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Sticking to a colour palette - is it important to you?

Star

Veteran

Hello Everyone
Happy New Year to you all and believing that 2022 will be better for all of us than 2021!
I am curious if sticking to buying items in a specific colour palette is important to you or not, and if you do what have been the benefits. Or have any of you done this but not seen any visible results.
I have always been able to wear most colours fairly successfully (except for oatmeal, mango, mustard). I am a cool toned person and had dark brunette hair. Now that my natural hair is silver I am noticing some colours really do look more or less flattering than others. I am thrift shopper mostly so it is impossible to find pieces in multiple colours, for obvious reasons. I found two pieces recently in the thrift store that I left behind because they were tops in the warm colour tones that I want to avoid and out of my new preferred palette, and now I am wondering if I made a mistake and if I should re-think this idea for future items. Everything else was right except the colors and particularly that they were warm toned and would be close to my hair and face. The thrift shop was in another town while on a short day-trip so no going back.
I am also trying to reduce my wardrobe size so I thought this strategy could help with that too, as well as the obvious benefits of making outfits more easily. Thoughts, experience and comments on this appreciated.

Dressing

41 replies

Latest reply was from Star

RoseandJoan

Veteran

For myself, I need to have a core base in my preferred neutrals, cream, charcoal, black and denim. When I have this foundation I am able to be more liberal with the colours I add, so long as they work with the core neutrals I'm happy.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

It's not important to me, but I do it unintentionally. I just have a palette that I prefer to wear. I do think it makes it easier to mix and match things in outfits, if all of your colors work together.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I am not rigid about it but it is a consideration if you want to maximise how you use your wardrobe.The more things that work together the more outfits one can create so l do keep it in mind.l also know that certain colours do suit me better than others so l also bear this in mind.l won’t buy mustard clothing because l look hideous in it and no amount of makeup or distance from my face will solve this .

Jonesy

Veteran

Ditto exactly what Chewy said!

Irina

Veteran

I rarely go outside of my palette of neutrals. I bought exactly 2 pieces of clothes last year that contain colors I don’t wear. The whole point of deciding on my color palette was to have pieces that work together in a multiple combinations. So, it’s about having a versatile wardrobe for me.
For example, I have a pistachio cotton spring coat and I love it. But it’s outside of my palette and works well with navy/denim and some whites that I have but not with black or grey. I wear it but only occasionally.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I have certain colours that appeal and certain colours that don’t. They are essentially in my Spring palette, for what I believe has always suited me and I have always been drawn to. Even as I have greyed and thus become slightly cooler of colouring this still applies. I still get the most compliments on the warm bright colours like orange, red.
I did happen to think about this just yesterday when wandering through my favourite small mall where my favourite supermarket is. I was on my way to buy groceries but went the long way past all the clothing stores to look in the windows! It seems that rather muted warm colours are “in”, rather than bright warm, and nothing jumped out at me.
So I think I must do this subconsciously.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I think given you want to reduce wardrobe size also, I know we are both trying to do this, then you did the right thing to leave them behind, for both reasons.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Sticking to a color palette is very important to me--or so I tell myself-- though I find it very difficult. I have had my colors done a few times, and I usually carry around my most recent palette when I shop. My "mixed success" comes in the way I misuse, or sometimes ignore, the palette. I misuse it by getting colors that I think go with it but probably really don't--I've often tried to "match" colors in the palette, which is not actually recommended and can lead me to get colors that are close, but not quite right. The more expert method is to see whether the color in consideration is actually blending in with the palette, an approach I find very difficult. I will even go so far as to say that without a dead-on color to compare side-by-side, I just can't really tell that a fairly close color is off. So I end up adding things to my wardrobe that I think should go with other pieces but don't, really. And then there are the times that I willfully ignore the palette because it doesn't contain some colors I want to wear--like some shades of gray, blue, and pink that I think are flattering on me but don't really go with the cards in my palette.

I would like to follow the approach of RoseandJoan and Irina, for simplicity of mixing and matching and being able to create more outfits in my wardrobe. It seems there's a part of me that just won't stick to a palette, though, as much as I seem to crave that approach. I think the fact that I wear a lot of patterns complicates my outfit creation, too. In the end, I'm probably quite like you, in that I don't choose colors that I know are unflattering to my coloring, but I may not always choose the "best" ones. In the end it kind of works out, even if it feels chaotic to me a lot of the time when I'm trying to pack for a trip.

cat2

Veteran

Sticking to my palette is important to me. I have found that if I do, then I have fewer wardrobe orphans. In addition, I need to buy fewer supporting act pieces. For example, I stopped buying navy blue, and so I don’t need shoes, tights, belts, a bag, etc. that work with it.

