Color Combos that will Make You Fall in Love
Years ago, when neutrals were all the rage, I tried so hard to fit in with the neutral game, but I never felt great in what I wore, because I wasn’t being true to myself. After an emotional abstract painting session using red paint that I was so afraid to use- something shifted! Somehow my little art session helped me to get over my fear of color- or maybe more specifically- my fear of being “too bright” and “too bold”.
About a year after this painting, I posted a video on my YouTube all about color (Watch: Part 1 & Part 2). Filming this video helped me to really embrace color and explore different color combos when it came to fashion. This may sound weird, but I literally felt like the world got more colorful! Colors became more vivid and suddenly I was seeing color combos EVERYWHERE. The beautiful light blue sky mixed with the dried yellow grass on a rolling hillside. The bright green and red street lights reflecting off a puddle at night in downtown San Francisco. Once you start taking notice of color combos, you will see them everywhere, and the world will become more beautiful! You’ll fall in love with color just like I did!
Now that I have fully embraced dressing colorfully, I have never been more joyful and confident in my outfits. There’s nothing like putting on a colorful patchwork dress to inject an extra dose of FUN into your day!
Where to Start?
I’ve been doing a series on my Instagram called #ROYGBIVoutfits - it’s been a fun way to challenge myself and my audience to fully explore each color of the rainbow. Each week I take a color and share all things outfit inspo, looks I’ve curated myself, inspiration from Pinterest & more!
While exploring these colors, it’s fun to see what color combos compliment each other - and let me say, there are SO MANY!
Getting into color combos can feel exciting and overwhelming all at once. A great place to start is with the colors you already have! Take some of your favorite pieces and lay them out. Try pairing them with different colors.
But before you do that, let’s start with my favorite tool- THE COLOR WHEEL!
Color Wheel Color Pairings
Monochromatic and Tonal Colors
Monochromatic dressing is an easy place to start with color! Just take one color you love and wear ONLY that color for an overall dramatic effect that really packs a punch!
Tonal Dressing is wearing the same color in different tones and shades.
“For example, shades of red that could be combined in an outfit are pastel pink, magenta pink, bright red, and/or deep burgundy. These are all different tones, different lightness/darkness of the color red. The tonal look is fun and pretty easy to do! It gives you a pretty style that’s a bit more subtle than the monochromatic color scheme.” -How To Wear Fashion
I pulled out almost every yellow piece I owned and put together 6 Tonal Outfits in yellow! Yellow outfits #1 & Yellow outfits #2. I also styled one of my favorite colors- Red in a tonal way here, and here.
During the Holiday Season I loved doing a fun take on “Blue Christmas” and styled up some more monochromatic and tonal outfits with blue - watch it here.
Complimentary Colors
The best, and most fool proof way to start creating color combos you’ll love is to start with complimentary colors. They will be directly across from each other on the color wheel. Like yellow and purple, or my personal favorite, orange and blue! Create stunning color blocking outfits with this simple trick!
“Complementary colors are colors exactly opposite each other on the color wheel. These contrast each other — hence making each other seem more vibrant when paired together. Examples: yellow and purple; green and red; blue and orange; blue-green and red-violet. The effect is a really popping contrast of color that creates a sometimes electric, high-voltage look!” - How to Wear Fashion
Some Complimentary Color Combos…
Analogous Colors
Analogous color combos are any two or three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. The colors are similar to each other so there is a cohesive and harmonious gradation of color.
According to Tan France in his Masterclass , he says, “Start with analogous colors. Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel and share a common hue. When incorporating new colors into your wardrobe, find a color that feels safe to you—for example, light blue. On the color wheel, blue falls between teal and blue-violet. If you feel comfortable with light blue, add on a teal or blue-violet for a subtle, two-color palette.”
Some Analogous Color Combos…
Basic Color Theory
Now that we talked about complimentary and analogous color combos, lets quickly go over PRIMARY, SECONDARY, and TERTIARY colors.
Primary Colors
Blue
Red
Yellow
Primary colors are basic colors that can be mixed together to produce other colors. - Collins
Some Primary Color Combos…
I’ve enjoyed styling up a few primary color looks over the years. It’s also fun to mix and match them. For example, mix red and yellow together for a ketchup and mustard look like all of mine here, or blue and yellow, or blue and red!
Secondary Colors
Orange
Green
Violet
Orange, Green, and Violet are the 3 secondary colors. “These are color combinations created by the equal mixture of two primary colors. On the color wheel, secondary colors are located between primary colors. According to the traditional color wheel, red and yellow make orange, red and blue make purple, and blue and yellow make green.” -Adobe
Some Secondary Color Combos…
Playing with secondary colors is a fun way to step out of your comfort zone while also following some simple color theory.
I had fun playing with secondary colors in this Reel on my Instagram!
Pairing Orange, Green, and Purple together can be super intimidating, but when you go for it it feels fun, bold, and effortless!
Tertiary Colors
Yellow-orange (amber)
Blue-green (teal)
Red-Purple (magenta)
Yellow-green (chartreuse)
Blue-purple (violet)
Red-orange (vermillion)
“The combination of primary and secondary colors is known as tertiary or intermediate colors, due to their compound nature. Blue-green, blue-violet, red-orange, red-violet, yellow-orange, and yellow-green are color combinations you can make from color mixing. On a color wheel, tertiary colors are between primary and secondary colors.”- Adobe.com
Some Tertiary Color Combos…
Now what?
Hopefully by now you’ve got a good idea of how the color wheel works, so now it’s time to start building your own colorful outfits! If you need some more color combos that will make you swoon follow my Pinterest board Color Combos.
Interiors are a fun place with play with color combos too! Head to my Pinterest board full of colorful home interior inspo and get inspiration for your next home design project.
I hope you leave this blog feeling inspired and bold! I can’t wait to see all the fun combos you create - tag me on Instagram @tiny_acorn, I’d love to see your looks!
I’ll leave you with this…
Some of my FAVORITE COLOR COMBOS right now!
