It seems like clothing trends change every season, and that’s because they do! However, some fashion styles last for a few years, and a recent trend that’s remained popular for some time now is color blocking. This style combines multiple, distinct colors to create a mosaic look. Many top brands and street designers have embraced this fashion style, making it one of the biggest outdoor fashion trends this fall. Here are three simple tips for color blocking your outfits to ensure your style remains trendy this season.
Understand the Color Wheel
The color wheel is an illustration of up to 12 colors arranged by wavelengths. Color wheels display primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, as well as their complementing and contrasting hues. For instance, you can see on a color wheel that red is a primary color, and its complement is green. So how can you use this color theory tool when color blocking your clothing?
First, pick the main color you wish to focus on—we’ll use red for this example. Next, find the hue opposite on the color wheel (green). Then, you can complement your first selection with accessories and smaller clothing items of the opposite hue. If you want to color-block using multiple hues, pick your focused color (red) and then draw an equilateral triangle—use the other two hues found on the points of this triangle (yellow and blue). Referring to the color wheel ensures your ensembles aren’t overly clashing.
You can also color-block without using colors! Black, gray, and white are excellent combinations that pop. They’re also less bold compared to colors, making it a more toned-down look that’s suitable for more formal events. Plus, this combination is also versatile and looks great with any outfit.
Stick With Solids
It’s best you avoid mixing in multiple patterns, if any at all, when creating your outfit. Color blocking works because the multiple hues create a distinct, mosaic look that’s eye-catching and has depth. In essence, color blocking is already a bold fashion choice.
When you mash patterns into your ensemble, you take away from the colors and have a clashing mess. Stick to two or three hues when creating your outfits and one pattern at most. Something simple, like stars, looks good in a color-blocked outfit.
Match Your Saturation
Another consideration you must make when creating color-blocked outfits is the saturation of your selected hues. Saturations refer to the intensity of any given color, ranging from white to black. Darker colors have a low saturation, and light colors have high saturation.
However, it’s best to match your saturations. This ensures your entire outfit isn’t too flashy or distracting. The one exception to this rule is if you color-block with the same hue in two to three different saturations—this look is a bit more daring but very eye-catching.
Follow these three simple tips for color blocking your outfits to ensure your fall looks are modern and fashionable. Remember that the best outfits are ones where you feel your finest, so find the clothing items that you prefer the most when assembling these fits.
