Budget Wardrobe Building: COLOR

Welcome to the first post in our newest series: Budget Wardrobe Building. In today's post, we are going to talk about one of the most fundamental elements of wardrobe building - color. When building a wardrobe on a limited budget, it is very important that you are able to create many looks from a limited number of items. One key to doing this successfully is planning your wardrobe according to a color story. A color story is a defined group of colors around which you build your wardrobe. In her book, It's So You, Mary Sheehan Warren recommends using two neutrals, a dominant color, and a complementary color. But before you start mentally rearranging your closet, let's cover some color basics.

The first step in talking color for your wardrobe is to determine the palette of colors that look best on you personally. At its most basic level, this means a cool palette or a warm one. For those new to color analysis, see this simple explanation.

Once you know if you are cool or warm, think of some other factors. Consider the type of wardrobe (business wardrobe for work, or a casual one), the season (spring, summer, winter or fall), and your location. Take a look through your closet. Do you already have a color story? If so, do you like it? Or maybe just parts of it? 

Begin by choosing your neutrals. This part is easy because the number of neutrals is fairly limited. Neutrals that look best against cool complexions are black, white, and various shades of grey. Neutrals that work well with warm complexions are cream and variations of brown. If you are on a really tight budget, I recommend trying to work with at least some of what you've got going on already, especially in the more expensive items. For example, if all of your cool weather shoe options are black, definitely include black as one of your color story neutrals.

Now, to choose the dominant and complementary colors. One way to go about choosing your color story is to be inspired by something around you. Maybe it is a favorite painting, a fashion collection, or your environment. Or you could look to some of the tried and true methods of color theory, methods of relating colors that are visually pleasing. In addition to aiding the creation of a color story, these methods might help you discover outfits that you have never even considered. Bonus?  You will probably find this info very helpful when making home decorating decisions! So here we go.

The first pairing method is to use analogous colors, that is, colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel (see Example 1). A second way to create an interesting combination is to use colors that are opposite each other; these colors are called complementary (see Example 2). A third combination is the use of monochromatic colors. A group of colors is considered monochromatic if it consists of the shades, tones, and tints that are possible from one color (by the addition of black, white, and grey, respectively) (see Examples 3 and 4).

{source}

1. ANALOGOUS COLORS: RED and MAGENTA

{source}

2. COMPLEMENTARY COLORS: MINT and CORAL

{source}

3. MONOCHROMATIC COLORS: RED and MAROON

{source}

4. RED EXPANDED TO ITS MONOCHROMATIC POSSIBILITIES

{source}

For more color inspiration, check out this site. I just chanced across it the other day and I have to admit, I'm in love. Select any color from the list on the right to view various color stories including that color, and an outfit demonstrating each story.

It might seem a bit constricting at first, but building your wardrobe (however loosely) around a color story has many benefits. It will make creating outfits much easier; most likely you will be able to achieve a "pulled together" look effortlessly, as the pieces of your wardrobe work together smoothly. You will also need less, because you will get more use out of each article, thus saving you money and space!