Helena

Veteran

Yes, and I'm better off doing it naturally rather than over-thinking it, as I do tend to gravitate to the same colours over and again - black, white, gray, a variety of blues from light to ink, light pink/blush, cool red and burgundy. Occasionally a cool deep green or teal will also find it's way into the closet.

One colour palette note from 2021 that I'm carrying into 2022 is that I do really like having a black base for the majority of the year (navy in summer) - once I have this, then I can easily mix in the various colours I gravitate to.

FWIW, I think a simple guideline like "cool colours only" can be just as effective (for me, even more) than a really strict palette (I say this based on my years of agonizing over it, only to return to this!). Because colour is more of an accent for me, worn with neutrals, for example, as long as I stick to my cool colours, I am generally fine.

If you have a super-colorful wardrobe it might be more important, but if you're inclined to neutrals, or wearing jeans a lot, then it's pretty easy to wear different colour tops, etc. without having to worry too much about matching.

That's a bit rambly, but fwiw!

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Back to add that I agree you made the right decision leaving the warm-toned pieces behind. I've found that the pieces that don't look good next to my face are the ones I'm most likely to change out of each time I try to put them on. They will get left behind. Or I'll end up trying really hard to make them work, buying other pieces that aren't great colors, which doesn't work so well either.

Style Fan

Veteran

I planned my colour palette several years ago. The colours I picked were ones I wore a lot and were flattering. My goal was a wardrobe that was smaller and worked for my lifestyle.
This works for me. It is much easier to shop and most of my pieces work together. There are lots of approaches to wardrobe planning.

JAileen

Veteran

I was on a trip and took just grey and blue. I was amazed how easy it was putting outfits together. I decided to stick to those two colors. I did it for several years and was pretty happy. Then I added pale pink and olive. And I was still happy.

But then all hell broke loose when I bought a Radley bag. I started adding red and black like mad. Because of that, I’ve used the bag so much more than I’d envisioned.

So now my colors are grey, blue, pale pink, olive, red and black.

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Runcarla

Veteran

Yes…and no! The main reason I stick to a limited palette is for maximizing mix-and-matchability across capsules. I like keeping the # of garments low while squeezing as much outfit variety as possible out of my closet. That said, I’m not adverse to a ‘one of’ that might remain a lone wolf in my closet, or might inspire a foray into a new colour.

My current colour palette can be seen in the pic below, but I have a single rust coloured t-shirt (bought to round out a BOGO ) that turned out to be my most worn t-shirt of 2021. Though I moved away from olive green after 2020, I recently picked up a pair of faux leather pants in hunter green, and now have 2 garments in that colour, and might be tempted to expand that capsule.

I do find some colours don’t translate well across all four seasons. Though I do wear winter white/cream, and lilac is a ‘thing’ atm with both warm and cold weather garments availailable - other colours aren’t as versatile. Not much hunter green in S/S for example.

Regarding the purchases you left behind, I’d suggest if the colours weren’t right because they weren’t flattering or you didn’t love them - then you were correct in leaving them behind, no matter how well they fit or felt - because they weren’t ‘perfect.’ Small wardrobes need garments to meet PPP.

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Jenni NZ

Veteran

Carla, what’s a BOGO? You have me stumped!

nemosmom

Veteran

Ditto what Carla said. I like to stick to my palette so I have cohesive mix-and-match ability. A couple of years ago my closet was 82% green, excluding shoes. So, I had to expand a bit. I had to redefine what MY neutrals are - black, white, and ivory are hideous on me, so I used non-clothing photographs of nature - things like a coastlines and patina'd copper - as inspiration for a palette. But once I find a good combo, I stick to that.

For me, having a tight palette that I can mix and match reduces the amount of brainpower I use to get dressed. I am lazy.

Runcarla

Veteran

@ Jenni - BOGO - buy one, get one (half off or free, etc.). In the case of the T-shirts it was buy one, get one half off. There were 3 in colours within my palette, but lured by the BOGO discount, I picked up a 4th - the rust - not in my palette.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Like Jonesy and Chewy, I find that the colors that appeal to me also work well for me and look good together.

A few years back, when I decided that I wanted to be able to dress head-to-toe in berry colors across a spectrum from frost pink to blackberry/burgundy, I intentionally bought some items in those colors. Otherwise, though, I don’t think about palette when I shop. It would be hard to find colors in my wardrobe that truly clash.

