‘All I ever see you wear is black, white and grey’, were the words of my friend’s husband to me, after I had showed up wearing a red poncho. Honestly, I can’t even remember the entirety of the conversation, but nonetheless this comment stayed with me. He wasn’t wrong! But I love colour, why wasn’t I wearing any? I had just discovered colour analysis, was completely obsessed and totally scared to get it wrong. In my Winter colour palette black, white and grey were my ‘safe’ colours – the colours I could definitely wear and already had without having to buy a whole new wardrobe.
Once I had understood colour analysis, I never wanted to wear the wrong colour again and it should have been a relief to know I had a guide of exactly what I should wear (a colour palette) – but it wasn’t, I was very overwhelmed.
After the ‘black, white and grey’ comment had been made, I knew I wanted to make changes! I know exactly what to wear now so I need to start embracing it. But… as you can probably guess – it was not that straightforward, I went completely the other direction and started wearing every colour all together – it was not a good time in my fashion history.
But that’s what I’m here for, to help you avoid the mistakes I made.
So you want to add colour to your wardrobe but don’t know how? Step one find out what colour’s actually suit you through colour analysis (for enquiries visit my Instagram or email me: info@rebeccaannieedits.com). Knowing your specific colour palette helps by removing all doubts of what suits you. In a colour analysis session (which is 100% virtual btw) I teach you your colour season and more specifically your sub-season (and more about colour colour analysis!), which includes 80 shades curated just for you.
Now to avoid the mistake I made once I knew my colour sub-season, let’s talk about how to incorporate your new found knowledge into your wardrobe.
Three of my personal favourite methods to use when styling an outfit are:
2:1 Rule
A traditional rule in fashion is for an outfit not to have more than three colours – this is not something I don’t stick to religiously, I’m not a big fan of fashion rules, however when you are only wanting to dip your toe into the pool of colour, this is a great guideline to stick to.
The 2:1 rule means having two neutrals and one pop of colour. It’s pretty simple, but when I discovered this, it totally changed the game. Choose two different neutrals from your colour palette – this will depend on your sub-season, but typically grey, white, navy, cream, black etc. Then you want to add your pop of colour, this can basically be any other colour from your palette – pinks, blues, greens, purples.
Some combinations I like:
Black, espresso brown and a chili red
Denim blue, charcoal grey and empress teal
White, spanish grey and royal blue
The 60-30-10 Rule
This is very similar to the 2:1 Rule, but it originates with interior design. It gives you a little bit of room for creativity, for the braver ones among us. It means 60% of your outfit should be the primary colour, usually the bottoms. 30% is the secondary colour, usually the top and finally 10% as a pop of colour, like shoes or jewelry. The rule of using neutrals is not included. This is something you can really play around with and make styling your outfit more fun.
The Sandwich Method
As it says in the name, you are sandwiching one colour between another; matching the colour of the top to the shoes, and then the skirt/trousers being a different colour. For example, a pink blouse, grey skirt and pink heels. This helps the outfit to be overall more cohesive.
I find all of these methods a really good introduction to adding colour to your outfit. Something else I try to do, is laying out and styling my outfit the night before, because changing your style and glowing up starts with the everyday, not just special occasions. So even if you’re just going to work, university or have errands to run, making an effort is important because it makes you feel confident in yourself. As someone who works from home, this is particularly important, yes you don’t need to dress up fancy to be at home, we’re not all Nara Smith, but simply a pair of jeans and a nice blouse makes all the difference. It also helps you shift your mindset and enter ‘work mode’ even if you’re working from your couch.
Until next time,
Rebecca Annie
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