Harmony, that’s what colour coordination means to me…
You know, when all the items that make up the outfit blend together into a sophisticated look, with a colour palette that suits my natural colouring.
Because of my natural colouring (= pasty white skin with pink undertones, light blue/green eyes, medium brown hair) I usually gravitate towards mid-tones: slightly muted, toned-down colours. I avoid neutrals (except navy) and pale pastels next to my face as they tend to wash me out. I also avoid very dark and very bright colours as they overwhelm me, and I think I should be wearing a colour, not the other way around. I prefer cold colours; warm colours make me look as if I’m suffering from some sort of serious disease…
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| cardigan: Freequent / dress: Phase Eight |
So, if just stick to the cold mid-tones that suit me, I should have the perfect wardrobe full of mix and match separates that I can turn into new outfits. That should be easy…
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| necklace: Anna Gav / vintage brooch: Notting Hill market / sunglasses: Tom Ford |
Of course, real life is always a bit more complicated: everything is almost perfect, except for that one missing piece. More often than not, you have no shoes / bag / coat that goes with the perfectly harmonious outfit you are picturing in your mind, or even if you do, the missing item is currently unavailable (i.e. in another country, in my case…)
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| bag: Gloria Ortiz / shoes: Clarks |
Nevertheless, harmony is a worthy goal, in personal style as well as in other aspects of life. It may just be a bit easier to achieve harmony in style, so that’s where I will direct my energies. It makes no sense to be goal-oriented if the goal itself is impossible to achieve; my life will never be stress-free and uncomplicated, but I can control what I wear.
And maybe, in a small way, controlling what I wear can also help me make my life just a little bit less stressful and complicated when I commute between my two homes. It certainly saves a lot of time when I can just toss into a holdall some nicely colour-coordinated pieces: a cardigan, a dress, a pair of trousers, a few t-shirts… enough to mix and match at will, depending on the weather and my mood.
Do you colour coordinate your wardrobe?
Tiina
Linking up with Patti for Visible Monday
You are matched perfectly! And those colors look so nice on you. Well done!
Thanks! I love blue /green and purple, my favourite colour combination.
I love wrap dresses!! Perfectly styled. Oh yes, I am very colour coordinated, I am a real matchy-matchy person!And I see you are wearing Clarks shoes – they are most comfortable, aren't they? I love the soft footbed of this brand.Annette | Lady of Style
I have so many wrap dresses I've lost count… Yes, I'm wearing Clarks. I'm practically a walking billboard for Clarks, I have so many of their shoes. And I agree, they are so comfortable.
I love all the cool jewel tones here and the rucking on the dress is fab. I would wear this whole ensemble in a minute.bisousSuzanne
Thanks, Suzanne! I love jewel tones, they're so kind on pale skin…
Beautiful color combinations, Tiina, and yes, I try as well to stay on the "cool" side. Love that bag! Thanks for sharing with Visible Monday, xo.
Thanks, Patti! Yes, we fair-skinned girls are better off with cool tones.
I can only admire your wonderful organisational skills living between your two home bases. I can see you have it all worked out colour wise, those lovely jewel tones are perfect on you.
Oh Jill, organisational skills have nothing to do with it: you just surrender to chaos, keep your diary up-to-date so you can check where you're supposed to be on any given day, and get comfortable living out of a suitcase (and I've been doing that since I was a child…)
You look great in this color and the cardigan is so much fun!
Thanks, Pam. I only got the cardigan this autumn, but I seem to be wearing it all the time.
The vertical stripes over the horizontal stripes. The fuchsia bag and the purple shoes. Wow! This isn't just harmony; this is perfection.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
You look wonderful! This dress really shows your beautiful curves well, and yes, the colors are perfect for you! Unusual cardigan, I have not seen such folds on cardis before – I like! I am a warm tones girl, though also very pale reddish skin with freckles. Warm colors, bright colors look good on me. Cold tones only sometimes, some of them – not always. 🙂
It's funny about cool vesus warm colours, isn't it? Sometimes you can even mix them… You always look fantastic in warm tones, they make you glow. And even though I have sort of a chestnut / warm brown hair, anything brown or yellow or orange next to my face makes me look just ill whereas anything blue (especially warmer tones of blue) or bright pink make my skin glow and bring out the warmer tones in my hair…
You're wearing my colors – give them back (just kidding)!What a glorious dress! In fact, the whole outfit is one of my favorites in these linkups. Kudos to you for knowing what looks great on you, and wearing it well ;-)Aliciaspashionista.com
Thanks, Alicia. I promise to wear OUR colours well in the future, too, and try my best to make us both proud.
Yup, you wear the colors. They're not wearing you. This has always been a concern for me for a short, pasty one. Good reminder … this may be why I'm always happier in my winter wardrobe!You look lovely … pretty bag, prettier dress!
Thanks, Jan. I've had a few close encounters with colours that seemed to overwhelm me (too bright) or turn me invisible (too blaah). It's not always easy to strike the balance.