Anonymous

Definitely! My palette evolves with what's available in the shops, but I stick close to my dark autumn colors.
The benefits:
Flattery- some colors are good on me, some are just Really Wrong.
Simplicity- my wardrobe goes together, and I can instantly rule out a lot of what's in the shops.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Oh thanks Carla I understand now! Will try to remember that acronym. I actually dislike those deals now since I have had the opposite problem of too large a wardrobe, those deals make me likely to get too much stuff.

Brooklyn

Veteran

Yes, like Irina, RC, NM, I find having a limited colour palette enhances my ability to mix and match, maximise wears and minimise orphans. When I add a new colour I think about it carefully - how I’m going to wear it, whether I need to add new items in a similar colour to complement it.

That said, a lot depends on how you feel about colour mixing. If you find you have a high tolerance for mixing lots of different colours together (and not looking for a tonal or neutral based look for example), you might not need to be so careful about adding new colours. Angie has written articles about this.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

YES, to answer your question.

I have a colour-rich wardrobe. LOTS of colours! Neutrals are navy, light blue, denim, and white.

I absolutely stick to MY colours - which are many - they must match or work together tonally. That way, my outfits are easy to pull together.

I deliberately say no thank you to colours like: purple, teal, dark brown, cobalt, jade, earthy greens, black, and grey. About to shut the door on olive too.

Soooo, although I have an explosion of colour in my wardrobe - the same colours I've loved my whole life - the palettes are disciplined and carefully curated to work together (to my eye and taste, any way!) . Plus I have a high tolerance for colour-mixing - to Brooklyn's point - so combining colours is liberal. For example, I wear my oranges, reds and pinks together.

slim cat

Veteran

Most of the time it’s my fav colors but I can compromise because of the fabric I love or print I’m interested. There’s some orphaned pieces of course and some mistakes. I will avoid pure solid black blouse but get a black graphic tee with white, yellow or blue in the print.

DonnaF

Veteran

I think you made the right choice particularly if you want a smaller mix’n’match wardrobe. I’ve found that if a color is too much of an outlier, it won’t look great with anything I own. But I’m wondering if your eyes are warm colored or have warm flecks? If yes, you should be able to wear those colors at least in small amounts.

If I wear colors that are wrong for me, I lack energy if they are too pale or feel weighed down if they are too warm. How about you?

Anonymous

I’m very specific about colour and don’t even look at pieces outside of my chosen palette . I didn’t find it difficult to sort out the colours that both suited me and that I wanted to dress in , so maybe I’m not understanding the question . That said , I am willing to experiment with colour to occasionally expand my capsules , but it’s usually planned . My tight colour palette ( earth tones , some brighter neutrals ) all works together without making me feel like I wear the same thing every day .

rachylou

Veteran

I don’t have a strict palette. I like to dress excessively colourfully. Also lots of colours that ostensibly do not work for me do in reality, because of the dyes used. There are in fact ‘cool olives.’ That all said, I hold pieces up to my face to figure out whether or not any given olive will work on me. I can’t tell looking at something on a hanger on a rack.

Joy

Veteran

I try to stay with certain colors and neutrals but love the excitement and refreshing challenge of adding a new color to the wardrobe. For example, for the winter holidays I added a small burgundy capsule mostly in velvet and satin for dressy occasions . This past year I have added a 3-season grouping of coral pieces that I have really enjoyed. Some years some colors are very difficult to find. Now it is light browns that just do not seem to be out there. I hope to mix them with dark neutrals that I have. Sticking to a few colors can reduce the size of your wardrobe and become a signature for you. My sister has a friend who has stuck to pink, purple and turquoise only for years.

I divide my neutrals and colors to wear only in certain seasons. Changing into a new season is refreshing and feels new that way.

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

I grew up wearing a rainbow of colours, but sometimes would feel that certain colours would 'wear' me (instead of the other way around). So I paid for a colour consultation in 2019 & was 'diagnosed' as a 'Deep Autumn' - I've been slowly amassing basic & essential pieces in dark brown as a result (plus my 'Chocolate Complement').

I agree with @RoseandJoan that consistent core neutrals can help to 'mix & match outfits' (as @chewyspaghetti said) - e.g. I recently cleared out all black in my wardrobe as part of a failed experiment to inject a little 'edge' to it. I found that, whilst I 'could' still get away with black, it drained me a bit more than my 'suited' dark chocolate brown. For someone who does not wear much makeup (if at all), I couldn't really 'correct' the issue in that way (nor did I want to).

