Designs, Fabric and Couture. : Wearing Colours

Designs, Fabric and Couture. : Wearing Colours

Wearing Colours

 Wearing Colours

I had touched a bit on colour in the previous post. All the same, let’s do this in a bit more depth.

Colours are very pleasing to the sight. It’s amazing the number of colours we have, produced as shades or from a mix of other colours. 

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You can play around with these colours when you are trying to be creative with wearing colours. But have some basic principles at the back of your mind. That way you will play safe.

Hmmm. I have made huge mistakes trying to combine my colours. Just imagine wearing colours that are a shade of blue on another shade of blue (royal blue with navy blue), hahaha. Or a yellow on blue, all bright colours.  Absurd right?  

Well, what you don’t know, you don’t know.  Sometimes you wear some of these funny combinations, all expensive. You step out and all eyes are on you. You feel that you are slaying it. But hey! They are wandering why the heck are these colours mumbled up?

While making choices of colours to wear, you’ll do well to consider your skin colour.  What colours compliments your skin? Colour is tricky, what looks good on the rack may not look necessarily good against your skin colour.

The following guide is recommended. On the other hand, although you may not strictly follow it, they can be used as fundamental guide to creativity and flexibility in wearing colours.  

           Pale or Fair skin tone: 

      Cold colors such as; Blue, green, purple are best

Dusky/ Dark or Gray skin tone: 

       warm colours like brown, rust orange, and some shades of yellow

Everyone: black and white colours.

 

When Wearing Colours like Metallic Tones (clothes or accessories) - best expressed when worn directly against the skin:

•      Gold is great on Fair skin
•      Silver looks good on Wheatish skin (the skin colour one gets after a tan on the beach) and;
•      Copper goes well on dark skin.

Bright colours will always make you look and feel younger

Wearing colours like Grey, white beige and brown will give you a mature look

Flamboyant men and women can easily wear bright vivid colours (red, yellow and green). I like it when men take this bold step. But it must be done correctly.

Introverts and regular people tends to gravitate towards pastels (pale pink, sky-blue, mint green, lavender, peach, saffron) or neutral tones ( ivory, beige, black white all the shades of brown)

Day/ Night colours : Always wear lighter colors in the day, and darker ones at night

For entertainment, partying, dining, night outing:

Blacks, reds, darker shades of brown, grey, blue, green, purple, and all the jewel tones (ruby red, emerald green).

Funerals : mourning colours (White or black)

Weddings, parties, festivals: Vibrant colours.

Office:  Sober and light shades

Casual outings: Brighter colours

Relaxed and laid back settings: Neutral colours

Formal occasions: Deeper, darker or stronger colours.

In colour therapy, white reflects purity

Purple represents royalty,

Red , vibrant

Black and grey –dark, solemn and serious

Blue and green-eternally calming

Orange – fierce and energetic.

Colour match, mix and contrast:

You can find help with the palettes below.

When wearing colours like two primary colours together, be cautious. These colours are: red,     yellow, blue or green. It is highly suggested to go tone on tone.

 If you are matching or contrasting colours, remember that one strong or bright colour is better    than wearing two.

When wearing white with white or black with black ensure that the shades are an identical         match.

Solids and prints: If worn right and matched with complimentary tones, most solids can look simple and subtle. If you opt for prints, be careful. Small subtle prints are a safe option. Never mix and match two similar or different prints, be it stripes on strips, check with checks or stripes and checks.

Multicoloured prints work as long as you wear patterns that don’t mix cold and warm colours together. In other words, don’t mix orange with purple or green.

Upper and lower: when wearing a combination of shirt with pant, or blouses with skirts, jackets with trousers, its always best to wear a lighter colour on the top and a darker one below. If you decide to layer your look, start with the lighter shade on the inside, and darker one outside.

• There is no such thing as strictly masculine or a feminine colours: pink for girls and blue for boys etc. You can wear any colour and look good in it as long as you feel comfortable wearing it.

In conclusion, having written all the above, I still believe that rules are meant to be broken. But it is sane to understand the basics in fashion before thinking of breaking these rules. That way, your ideas can be appealing and emulated.

Cheers. 

How to Determine What to Wear.

