Color Contrasting
Hello! I want to talk about color contrasting since I've noticed this is a thing I could work on based on my other styling posts: https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1311058576080502864/1311077487039484015, https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1310707401422274560/1310767147680792586
I would like to know how I could get started with color contrasting and how I could choose colors that match with each other rather than having colors that don't or having monotone colors.
16 Replies
Just pay attention to outfits you like and the colors that are in them.
People often assume that good outfits are composed of a lot of similar colors when it is really contrast that adds visual interest.
Yeah this is one of those things that you’re gonna get some probably frustrating answers for someone looking for some certainty or rules to follow . Grasping colors is definitely hard to teach because any rules you can try and set can just immediately be broken to great effect.
I think there’s a couple kinda base level things to consider but I’m about to head out to dinner with family so I’ll have to get back to you xd
I’m sure others will have you covered though
This is also something I’ve been struggling with recently fwiw
So I’m interested to see what peoples’ thoughts are
heres a handful of fits from #waywt-highlights that contrast colors well and fit some of the inspo you've posted so far. Try to pull apart where contrast is happening and understand how layering helps improve visual interest.
And, if it helps, try doing it without color. You'll notice the shade contrast immediately.
Contrasting colors aren't necessary for a good fit by any means, but it can help add visual interest if you aren't able to do what bishop or blueeyes can do (which is fully commit to executing silhouette & fine details)
Ok, I'll start with the first photo.
So I can notice that there's a balance of darker tones for the top part of the outfit, the shirt and the jacket, but the trousers are lighter as they're beige.
In the second photo, there isn't much in terms of light material, but it's the light sweater which balances out the other, darker colors.
Finally for the third one, this also mainly features darker colors, but the cardigan he's wearing as an outer layer does balance it out.
(broad note in general - any time you earmark someone as having a good fit i'd make a note of their username and start keeping an eye on their fits/search their backlog)
Also something to notice, relating to your fit planning from yesterday, there’s a minimum of some difference in shades of colors between each piece. Same shade outfits like the second two carrion posted should probably have variety introduced in other ways, usually textures, silhouette, or accessories.
Black also might make textures hard, as the color masks even varied textures to some extent
The fit from BlueEyes has slightly varied tones between the pants and tops, but in particular it draws attention to the fun silhouette and the accessories
IMO of course
And the lighting and slightly brighter tone of the pants helps bring to light the texture of those too
The jacket and jumper fit you posted last night, the lighting and blacks masked the texture variety between them, mostly drawing attention to the green accents on the jacket, which didn’t quite stand on their own to bring enough interest IMO. And made the outfit a bit bottom heavy towards the jeans.
This is just the kinda color and outfit planning I’ve been developing in my head but of course everyone else could have their own framework for thinking about this stuff
something to consider is that in the first three fits carrion posted, the contrasting colors/shades create a visual hierarchy, a 'path' for the eye to follow when taking the image in as a whole (this is also true for other visual mediums, magazines in particular)
and as carrion and NotDisliked noted, bishop and blueeyes also have visual hierarchy, but through silhouette, value, texture, textile, accessory choice, etc. it's a little harder because it requires more intention, but it's another possibility
to that end, here are some recent pictures from #waywt-highlights with varying degrees and methods of color and contrast. if you want, try to see in each picture where your eye is drawn to first, second, third, etc and why you think that is.
I noticed with the 3rd one that the dominant colours are brown and that's expressed through the hat and the puffer jacket over the white shirt, and the dark trousers compliment the outfit.
For the second one, the thing that pops out to me is the sweater he's wearing, which goes well with the darkness of the rest of his outfit.
And finally the first one, the thing I can see first is the black overcoat, followed by the cream jumper.
:linkThink: how well did I do with that?
i agree with a lot of the observations; what's most important is that you're recognizing there's an order that you've noticed things.
one thing I'll point out is all three of them are wearing something cream-colored up top, but that you've noticed that cream layer in a different order. you might want to think about why that is the case and if any of these are standouts to you because of it (fully acknowledging they're all good fits)
Ah, ok :linkThink:
Hmm
My best guess is that the order of the cream top changes the tone of the fit, but i could be wrong though.
My particular favourite is the 3rd one
I like how the jumper goes with the brown puffer jacket on top.
Yeah, i don’t think i succeeded with contrasting with todays waywt either https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1311655740435599390
The jumper and the jacket have similar colors.
I'm thinking for tomorrow of having dark trousers but lighter elements for the top half
Something like a light cream jumper followed by a fairly light denim jacket
I think that should create some contract between the 2 top pieces and the trousers.
i want to clarify if you mean tone (color) or tone (vibe, energy, etc) of the outfit
both are true to an extent, and what i think you may be recognizing is the color you've focused on depends on the order of the colors in the fit, which can be an intentional way to use contrasting colors to drive interest
it would be interesting to do this then put the two fits up side by side for you to compare, as it sounds like they're inverses of each other (light top/dark bottom vs dark top/light bottom)
as not disliked said this isn't going to be an exact science, but the goal is to find something that you think is interesting
Yeah this looks like a similar pairing as the dnd fit you were talking through earlier. same kinda thought from me, the jumper and the jacket are similar enough colors that they kinda blend together visually IMO. that's an idea that can be used deliberately, but when done accidentally I think can come off not so great.
this sounds like interesting outfits to try for sure. one thing to bare in mind is that the goal is not necessarily to make sure that each outfit has light and dark elements, but just to be intentional in which colors you pick and why. pairing black with black has effects on the outfit, are they effects you intend? pairing light and dark elements also has effects, what might they be? are they what you want to happen?
I think I did alright today with the color contrasting: https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1311979930845843517