The Luxe Models Guide to Matching Colours

Every women (and any fashion conscious man) has felt the fear of wearing a mismatching outfit. Banish this worry forever, with this week’s Luxe Models guide to matching colours.

Get to Know Your Colour

You open up your wardrobe and it’s all like Sophie’s Choice up in there! You have a top and a skirt you love, but you’re not sure if the colours complement or clash. Rather than taking the risk, why not get to know your colour.

As far as fashion goes, colours generally fall into several categories; neutral colours (black, white and grey), cold colours (blue, green and bluish shades of purple i.e. lavender), warm colours (red, orange, yellow, pink and pink tones of purple i.e. plum) and last, but not least, warm neutrals (cream, beige, and brown).

Combine Your Colours

Once you’ve gotten familiar with the colours on offer, use these as a benchmark on how to match. From here, there are general rules that you can follow to make sure you've got colours that complement each other:

• 2 colours, 1 neutral: green and yellow and white
• 1 colour, 1 neutral: black and red
• 1 colour, 2 neutrals: purple and black and grey
• 2 or 3 neutrals: black and white

Luxe Models and the Two Ways to Wear Colour

For the actual colours themselves, remember that there are two ways of wearing them. The first is by wearing complementary colours. These are shades that stand opposite each other on a standard colour wheel. They are complementary because they bring out and emphasise each other. Examples of complementary colours include blue and orange, purple and yellow etc. Try wearing a lighter shade of one colour with a darker shade of another, for the best effect.

The other way to match colour is to use analogous colour. These are shades that are next to each other on a standard colour wheel. Essentially, because they are next to each other, the subtlety is pleasing to the eye. An analogous combination would include light blue, dark green and light green. A good tip for wearing analogous colours is to either limit yourself to three, or two with a neutral thrown in.

Luxe Models knows that it’s not always easy to know which colours will complement each other, and we hope this guide helps, however we would also remind you to rely on your intuition. If something looks wrong, it probably is!

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Luxe Models: The Key to Combining

With the new season coming up, you might be thinking about trying a new style. But before you rush out to the shops to completely update your wardrobe, why not consider combining some of the pieces you already own to create something completely new? Luxe Models have come up with a brief guide to combining your clothes to create something fabulous.

Firstly, and possibly the most simple area of combining when it comes to fashion is colour combining. Adding a splash of colour to what might seem like a drab winter wardrobe can give it an incredible lift. Sometimes it can go right, but sometimes it can go really wrong and leave you looking like a patchy mess. You should get acquainted with the colour wheel and then try dressing in complimentary colours to begin with. These are the colours that lie directly across from one another on the wheel. Because of their high contrast, they work really well together. Alternatively, you could try an analogous mix. This would be a combination of any three colours that sit directly next to one another on the wheel. These mixes work in harmony, though you should choose one dominant colour with the other two acting as supports. You may also like to try pairing neutral bases with a splash of colour, perhaps a snappy scarf or a bright bag and shoes.

In terms of your overall look, you might like to try combining two different styles, because as everyone knows, there’s no fun to be had in compartmentalising!

Aim to acquire many different pieces from a number of different styles. Some ideas include punk/grunge; leather (see here for more detail on this!); animal prints; military; preppy; girly and rock.

To get a good-girl-gone-bad look, try pairing a girly dress with some rock-chic accessories. A soft pink prom dress will look great with studded wrist cuffs and tough-girl stilettos will give your look a killer edge. Or twin a poloshirt with some loose-fit boyfriend jeans and a pair of rope flip-flops to give you a cool preppy-bohemian look. There are however some things that should never be seen together. For example, do use animal print and camo in the same outfit, unless you want a fashion disaster. If you want to pair the military look with something different, try punk or denim, or simply add a bright red leather bag as an eye-catching accessory.

You might like to try mixing price ranges too. An expensive watch or bag can really make an outfit that was otherwise that bit cheaper. Similarly, a mix of fancy and casual can make for a great look - try pairing stilettos with jeans and a loose t-shirt, or wearing less dressy shoes with a fancy frock.

Be unexpected and choose styles that aren’t typically associated. You need to get out of your comfort-zone and be a bit daring. Pick one style as the main base, then just add touches of another style in the form of accessories.