It was a Monday morning. They are always important. I usually get up as early as 5:30am to get ready for work. I had to be at the office latest 7:30am to get ready for Monday meetings

I have had my bath and was trying to wear the dress which I picked the night before, but I had to change it that morning. It had become quite tight on my body. Gosh!, I've added some weight. I like it though. Time is running out fast and I had to decide what else to wear. I brought out 5 different wears. I did not want them and I had my bed littered. What was the problem? They simply didn't suite my mood that morning. 

I was sweating, this happened for about 30 minuets before I made up my mind to settle for a simply white top and black pant. I had my black shoes to match.

I guess this has happened to many of you in different ways. Well, these tips helped me out and I hardly have such incidences anymore. It's about knowing some basics in fashion, and you wont be that confused as I was anymore. So let's go on.

How to make  Choices on  What To Wear.

When selecting what to wear, the following should be considered; age, weather, fabric texture, colour,  combination, design, occasion, trends, profession, etc. Wewill treat these in no particular order.

1.       Age Group; different age groups require different clothing.

a.          Babies :  When making choices for baby’s clothes, note that they have tender skin and they love comfort. Therefore look for soft absorbable, loose and comfortable clothes for them. You should avoid silk, synthetic, tight and elastic.

Colourful and bright clothes suites children very well.

In cold weather, children under six months should be dressed in long sleeves and soft thick clothes  to keep warm.  Mothers need to be observant enough to know their child’s comfort level. If they are too hot or too cold, their clothes should be changed. Get hats to cover their heads and don’t forget their hands and feet.

-          In warm weathers, choose light weight, loose clothes in natural breathable fabrics. A hat will protect their heads, from the sun.

   b.Teenagers / young adults: 

     When I was a teen, I didn’t really like what my parents chose for me to wear. They were usually big, shapeless old fashioned dresses.  I appreciate their efforts because that was all they knew. This is the case with most teenagers. They don’t like parent’s influence on their choice of clothes.

    However, they should not be left alone to make these choices. They want to wear the latest trends as seen on some TV models. As a result, some of their choices are to the extreme. Parental influence is necessary to guide and ensure moderation. 

    They say, what you wear boosts your self esteem. I agree that self esteem should also be considered while making choices, but it shouldn’t be wholly based on what you wear. Self esteem and confidence should be built internally and generated from within regardless of external disposition. Therefore, what you wear only boosts what you already have.

   What we wear has the power to influence positively or negatively on our self image even as adults.  If you are wearing the right clothing with the right fit and all, you definitely would get complimented and you would get your confidence boosted.

  

  Therefore it’s important to select for your teenagers based on the following considerations;

•      Trend: As a parent, know what’s trendy for your teenagers. You don’t want them looking old fashioned and being ridiculed by their friends. It hurts. Get them stylish clothes that are modest.

If you are not a trendy person, don’t deviate too much by giving them old fashioned clothes.

Don’t overdo this by spending too much money either. There are cheap trendy wears that also look sharp.

• Color:  do not stuff their closets with dull gloomy colours.  Colours have a way of improving or dimming moods. For that reason choose bright colours for them.  Black is great, and when combined with a bright colour, it works perfectly.  

Yellow, Orange, Blue are fine-looking. Just help them get a good combination so they won’t look like scarecrows. Imagine someone combining Orange, Yellow and lemon…That’s a no no. Choose colours that reproduce happiness, enthusiasm, energy, but get a perfect combination.

 c. Adults: As an adult, the choice of what to wear lies on your own shoulders. This depends on what you know and how willing you are to look gorgeous each time. As an adult, your choice of clothes is different. They have to be simple and elegant.

Avoid too much of flowery designs, they look childish.

Let your choice of clothes be in compliance with your skin colour, your shape or figure.

A beautiful dress made for a thin apple body shaped model, which makes her look absolutely gorgeous, may not be as suitable for a pear shaped person.

d. The aged:

Old people are fragile and lack flexibility. They need loose and comfortable clothes that are easy to wear, easy to take off.  clothes with zippers or large buttons are perfect because of their deeming eye sight.

Their clothes should be easily washable and less wrinkles since they lack strength for frequent laundry.

With these tips, you would know what to buy when next you go out shopping. That way it easy for you to now what to wear when you are getting ready for an outing. You would not waste so much time worrying about combinations and so on.

I would be going further in my next post to write about colour, and much more.

Feel free to drop a comment below.

Cheers!!