Mastering Contrast: 5 Ways to Pull Off a Bold Color-Clashing Look
Fashion has the ability to change drastically on a seasonal basis, so why do all the old taboos and rules remain in place? We’re continually told to avoid faux pas like mixing black and blue, stripes and spots, and clashing colors, but is this simply standing in the way of us achieving our best look?
Today, it seems as though fashion is continually pumping up the volume and becoming louder. Those heady days of the 80s and 90s styles appear closer than ever as more daring looks are being tried and tested from the runway to the high street.
At the core of this brave new world is bold colors and daring combinations of different tones and styles, but can clashing color really be pulled off?
Although we’re not quite in the era of ‘anything goes’, we’re certainly seeing striking styles being pulled off with some pizazz. With this in mind, let’s explore five ways to pull off a bold color-clashing look in a fashion statement that’s set to be truly unmissable:
- Embrace the Three-Color Rule
Embracing the three-color rule can be a great way of fully expressing yourself without the risk of over-complicating your color palette. The three-color rule can be adapted to suit seasons and can incorporate some eye-catching styles that are unlikely to be replicated wherever you go.
For the best results, it’s important to concentrate on getting your best colors closer to your face, whether they’re a scarf, jacket, or t-shirt.
Here, patterns and neutral colors also count as part of the three-color rule, and the best approach to take will generally involve selecting your first centerpiece color and coordinating the others around it.
While you can seek to blend these colors together, the three-color rule also allows you to take on more imaginative clashes without over-decorating yourself.
- Take a Leaf Out of 80s Style
The 1980s hosted a period where fashion was capable of expressing itself on a scale that’s never been seen before. It was the decade of the bold-shouldered blazer, neon tracksuits, and wild color clashes.
What’s more impressive is that the 80s were an era of serious style trends. Bright tones were capable of colliding to make a very serious, very cool look.
Today, if you have inhibitions about combining two bold colors, take a leaf out of 1980s style. If it was acceptable in the 80s, the chances are that it’s very capable of becoming a bold and stylish look today.
- Forget the Faux Pas
Finding the right combination of clashing colors can also involve forgetting everything you’ve learned about fashion’s most famous faux pas.
After all, who said black and blue should never be seen together? Or that black and brown styles couldn’t look good in an outfit?
There’s nothing stopping you from daring to counter some of fashion’s age-old laws to customize your wardrobe and find a look. In particular, electric blues and black colors can be a great way of combining brightness and darker tones.
When it comes to combining colors like blue and brown with black, the bigger clashes can combine to make a great and daring look. Trying to work darker shades of blue like navy with black can be more tricky for wearers, however.
- Bringing Together Clashing Accessories
Oftentimes, we gravitate towards accessories that come in neutral colors due to their convenience for mixing and matching, but this can get in the way of some unmissable styling combinations.
While it’s not necessarily worth buying a dozen bags featuring different bold patterns, investing in one or two styles that can change the dynamics of your outfits could be a good approach.
The same can go for glasses, too. Although bright-colored lenses may be a little difficult to wear in more formal settings, buying some lenses featuring more colorful pattern prints, or the unmistakable thick turtle shell styles of Coach can help everyone to see a change in the energy of your attire.
Another great option is footwear, and a pair of printed trainer patterns can work wonders at a relatively low cost to bring an outfit to life.
- Make Sure Your Boldest Color is Dominant
While the beauty of color clashing is that many of fashion’s rules and conventions go out the window, there are other approaches that it’s certainly worth following to make sure your outfit can succeed.
One great rule of thumb is that you make your boldest color your outer layer. Hiding a bright color under a more neutral outer layer can conspire to muffle your expressive look. If you’re unsure of where to go with your style, try to make sure your brighter colors have a chance to shine, but this doesn’t have to be set in stone if you have a bigger idea in play.
Most of all, it’s essential that you have fun! Colorful fashion means that you can be as expressive as you dare to imagine and with these five tips, it’s possible to carry off a bold look that you can continue to mix and match long into the future.