More on levels of contrast - YouLookFab Forum

Starting a new post because the topics on black veered into other angles - I was trying to fall asleep last night and realized that for me, my concerns with wearing black come from a place of trying to manage contrast. I feel like if I wear black, I need to pair it with equally strong colors - white, or a deep jewel tone: dark pink, red, forest green, royal purple etc. I wouldn't feel as comfortable pairing black with something like blush or pale blue. I love black and white prints, but the ones I like to wear are smaller scale, and about 50/50 black and white, so that from a far distance they look gray.

I am theorizing that this is all about levels of contrast and matching what your natural levels of contrast are. I have a pale but ruddy complexion, light brown hair and hazel eyes. So I'm not high contrast like I would be if I had black hair or low contrast if my hair were blonde. I guess you'd call it medium contrast. And I think that's what I'm aiming for in my outfits as well - if I wear black and jewel tones everything is reasonably close together in contrast, whereas denim and say pale green and dove grey are close together in contrast too.

Just thinking 'out loud' here, really - does this approach hold true for you?

11 years ago

MuseumGal

Veteran

Oh definitely. I tend towards higher contrast - black and brights - in the winter, when my skin gets very pale and contrasts with my darker hair and eyes. In the summer, I get quite tan and there is less contrast between skin, hair, and eyes, and I tend to wear more muted tones - olives and browns and naturals.

milehighstyle (Linda)

I think so. I'm more of a high contrast - dark brown hair and light (but not super pale) complexion and I like a medium to high contrast in my outfits. Although I don't personally care for putting black with pastels, I will wear pastels with charcoal, navy, and deep brown. Black always has to have something light with it, like white, silvery grey or cream. I'm less picky about contrast on a light outfit, though, than I am on a dark one, if that makes any sense.

Helena

Yep, definitely agree. High contrast prints on a low contrast person tend to 'wear' them imho ... sounds like you've got a good formula going!

Amy

(website)

Nope. I'm a fairly low contrast person, but I wear high contrast things and I don't think they overpower me. I could be wrong...but I feel my best in higher contrast outfits.

Liz

For me, personality, coloring, and preference all play into my contrast levels. My personality leans toward harmony and ease. My hair / skin coloring is low contrast. I think these two combined mean that I tend to prefer colors that blend rather than contrast. Black with most colors is just too high contrast for my taste. It feels too dramatic, crisp, and cold for my preferences. At least that's true most of the year. The exception is summer, when I want crisp and I'm not as pale. Then I tend to go high contrast: white and brown, white and black, black and khaki.

rachylou

This is a complex thought. I'm not fair, but I have blue black hair and would feel comfortable doing a blush and black... so I think I might fall on the higher side of contrast, working this principle in reverse.

I should probably note, tho, that I need to do Angie's Wear White Boot Camp to go as hard and sharp as black and white. I like vivid monochromatic looks a lot, actually, because you get sharp without dealing with contrast between items of clothing.

Hmmm: I'm in the low or medium contrast camp, but as long as I'm wearing muted colours, I can pair light & dark ones for a high contrast look without feeling overwhelmed. I quite like combining soft white or dove grey with charcoal grey or bitter brown or navy, for instance! I love low contrast combinations too though, and the majority of my outfits are in the low or medium contrast arena. And thinking about it, usually if I combine a very dark and very light colour, I have a medium one somewhere in there too.

Aziraphale

I don't know. Interesting idea. One thing I would point out: you can muck with your natural contrast levels quite easily. You can darken or lighten your hair, you can put on mascara, you can wear dark lipstick. Do those things count?

Gigi

I have high-contrast coloring and do not generally like wearing low-contrast outfits...they feel "blah" to me. The authors of *The Triumph of Individual Style* are of the opinion that wearing outfits that mimic your natural contrast level generally looks best. So you have gravitated toward that naturally, it sounds.

DonnaF

I have had it pounded into me since I was a teenager that as a short person, I shouldn't wear blocks of high contrast. Nowadays, I won't wear a white shirt with black pants because I wouldn't want to be mistaken for a slacker of a waitperson, and I don't want to give waitpeople a bad reputation! I tend to gravitate toward a tonal look or wear colors of the same intensity but maybe this is habit? I am ethnically East Asian with medium skin tones and charcoal hair that was never super black, so I have moderate contrast.

DonnaF, I have heard of a lot of "rules" for short people to follow, but I have never heard of that one! (And I am 5'2".) The book I mentioned above was written by people who have training in art, so they approach outfit creation from a traditional artistic perspective. So they would say that if you have medium contrast, you should try for medium contrast in your clothing. I think you could certainly try ramping up the contrast a bit, as it sounds like you are wearing only low-contrast clothing (?). I know that I see an immediate difference when I wear contrast levels in my clothing that match my facial contrast...I immediately look more "alive" or something. I think it would be fun if you could give it a try!

shedev

I'm medium contrast in my coloring, but I like to wear low contrast in clothes.

mrseccentric

I'm low contrast coloring and wear low contrast outfits generally....i will rarely do high contrast.

But i consistently wear a bit of high contrast near my face, as in light straw hat with black ribbon, earrings with black white striped lucite, etc. It's always a good strategy to experiment with if you're floundering around stylewise, but as with the rest of it you need to try it to see if it's what you like. steph

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