How to create the latest fashion colour palettes.
Here at Fashion.ie we are going to show you how to build the latest in colour palettes this season. Have you ever had an overwhelming sense of despair when you peek inside your wardrobe?
You look at a sea of neon tops, muted tones and seemingly few neutrals, realising that your current colour scheme does not work. Well, it might be time to sit down and use our Teenage fashion Ireland tips to help you develop the perfect colour palette for your wardrobe. Think about what your wardrobe needs to do to work for you. This will help you develop a wardrobe that allows you to mix and match seamlessly.
Building The Right Colour Palette For You
We all know the importance of colour when it comes to our clothes. Colour can say a lot about you as a person and can even evoke certain emotions and responses. So choosing colours and colour palette to live by is something that should be a priority.
If it hasn’t been said to you before, your style and relationship with clothes and fashion constantly evolves and changes. Wherever you are on your style journey, start today and know that your colour palette can and should change with time.
The Psychological Effects Of Colour
But before we get started, have a think about why colour is such a powerful force in our lives? Why does it have such an effect on our bodies and mood? There have been several cultures that practice chromotherapy. This is the use of colours to heal. The practice of chromotherapy can sometimes be known as light therapy or colorology.
It is still used today as a holistic practice. For example, red is used to stimulate your body and mind and to increase circulation. Yellow is thought to stimulate your nerves and help to purify your body. Orange is used to help your lungs and increase your energy levels. While blue is thought to help soothe illness or treat pain.
Method Number One: Use Universal Colours
If you are looking for the quickest and most effective way of developing a wardrobe colour palette, this is it. in case you don’t know, universal colours are those that look good on everyone, regardless of skin tone. While these colours can be a good starting point, they may not enhance your look as well as custom colour palettes.
However if you are short on time and money, they can be a great way of jumpstarting your wardrobe colour palette. But what are the universal colours? They are shades like:
- True black
- Pure White
- Teal
- Pastel Pink – although this one is debated
- Periwinkle
- Turquoise
- Taupe
- Navy Blue
- Red – a neutral tone, not overly warm or cold
- Eggplant
The reason why these colours are considered universal is because they do not have a strong emphasis on cool or warm undertones. This allows them to generally work with most skin tones. However, depending on your skin tone, there may be better colours out there that suit you more.
Take a look at clothes such as bridesmaids dresses or uniforms. You will notice that they all are a universal shade. This is because they will work well with a lot of different skin tones.
So, look over your wardrobe again. If any of these colours are predominate, the universal colour palette might be a good place to start creating your wardrobe colour palette.
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Examining Skin Tone And Undertones
Skin tone versus your undertone. You’ve probably heard of these words before but what exactly do they mean? Knowing the difference between these two will help you determine the best clothes and colours to wear.
Skin Tone
First up, your skin tone. Your skin tone is the surface colour of your skin. this can be affected by different times of your life. Everything from tanning, sun exposure, hormones and your age and the skin changes that comes with it can all affect your skin tone.
Generally, your skin tone can be broken up into six groups. If you are very pale and most likely do not tan or take a while to, you have a fair skin tone.
Light skin tones have skin in the beige family and can have some colour to it. Usually, people with light skin tones tend to tan better than their lighter counterparts.
If you have some pigment in your skin and tan well, you have a medium skin tone. Next up is tan. If you have olive skin or a light brown complexion, you probably always look tan or can tan very easily. Rich skin tones are ones that are naturally brown, either dark olive or medium brown. Dark or deep skin tones are those that have a rich, dark complexion and tanning will only slightly alter the look of their skin.
Undertone
Moving onto your undertone. If you have heard of things like warm and cool tones, you have probably heard of your undertone. To be more specific, there are four main undertone options.
Unlike your skin tone, your undertone does not change and is crucial when determining what colours work best for you. The four main categories of undertone are olive, cool, warm and neutral. Generally, olive undertones have been put into the cool family as they are green based and green is considered a cool colour.
It’s important to note that your undertone is not based on ethnicity. Many people think that just because someone is Asian, they have a warm undertone due to the ‘yellow’ in their skin. Try to refrain from stereotypes about colour and ethnicity as they are not helpful.
How To Determine Your Undertone
This can be trickier to determine than your skin tone. There are a few methods you can try to use to help you. First is the metal test. Hold some gold and silver jewellery up to your skin in natural sunlight. Look at what piece works best on you and draws out a more even tone on your skin. if gold jewellery looks more flattering, you are probably warm toned. If silver is the one for you, you are cool toned.
You can try to paper test. For this, hold a sheet of true white paper up to your skin in natural light. Avoid wearing any makeup and use as much natural light as you can. If your skin looks more red, blue or pink, you have a cool undertone. However, if you notice your skin looks peachy, golden or yellow, you have a warm undertone.
If none of this help determine your undertone, you might have a neutral one. While most people are a mix of both warm and cool tones, most have a dominate family they fall into. Neutral tones have an equal mix of both.
Method Three: Get Colour Critical Of Your Current Wardrobe
Before you do this, you need to make sure your current wardrobe is clean. And by this, we mean clean of any clutter or clothes you no longer need. If your wardrobe is a jumbled mess right now, have a clear out and donate any unwanted items.
If you have a clean wardrobe and are ready to start, keep on reading. First things first. Take a good look at your wardrobe. Snap several pictures of your clothes and put them in groups. Putting your clothes into groups can help you determine if you currently have a colour palette to work with.
If your current wardrobe is broad and scattered, try taking pictures of clothes you wear all the time for a month. This can give you a visual representation of colour you reach for.
Method Four: Use Neutral Colours And Accents
How do you know if you have the perfect wardrobe for you? Well, the mark of a good wardrobe is one where you can mix and match everything easily. The best way to achieve this is by using neutral colours as a base. These could be black, tan, navy or sometime white. Secondary neutral colours can be browns, tans, taupe, olive or grey.
By having clothes in the same colour family, you will be able to build a wardrobe that is versatile and works for you. And, if you want to add a bit of colour to your outfit, do this using your accent colours. These are an additional set of colours that you can add to your current wardrobe. Having your neutral colours as your base will allow you to use accessories for a pop of colour.
Another way to use your colours is with your patterns and textures. Now, when choosing the right patterns and textures, you will have a lot of options. If you are unsure of what ones will work best, it’s sometimes easier to stick to a few prints and textures that you are sure of.
Adding too many patterns and textures can make your wardrobe feel crowded and non-cohesive. Your classic vintage style patterns, florals or gingham are all safe bets and work with most neutral shades. Adding in too many colours, patterns and textures will ruin your colour palette and hard work you put into creating one.
Irish fashion news.How to create the latest fashion colour palettes. Teenage fashion Ireland.
