through that process too! I love how he recommends different colours for different moods, like having a candle in your relaxing colour, etc.

nemosmom

Veteran

Of course, I got hung up on matching the color of my veins and trying to pick the EXACT lightest color in my iris. Sigh.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I like your color selections and how organized you are with this. Your palette is not too far from mine, actually.

I’ve started to crave a little color lately, with the arrival of spring. Especially lighter, brighter blues and turquoise, which I wear well but haven’t been so evident at retail in recent years. I don’t wear warm colors, tan-earth tones, sour brights, or pastels well, so this time of year always feels a little off to me, color-wise. I get tempted by pink sometimes, but it always feels too sweet when I try it.

I like the idea of purple but I’m super picky about it. I like eggplant and deeper berry tones, but shy away from anything Barney-colored. I think I prefer purple in a print, for myself. I think lilac is pretty but it doesn’t look very good on me.

My palette is evident just by looking in my closet!

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The Cat

Veteran

Very nice and harmonious palettes, torontogirl! All the colours --with the possible exception of beige--are cool, so they are easy to combine, and we know cool colours look great on you. I am not in doubt about the purple--it is a striking part of your cool harmony, so please keep it. But how about adding a clear grey and/or silver grey, perhaps instead of beige?

I like that you have chosen different accent colours for different seasons. I have done something similar--for each of my four seasons I have chosen favourite colours/shades to wear.

And yes, I do use colour to brighten my day and have done so for years. Even in outfits which are mostly neutral, I always include at least one non-neutral item (preferably near my face), if at all possible.

Helena

Veteran

LOL, Nemos, that's why I gave up in the end ... there aren't enough paint chips in the world hahaha!! But the overall principles were helpful

Janet, you are one of my colour heroes because you have figured out how to wear colour in a totally flattering way, both to your skintone, etc. AND your style. That's the holy grail! Good point on the Barney purple ... I'll have to go more in terms of amethyst than dinosaur ...

The Cat, you're right, gray is technically the better neutral for me, but I find it rather blah on me (although I do still wear it and like it especially in summer, with white). Now that the beiges are back, I'm finding it possible to find *some* beiges that skew a little cooler or 'greige' so I'll try to make the most of those. I definitely avoid anything that leans golden, as these tones do nothing for me. I love to include silver jewellery and hardware too, and avoid gold whenever possible. I will keep an open mind to gray though!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What Nemosmom, says

I have a client who LOVES the idea of colour! Loves looking at it in her wardrobe too. It sparks joy as long as she doesn't need to wear it! She sticks to black, grey and white - full stop.

Helena

Veteran

haha Angie - wow, I'm downright colourful by those standards! I've had SO much fun looking up RGB codes and playing with saturation so I could get this just right to my eye ... in my black and white striped top ... I am wearing burgundy leggings though! A little goes a long way for me!

Bijou

Veteran

I have definitely used colour to brighten my days during covid lockdown. The season for me is Autumn (Fall), but most trees are evergreen where I live and the skies are for the most part still blue and sunny - so the traditional Fall tones don't seem appropriate. I have been wearing colour mixed with my favourite neutrals of white, blush, navy and black. Over the last few years I have deliberately tried to limit the neutrals I purchase and added colour to my wardrobe.

Anonymous

Yes you should wear purple
I've actually gone the opposite lately. My brights are feeling too bright, and I'm wanting to just wear black, burgundy, and cinnamon. Columns of deep/ neutral color feel just right to me now.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I have been trying to figure out my best colors with my lighter coloring (skin, hair and even eyes seem to fade by the year). Have not yet decided, but purple seems to be one of my best .

Liesbeth

Veteran

I am drawn to more color as well, though that had set in around the start of the new year already so I doubt it's covid related. Yet in these depressing times I do like to wear soothing springlike colors. Nothing too bright as that feels inauthentic to me now, but not seas of grey and navy either.

Staysfit

Veteran

TG thanks for providing so many lovely thought promoting posts while you have had more time on your hands to sit and think, etc. I have been a beneficiary of your willingness to share your thoughts here on the forum. Thank you!

Your palette looks lovely and I expect it will look good together and when you wear it. I had never seriously considered neutrals or base colors in my wardrobe prior to my participation here on YLF. I was color confused by disparate results from several color typing experiences. I settled on light summer as the most accurate palette. The light summer colors seem fairly consistent with the colors I get using both David Zyla’s method and Elea Blake color drapes. The eb color drapes provide the widest range of possible options and at some point you may want to check on them for your purples.

I do not wear every color in my palette and have found that a narrow range works best for mixing and matching. It took time and experimentation to identify the tones, intensities and colors that I like mixed together. In the end, the colors in my wardrobe are the colors I naturally gravitate towards and they make me happy.

Helena

Veteran

Thanks everyone! I've been reading some (admittedly woowoo) bits about how colour is healing, hownit influences our energy, etc and I'm quite intrigued!

Shevia, I feel the same ... My hair and eyes were far more saturated in days gone by, and my skin much clearer! I'm sure I was an old-school "winter" when I was younger, but now I more or less just wear "cool" colours ... I stay away from very bright and very muted and sort of stay in the middle. FWIW I think you look especially gorgeous in any and every shade of blue!

SF yes ... It's all fine having a palette of 60 colours but how do you build a wardrobe on that? I feel like this palette has a version of red, blue, green and purple that works best for me, and that's plenty. (Yellow and orange are not good on me so I'm happy to ignore those!)

I'm glad everyone is finding ways to navigate colour their way to add some light and happiness to a heavy time. Xx

Jane

Veteran

I really like the analysis and the simplicity of how you have detailed it.

I love colour, but when I wear it sometimes it just feels too noisy! At the start of this 'whole episode' I only wore black, but I have moved on from that now. Because, yes, I needed colour to lift everything a little.

Helena

Veteran

Jane, I can relate ... I tend to get super into one direction, and then switch ... I'm going to start trying to integrate even just a touch of colour regularly (in fact I think I really do this already) and just sort of follow my mood for the day rather than trying to have a set plan for evermore

Style Fan

Veteran

Great analysis. I agree that the colour palette have lots to choose from but for many reasons, it is not practical to have a wardrobe with pieces in all the colours. I have always been drawn to certain colours (olive green, chocolate brown, burnt orange, cognac) and when I stray I tend not to wear the new colours. I think that Staysfit's approach is what also works best for me.
This morning I was looking at a pair of dark eggplant jeans that I bought years ago. I tried them on. They fit great. They looked good with some olive green tops. Then I took them off. I put my Levis on. I felt better.
The eggplant colour is in my palette. It is definitely an autumn colour. It is just not me.

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Sal

Veteran

I have been down a different colour rabbit hole via Youtube - Jen Thoden's

https://yourcolorstyle.com/

I quite like it because it seems to work for me...I worked out I was a Bright Warm Light (medium is warmer than what I am, I am warm but with some neutral tendencies). It is not too prescriptive and seems to suit my palette. There was one analysis that was very similar to me that was interesting to me.

I like your palette and good luck with adding some purples. It is a colour that can be hard to find except in knitwear in my experience. But I agree it is very flattering and a fun colour.

rachylou

Veteran

These are great for you IMO. I have gone the opposite way today... navy and cream for once!