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The complexities of contrast

SarahD8

Veteran

As a person with relatively light coloring I have to watch out for high-contrast outfits/clothing items. (I don't really subscribe to the notion that I should only wear low-contrast outfits but sometimes I do think: oh yeah, that's too much.) I noticed an interesting phenomenon in relation to value contrast recently and wanted to share.

Photo 1 is an outfit (flat-lay only, sorry, I am still not really able to take mirror shots) featuring a black cardigan with a white Nordic pattern. Even though this cardigan is as high-contrast as can be, I feel quite good in it.

Photo 2 is an outfit featuring a gray cardigan with a similar Nordic pattern in black. Oddly, even though the *absolute* contrast is less than that of cardi #1, it seems to read as higher contrast and I do feel it overwhelms me a bit.

I've been trying to puzzle out what's behind this so that I can make better/more reliable choices in the future. I'm thinking that for whatever reason a light pattern on a darker background is better than a dark pattern on a lighter background. I'm not sure quite why that should be (actually it seems a bit counterintuitive).

But interestingly, I've also been looking for tweedy items recently and have noticed that I'm drawn to dark items with light flecks and don't really like light items with darker flecks so maybe there is indeed some intuition going on here.

Also complicating the picture is that I have a gray and white Nordic patterned scarf (shown in photo 3, a pic of all my neutral items in my deep winter wardrobe) and it seems just fine even though I would describe it as gray on a white background. Maybe it's ok because the absolute contrast is so low? Or maybe because the two colors are quite even -- so there isn't really a background color and a pattern color?

Anyway, just thought it was interesting and wondered if anyone else had noticed any interesting subtleties of how value contrast works for you.

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Dressing

19 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

unfrumped

Veteran

All this resonates with me. Your outfit 1 is one I could wear though I avoid typical black and white outfits. For me, prints and stripes are definitely better if the background is dark and there is some, but less total, white or light gray.
Size and distribution of pattern matters also.

You probably have looked at Imogen Lamport’s examples of value contrast, but I love her “ celebrity examples” .
Also neutrals-faces vs color-based faces, and “ soft”( or soft-er ) color palettes.
I don’t think one should be a rigid about it, but for me it helped make some sense about aspects of colors and patterns that were working or not, how to look for certain characteristics, how to keep in mind what was going to happen with certain things on top, bottom, topper.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Interesting--and puzzling--observations! Looking at the two prints, it seems to me that maybe it's less a matter of contrast than it is some other aspect of the patterns that makes you feel more comfortable in the black and white one. And my guess is that with the black and gray one, there is a variety to the pattern that doesn't exist in the black and whtie one with its rows of regular, repeated designs. In the black and gray cardi, there is "a lot going on," so I could see how it could be a little more overwhelming to a wearer with light coloring and low contrast.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I just had another thought: in the black and white cardi, the "pattern" is cream, whereas in the gray and black, the pattern is black. The pattern may draw the eye more, and the pattern in cream is more harmonious with your own coloring than the pattern in black. That would account for your light-on-dark tweedy preference, too.

LaPed

Veteran

Like Firecracker just said, I'm wondering if the warm white of the pattern is somehow picking up on your natural colouring in a way that the black pattern does not. Because the pattern, not the background, is what catches our eye and is what we "see" first (just like we see the text on the page before we see the page itself), maybe we should be paying more attention to the pattern's colour even if it's a smaller percentage of the overall garment.

Runcarla

Veteran

When my hair was darker, I could do high contrast outfits much better than I can now that I have a lot of white. When I do high contrast now, I balance the ‘light’ of my hair with light bottoms, and wear a dark top. I don’t have many light tops, and usually wear them in an outfit that is light - top to bottom.

An interesting exercise on value and contrast is to take a photo and then make it black and white so you can really see if there is contrast or not. Sometimes a small enough print ‘reads’ as a solid. After making your photos black and white, I don’t see as much contrast in the sweater in #1, but a little more in sweater #2.

You can do the same with a head shot to better understand what reads as light and dark in your face, and why you might like to frame it with darker or lighter tops.

You may gravitate to darker tweeds or prints because they do a better job as a frame for your face!

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Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I might be that the darker background just reads more dark and less bright and attention getting to you. The scarf is low contrast so is less eye catching. Just a thought!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I have no idea on this sort of thing! I am sure I use instinct.
A relevant choice for me was when I saw a black and white version of my favourite olive snakeskin or ink snakeskin pants. Somehow when I tried them on I went Arggh! Just seemed all wrong, too much. And yet I had previously bought a different type of black and white snakeskin more summery pants which I have worn heaps and love.
I don’t think I try to analyse it. It just looks right or wrong to my eye?
You are digging in very deep here! It’s interesting, but another option is just trusting your feelings?

SarahD8

Veteran

Unfrumped, fascinating that you have also found it easier to wear light pattern on dark backgrounds. I can see from Runcarla’s black and white images that the black and white does read as lower contrast than the gray and black. I wonder if that’s a general thing with light patterns on dark ground, as Shevia suggests.

