Color Mixing
How To Mix Colors: I personally love mixing different shades or tones of the same color or very similar colors. For example, reds + pinks or red + oranges or pinks + peaches but when I’m mixing other colors I try to keep in mind complimentary colors. So if a color wheel has the basic 6 colors of the rainbow (in this order, in a circle actually): red, orange, yellow, green blue, purple.
The colors directly across from each other in the wheel are each other’s compliments, red + green, orange + blue, yellow + purple. Obviously red and green can make you feel like a Christmas tree, yellow and purple make me feel like a laker girl, and orange and blue make me feel like a knicks fan, so I just change the shades a bit and the colors still pop, but you won’t feel like you’re in a costume.
So I like to wear pink with green since pink is just watered down red. Or a mustard and lavender, or rust with blue jeans. Have I gone too far? Okay, well I’ll just start with the photos and you can see what I mean.
Complimentary
OUTFIT #1:
Levis jean jacket
TopShop tangerine scarf
White Matisse boots
Forever 21 white purse
Orange & peach beaded necklace
Basic gold jewelry
Michael Kors watch
This is dress is a really pale green/blue color. The scarf is a bright tangerine color. I have on a beaded necklace that has white, peach, and dark orange colors. The white boots pull from the print in the dress and I layered it with a medium wash blue jean jacket. The colors I worked with here were blue, green, shades of orange and white.
I think the pastels in all the different colors really allow the scarf to pop but also brighten up the whole look. I could have done a neutral boot, but I thought the white was so much more fun. And I’m in love with the boots!
I just bought them from Matisse, they’re called the “Slick” boot. Matisse has a ton of Vegan shoe options. You can just go to their site and type in “vegan” in the search box and see how many options come up! I’ve been buying boots from them for over 5 years now and in my experience the quality has been great and so is their customer service. I got my last order in under 2 days!
Value & Shades
OUTFIT #2:
Vintage lilac polka dot dress
Forever 21 lavender duster
White Matisse boots
Forever 21 white purse
New Matisse heels
Michael Kors watch
Heart necklace
Basic gold
Simple hoops
My sister bought this dress in a vintage shop over 15 years ago on a trip to SF. I bought this lavender duster for a job last year and loved it so much I ended up keeping it (I paid for it, don’t worry). The bag is that same vintage bag from my mom that I use for so many outfits. And these are another pair of new Matisse shoes I bought. These are so cute, and comfortable, and go with so many things! I keep this look super simple. Shades of purple with creamy accents. And I love that the dress has a turquoise blue lace trim. I love the color mixing on that piece. The polka dots on the dress are white, but it works with all the creamy accessories.
Primary Colors
OUTFIT #3:
Forever 21 yellow floral dress
Forever 21 red jacket
Red cross body
White Matisse boots
Basic gold jewelry
Michael Kors watch
Simple hoops
This one is 2 primary colors (red, yellow and blue are the 3 primary colors) Red + yellow! They are both in the same tone so they mix well together. The dress is an old forever 21 dress that actually has really cute long balloon sleeves. I’ll have to wear it again so you can see it better. Anyway. The jacket is a simple red jacket, kinda like a heavy weight button down shirt. I keep the accents white, to pull from the dress. And then added a little vintage scarf that is red white and blue. I sometimes add tiny accessories like that for color and to help pull things together. And they make me happy.
Complimentary
OUTFIT #3:
Billabong Corduroy Jumper
Forever 21 long sleeve pink sweater
Cheetah strappy heels
Zipper clutch
Basic gold jewelry
Watch
Gold hoops
This corduroy jumper is like a rusty orange color. The turtleneck is a nice shade of pink, not too bright, not too pale. I thought they complimented each other well, in color and style. Then I threw on my strappy cheetah heels, a tan clutch with another vintage scarf for color. It has the pink, the orange tons, and brown. I thought it was a perfect touch!
Complimentary
OUTFIT #4:
Zara dark green pleated pants
Anthropologie cropped pale blue sweater
Kimchi Blue pink heels
Pink clutch
Basic gold jewelry
Neutral beaded necklace
Layered with gold heart necklace
Michael Kors watch
I wore these pants in the Dress it up Dress it Down blog and I just love them. I have them in a mustard color and you’ll see them in one of the next few looks. The cropped sweater I’m wearing in about 7 years old from Anthropologie and I was struggling with finding the perfect outfit for it. I didn’t have any skirts I liked it with, and it felt so boring with black pants or jeans. But I love it here with this dark green trouser.
The sweater is a really pale shade of blue and the trim is a mix of peach, tan, and a little gold. It’s so sweet and I’m so happy I found a great look for it. I pulled in the same pink heels and peachy clutch from some other looks and I think that helps bring the trim to light. I also threw on a new beaded necklace I got. The necklace has creams, peaches, light pinks and gold so It also helps pull out the colors from the trim detail. Overall, I’m super happy with this look.
Pastels
OUTFIT #5:
TopShop turquoise trousers
Thrifted tee
Pink Free People beaded bag
Zara nude patent flats
Heart necklaces
Basic gold jewelry
Watch
I love mixing casual and dressy pieces that you wouldn’t expect to go together, but somehow, they work once you get them on and style them right. For the color palette, here we have a turquoise blue, a dusty rose color, a nude shoe and a little beaded bag that has pinks and silver. I bought this tee recently at the Goodwill in the men’s section (btw- their tees are cheaper then women’s, so definitely worth checking out). The flats are from Zara and all you have to do is check the label, because many of their shoes are vegan.
Sophisticated Complimentary
OUTFIT #6:
Zara mustard trouser,
Forever 21 burgundy ruffle blouse
Vintage scarf accessory
Burgundy vintage clutch
Taupe Faryl Robin heels
Layered Nashelle necklace with gold heart
Basic gold jewelry
So here are those dark green trousers in mustard and I paired them with this burgundy blouse and some Taupe heels. Pretty simple look here. I’d like to note, these are basically the same colors from the look above with the yellow printed dress and red jacket, just different shades.
This is obviously a much more sophisticated look and that’s not just the styles, but the colors at play. So this shade of yellow and red are in the same tone, so they go great together and I just threw in some neutral shoes and a clutch to match the top. I also added another vintage scarf here for color and note it is also blue but a navy blue so it stays in line with the tones of the colors we are using.
OUTFIT #8:
Teal thrifted jeans
Zara peach sweater
Forever 21 rust cardi
Zipper clutch
BC boots
Heart necklace
Basic gold, watch
Simple hoops
Last, we have the Teal blue, peach and rust combo. These jeans were bought over the summer at Crossroads when I went in to sell some clothes. I love the color. The sweater is a 3-quarter sleeve boxy sweater that’s a few years old and cardigan is a simple rust color that matches so much. This is a really easy, comfy look for me. Tan BC heeled boots. I feel put together. I’m not in my same old jeans and white tee (but don’t get me wrong, I live for a good jeans and white tee outfit). But just another example of how easy it can be to mix and match colors.
Hope you guys like this one. Always open to your questions and comments. I’ll see ya next week.
