Today we want to give you a great men’s clothing guide to color co-coordinating. Color coordination is an art. Certain colors can have a strong emotional impact or may have a symbolism attached to them. They may pair well with certain colors and clash with others. By understanding how colors work together, you can dress more stylishly. Below are just a few men’s fashion tips on how to incorporate colors into your clothing.
Dressing in neutrals
Neutral colors are ‘safe’ colors. You can wear them together in practically any combo and they will work. These colors include black, white, gray, navy, brown and.
It’s good to always own a few neutral items of clothing. In fact, it’s possible to dress entirely in neutral tones (as many men do). Items such as these ones from Arcteryx Veilance can be ideal for a minimal neutral outfit. Alternatively, you can try out different textures and patterns.
Adding pops of color
Once you start breaking out of the neutral color palette, you need to take care as to which items of clothing you wear together. Adding ‘pops’ of color to a neutral outfit is the easiest way to incorporate other colors. This could include wearing a red t-shirt with a jacket, jeans, socks and shoes all in neutral tones.
You can add two pops of the same color. For instance, you could wear a green jacket and green sneakers while keeping the rest of your outfit in neutral shades. These could be the same shade of green or slightly different shades.
Going monochrome
Photo by Javier Reyes on Unsplash
Dressing entirely in one color can be a little more daring. Often, it’s best to use subtle shade differences rather than dressing entirely in one exact shade of the same color. For instance, when dressing all in blue, you might want to opt for a dark blue t-shirt, light blue jeans and navy blue sneakers.
Black is the one exception where you can dress entirely in the same tone. It can look slightly gloomy when dressing in more formal clothing – unless you’re dressing for a funeral, you may want to add the odd pop of color. All black casual clothing can work more effectively.
Understanding color psychology
Certain colors can have a psychological impact on people around you. This could be worth noting if you’re dressing for a job interview or a date.
Red for instance can be a persuasive color, although it can sometimes run the risk of being aggressive in tone on men. Blue is a more calming color, although it can also come across as conservative in some situations. You can find out more about color psychology in clothing here at Fashion is Psychology.
Wearing colors together
Photo by LOGAN WEAVER on Unsplash
When wearing multiple colors together outside of the neutral palette, it’s worth noting their relationship on the color wheel. This can dictate which colors go well together – and which colors don’t go so well together.
You can check out the color wheel here at Canva.
Associated colors are any two colors directly next to each other on the color wheel. These can often be paired harmoniously together. Such colors include blue and blue-green, as well as red and red-violet.
Complimentary colors are any two colors directly opposite one another on the color wheel. These can also work well together in many cases. These include blue and orange or yellow and violet.
Blacks, whites and greys are not located on the color wheel, as are many mixtures of colors such as brown, burgundy and turquoise. For this reason, the color wheel isn’t always the best guide on how to use colors.
A few colors that work particularly well together include:
- Black and white
- Black and grey
- Grey and pink
- Brown and burgundy
- Cream and brown
- Navy and white
- Green and khaki
There are a few combos that don’t work particularly well and should be kept away from. These include:
- Red and green
- Green and orange
- Purple and yellow
- Red and orange
- Brown and black
Wearing patterns
Patterned items of clothing should be contrasted with block colors. Two patterned items of clothing are likely to clash – especially if the patterns are in different colors.
This is something to especially when wearing a shirt and tie – only ever wear a patterned shirt with a block colored tie and only ever wear a block colored shirt with a patterned tie.
Read more fashion articles at ClichéMag.com
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