Firecracker, yeah, I’m looking at those squares in the gray and black cardi. I wonder if that’s what’s throwing things off. They definitely create a more crisp look to the pattern, and crisp is usually the wrong direction for me.

But as for the white vs cream issue that Firecracker and La Ped raised — I’m afraid that’s just poor lighting/photography on my part. The white in the first cardi is a true, bright white, not cream — all of the neutrals at issue here are cool tones.

Runcarla, yes, good point about what reads as light and dark on our faces. I think that also has to do with our facial structure, not just the tones/value of our actual features. For example I have very large, round eyes with quite large, deep set eye sockets. This creates shadows that increase the dark/perceived contrast on my face. Since I don’t show my face on the forum Karen Blixen can illustrate for us.
https://images.app.goo.gl/gsJf89n3fZ6CPRVL8

Jenni NZ, yes, trusting one’s feelings is great! But my feelings also led me to the not quite right gray and black cardi, so—

rachylou

Veteran

I think it might have something to do with the pattern. With the first sweater, the white pattern is finer, more complex, really covers the black. The second sweater, the pattern is a little simpler, bigger and fewer shapes, more background shows through. I think you get more blending with the first.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I’m with Unfrumped’s first comment and Firecracker’s second. Carla’s photo experiment shows that there really isn’t much difference in the total amount of contrast (especially if we take into account that the lighting is different). But the white pattern is close to your norm, based on skin color, so it doesn’t feel as disruptive, no matter what the background is. I wonder if that is different for light-skinned people who wear black all the time, if it gets to feel unobtrusive after a while.

ChrisM

Veteran

Just curious - what if you changed the supporting act items in the second flat lay to lower contrast items? That would change the overall contrast level.

Instead of a white polo neck, try the denim shirt, or a gray polo neck and a pair of denim or gray pants instead of black.

I’m interested to see if that changes your perception.

LaPed

Veteran

Wow, Runcarla, the black-and-white photos are eye-opening!

I think everyone who's mentioned the smaller scale of the pattern in #1 is also onto something. The pattern in #2 may be too blocky and overwhelming.

Jules

Veteran

Very interesting thread! I consider myself pretty low contrast and also have small/fine features, and don’t wear a lot of makeup. I also love graphic black and white patterns, but eventually figured out they generally overwhelm me. That said, the black sweater is an example of something I might consider. It wouldn’t be my best but it’s not totally out of the running. I think, and I’m just developing a theory here, that old fashioned thick wool is quite matte and black wool reads as soft black. Newer thin knits with higher acrylic percentage read as crisper and blacker, maybe? Or maybe it’s even about the gauge of the thread? You’d be the better judge of whether that’s true in real life of these particular pieces as it’s hard to say from photos.

The scarf reads as tonal and low contrast. Keep in mind that tweeds and menswear prints can be like this even with greater colour value variation - again I don’t wear high contrast, very graphic black and white prints, but I would wear a fine check houndstooth, or maybe even gingham. I think of the type of black and white prints I don’t wear as being very ‘graphic’, although perhaps it’s just my personal definition.

unfrumped

Veteran

Jules, your observation is on point.
It’s also the feature of some( not all) knitwear that the color transitions are softened. Just a bit like the effects of woven plaids.
I have an EF B&W striped line knit top in which there is some black thread just barely inter- or under- woven in the white stripe. This reads softer and generally better on me than a typical nautical striped knit. A HEWI is also a stripe that is not- quite- white, but not cream ( too yellow- based).

JAileen

Veteran

Since I went grey I noticed I wanted to wear less contrast. BTW, I love both sweaters. I would probably gravitate to the grey one because I love wearing grey.

nemosmom

Veteran

Agree with others about the amount of contrast that may be key. If you are light hair and light skin, a top where the overall color is also light, with a pop of contrast - that may come across as more standout-ish than say a dark top with a pop of light contrast.

Maybe having an equal amount of total lightness/darkness, balanced between your coloring-plus-garment, may help with whether it reads right to you.

Helena

Veteran

Sarah, to me the first one reads softer and warmer, whereas the second is crisper and cooler - I wonder if one of those qualities is perhaps more contrasting with your personal colouring (vs. within the pattern itself) and therefore stands out more/creates more contrast on you ...? For example, maybe although you are relatively lighter, your dominant trait is more softness?

Sal

Veteran

Very interesting and I don't know why one works and the other doesn't - but agree that it is to do with the scale of the pattern. I wonder if some of it is preference as well.

I used to love wearing black and white patterned clothing, but for some reason have stopped doing except for one striped top. I think this is because I am mostly avoiding crisp white and sticking to chalky whites and ecru.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

SarahD8, here's my 2 cents

FWIW, the high contrast cardigan in #1 has that creamy-tan in it, which is repeated in your complexion - (in your hair and skin tone because you are a dark blonde). For that reason, the high contrast creates harmony and you don't feel overwhelmed.

The cardigan in #2 is grey and black, neither of which is repeated in your complexion. Far less harmony and feels overwhelming.....unless you throw on a black wig!

As for the scarf in #3, it contains a creamy colour, which is again repeated in your complexion. More harmony.