So it's been ~2 weeks since the switch (I'm packing any black clothing I still want into a UK capsule wardrobe, for when I can return home...). I can already see a difference in how easy it is to get dressed in the mornings! It doesn't require any thought, whereas before I would have to plan my outfits the weekend before & hang them up in preparation for the week. I'm still unpacking my accessories though (moved to a smaller closet in the new place), which might further complicate things later lol...

Despite the switch, I have indeed kept some clothing that 'shouldn't' suit me but I still love. One is 'hot pink' - not quite a rich berry, but not a shocking fuchsia either. I have a lightweight tunic & scarf in this colour, since it's so practical for my subtropical climate & because it functions as a pseudo neutral for me (Diana Vreeland once said that 'pink is the navy blue of India', after all - I'm not Indian, but a similar sentiment nonetheless!)
The other item in question is a 'mid blue' cotton top that's surprisingly flattering on me (a Deep Autumn's version of navy blue is supposed to be teal - aka not blue at all, lol!) I use it as loungewear, because I can throw it on with anything & it goes - now if only I could find denim in that exact shade of blue!

So in your situation, could you wear a scarf/ lipstick/ earrings in one of your favoured colours (to counteract the tops) instead? You will need to decide if you want to make that 'sacrifice' every time you wear those tops, though - none of us can do that 'cost-benefit' analysis for you, since there's no one right answer (as this thread has shown!)

Just be honest with yourself - is a strict palette more likely to save you time in the morning or to make you feel 'boxed in'?

Star

Veteran

Such interesting feedback. I see that most of us do keep to a colour palette of sorts even if sub-consciously (except RachyLou and me).

Zaeobi thanks for your thoughts on this. How interesting about the blue that goes with everything. I don't have to worry about saving time in the morning as a retired person with plenty of time available but maybe I will feel 'boxed in', only time will tell.

So in that regard I am going to experiment. In Spring I will only leave the clothes I own in my preferred palette in my closet. The rest will get packed on a high, out of sight shelf or in the closet in the spare room. I will then get first hand experience with a strict palette and and will know if I want to continue on this path.

Joy I agree I will have different palettes for different seasons. Although will probably only be the accent colors that change. Burgundy is too warm for my liking for Spring and Summer for example. Also I do not want white in my winter capsule but do in the other seasons. Your confirmation that sticking to a palette will help reduce a wardrobe spurs me on with this project.

Rachylou Yes there are cool olives, I think maybe there are cool versions of most colors (not sure about that) but it can be quite difficult to tell at a glance. I always loved lots of colour too but in recent years have been drawn to more subdued ones.

LisaP Your disciplined approach is enviable!

DonnaF Thanks for confirming I made the right choice - I feel better My eyes are light blue borderline grey so no warmth to work with. Because my silver hair is not fully in yet (2/3rds of the way) I am not sure how colors are going to make me feel. In recent years my dark brunette hair was more copper/yellow (did not suit my skin colour at all) - thanks terrible hair dyes I was using and I did not feel very fab in all white, very drained. When I was a dark brunette in my younger years all white was great. So it will be interesting to see how all white looks with my all silver hair!! The olives and rusts I was gravitating toward with copper-ish hair don't look so fab with my silver hair now. I have noticed that icy shades are looking good again so I think white may too, but I have always had to wear optic white - no creams or off-whites for me. I look absolutely ill in oatmeal beige. Previously I needed a lot of contrast but now it seems maybe not. Time will tell. I know you have silver hair, so I take it you have warmer eyes, am I right?

Slimcat you know what works for you!

Angie Thank you for your input and your wardrobe is a great example of how one can co-ordinate multiple colours successfully. Your advice has encouraged me to stay with my project for now.

Brooklyn I did previously have a high tolerance for many colours but this is waning. Your advice is encouraging to stay with the project. As you know I am very inspired by your style.

Suntiger your approach is the simplicity I am seeking, even though I am a thrift shopper mostly I want to make it work for me too. Fortunately our thrift shops mostly sort clothes by colour.

StagFash Your end result is what I am looking for - had to find anything that clashes in my wardrobe. So whether it is done purposefully or instinctively I the end result is similar for most. Another reason to stay put on this project. Thanks.

Nemosmom Love your approach to finding a palette/s that work for you.

Runcarla How interesting that the rust T-shirt outside of your palette became so versatile. Maybe some wisdom to be found in that.

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