Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Complementary Colours - Yellow and Purple

It's no secret that I like colour - lots of it! But I've realized through doing this blog, that the best colour combinations are with complementary colours, which are when you have a shade of a primary colour (red, yellow, blue) and you mix it with a shade of a secondary colour (green, orange, purple) that is opposite it on the colour wheel.

Red's complementary colour is green.
Blue's complementary colour is orange.
Yellow's complimentary colour is purple.

So, put a shade of red (like burgundy or a tomato-y red) with a shade of green (like aqua or forest or apple) and you get a real pop. Mix a shade of blue (like my favourite turquoise) with its complementary orange, and wow! Today, it's a shade of yellow (sort of a chartreuse-y shade) with purple and kaching! Money!
The trick to pulling off complimentary colour mixing is to use neutrals. Here, I've done brown as my neutral (the skirt, the belt and the shoes), then added another neutral (white) to keep the yellow from looking too muddy.

The inspiration for this outfit is the necklace, which has purple and yellow beads, along with black and a smoky green. The accessories:
The skinny leather belt is new (on sale for $10!) - I was looking for a belt to go with the Heather Skirt, since it has teeny thin belt loops at the high waist.

The white blouse is also new-to-me - it's French Connection, and it has beautiful seaming and details (the covered buttons, the sheer background with the pattern of lotuses, finished seams inside).

I felt great in this outfit all day. Yee haw!

Sweater (Jacob), blouse (French Connection, consignment), skirt (Suzy Shier, gift from Heather), hose (Hue), shoes (Le Chateau), earrings (can't remember), necklace (ilovebracelets.com).

7 comments:

  1. Your outfits looks very Springlike. I am enjoying this fashion transition season. And thanks for the advice. v useful, as ever.

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  2. I love mixing Amber and Amethyst when I make jewelry. So I adore this outfit! I like using brown as the neutral, it really keeps things warm colour-wise.

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  3. Here in MN purple and yellow means VIKINGS, so I've got to avoid that combo. You, however, look fantastic in it.

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  4. I really, really, really love this outfit! You look Amazing. And,i'm adding these shoes to the list of shoes i will steal from your closet if i'm ever in Canada...just so you know :-)

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  5. I am too, Jane. It's been so nice lately - Spring is on the way!

    Thanks, Leigh-Anna! Yes, it's a lovely combo. You should post some pictures of your jewelry - I'd love to see it.

    Oops, you're obviously not a Vikings fan, eh, Sal? Who's your team? Thanks so much!

    Thanks so much, Lady D! I thought of you when I got these shoes, actually - I love YOURS so much. What size are you?

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  6. I love mixing complementary colors, but I am a neophyte at it. I love aubergine, but I don't really have a corresponding yellow. I refuse to buy anything mustard-colored, because my mother taught me to call that color "calf scour yellow." Google only if you haven't eaten.

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  7. I tend to just do the same colour combinations (by matching a pattern, usually), so this is a new thing for me too.

    Surprisingly, there are no pictures of calf scour on Google. I guess I should be thankful! Call it...moss yellow. And buy it!

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