Colourful Versus Neutrals

And #TuesdayTwirl

Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton in orange and purple as she debates wearing bright colours versus neutrals

Dear friends. Is purple and orange a combination you would wear? It's the challenge of the month over at the Kettlewell Colour Club.

For a moment I hesitated before giving it a go.

If you've been seasonally analysed as a Spring or Winter, your orange and your purple are bright and vibrant. A combination that could remind us of Halloween.

But it doesn't have to be "lairy", to use one of Mr Mutton's words. A light apricot with lilac is a delight. Or just a pop of bright orange, in the form of a bag or scarf.

It got me thinking about how I wear colour, and the inevitable rules imposed by people who claim to be authorities on fashion.

I wore this outfit to a pub lunch at the weekend. I've chosen both a punchy coral and purple but grounded them with blue jeans. For harmony I like to choose shoes and socks in the same colours but different tones. It's like topping and tailing an outfit.

A purple and orange outfit is not just for Halloween, says Is This Mutton

One of the colour rules I've seen online is that we should choose one primary shade and two neutrals. A safe but dull suggestion which I liven up by categorising metallics and animal prints as neutrals.

Knowing your neutrals is key to how well you wear colour. My favourite neutrals are cream, soft white and brown, plus gold and cheetah or leopard print. These tones work harmoniously with my Spring palette.

I wear blue and occasionally black jeans occasionally. And I also have plenty of skirts, jeans and trousers in colours such as green, yellow and pink, but typically in lighter shades rather than "in yer face" colours.

On the occasions where I've gone for a bold (scary?) colour combination I've used quite a lot of a light neutral. Red and green was always engrained into me as "red and green, never seen" because of the link to Christmas trees. But it's nonsense because holly exists in nature perfectly well as red and green. As do roses and many other plants.

I'm not too keen on very bright versions of red and green being worn together. Here I used a column of cream and added a pop over green with the bag and in the scarf

I very much like a tonal look, either head to toe in one shade (when I do this in purple it by far delivers the most compliments), or by wearing different shades of harmonious colours together.

A good way to find two colours that will have contrast and impact is to look at a colour wheel, and select a colour and its opposite number.

I found a good post about colour theory at Fashion for Real Women.

Influencers who Don't Like Colour

There are many influencers who shudder at the idea of wearing colour. They tend to wear a lot of navy, black, white and camel, and ballet flats. True, they look chic and Parisienne, if that's your thing. But to me, a bit staid and serious.

On YouTube they intone that women look older when they wear colour, and less sophisticated.

On paper it probably sounds an easier way of dressing. But it's not. To avoid looking frumpy in neutrals you need to choose contemporary cuts and styles. You also need to spend more on your neutral wardrobe because everything will be under more scrutiny because of the lack of interest. You'll need to wear different textures and buy better quality shoes and bags. Your jewellery will be doing more heavy lifting, so the pieces need to be work in the overall look.

The other aspect to consider is how flattering neutrals are, on their own. As we get older our skin tone changes, and certain colours which we got away with decades ago are now too harsh and draining.

Compare these two photos. On the left I'm in warm colours, on the right cool colours. I think you can see the difference. I'm a few years younger in the photo where I'm wearing black, yet my face looks more drawn and tired. The warm orangey colours give me more of a glow.

I'd say I wear colours 90% of the time. Most of my wardrobe is colourful. But occasionally, your mood dictates a quiet day's colours, and then I might wear black bottoms with a cream top. Something requiring no effort.

There are no rules to wearing or not wearing colour. Do whatever makes you happy. And the great thing about colours is that they seem to make everyone around us happy as well.

Where are you on wearing colours? Do you think they make women look older? Do give your thoughts in the comments.

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