As many readers are curious about what their colour contrast levels are, I’ve posted these celebrity examples to give you some clues on your colouring. Monochromatic – Low Colour Contrast Monochromatic means one (mono) chroma (colour) – so, in essence, means just one colour at a time. Gwen Stefani with your brown…
Since I’ve dyed my hair blonde, I’ve lost some of my contrast. I used to have a high contrast, but now I’m just medium in contrast. I’m learning to not automatically reach for my high contrast outfits of the past, but instead I have to rethink everything I wear (and I can tell you it’s…
A Guide to Mastering Value Contrast Have you ever been drawn to a stunning pattern, only to find that it somehow overwhelms your look, rather than enhancing it? What I’ve learned over the past 20 years working with clients doing personal colour analysis and finding the best ways of putting each individual client’s colours together,…
Reader Question – How do you wear medium value colours when you have high-value contrast and dark ideal value? Just a quick note if you’re new to Inside Out Style and have never heard of the term “value” with regards to colour, the value of the colour just means how light or dark the colour…
Following on from my post on working with your low contrast colours. Here are some examples of Medium Value Contrast outfits to get you inspired! Medium Value Contrast Now let’s look at patterns Medium Value Contrast – Patterns As you can see in this picture, even with a medium value contrast, you still…
No matter the print, whether it’s florals, animal, abstract, ikat, check, geometrics or stripes, finding prints that relate to your value and value contrast will make your outfit look so much better on you. Just as with colours where you should wear the colour rather than the colour wearing you. You should be the one…
Prints and patterns can add variety and interest to your outfit and wardrobe. Ideally choose a print that relates to your own value contrast. But should you wish to wear a print that is outside of your natural value contrast then here is the easy way of choosing one to flatter. I think of value…
Accessories can be a great way of adding contrast in your outfit. You can add interest with pops of colour in accessories and create focal points for which to draw attention and encourage the eye to linger. You can raise your colour contrast. You can raise or lower your value contrast. This is why accessories…
High contrast is the easiest of the contrasts to master as it’s the most obvious. You can find out how to discover your contrast here. Working with low contrast here and medium contrast here. Here we have an achromatic (black and white) high value contrast. A monochromatic (one colour) high value contrast. A complementary (high…
Value Contrast is a concept that most people have never thought about, heard about or considered, and this is because until recently it was only ever looked at in a way about what it communicated, rather than using it as one more tool to create harmony and balance with your own colouring. In my 7…
Colour contrast tells you how many colours and what kind of colours to wear at a time, in the one outfit. How Many Colours to Wear in One Outfit Colour Contrasttells you if you should predominantly wear: Neutrals – and you can find out what is a neutral here and here – this is ideal…
So when we think about our value contrast – it is the contrast between our lightest and darkest values. So taking the scales pictured here what is the most similar lightness and/or darkness to your hair, eyes and skin colours? If they are 3 or less apart – you are low value contrast If they…
When you’re choosing a print, how do you know what contrast it is and how to choose the right value and colour contrast prints to flatter you? Jill Chivers of 16 Style Types do a show and tell inside my wardrobe with a bunch of patterned clothing items. In the video I talk about my “stair”…
I love colour (as regular readers will be aware) and I don’t have a naturally high colour contrast (ideally I’m physically more in the neutral plus 1 colour camp). But I like to wear more than one colour in patterns as they are often more versatile than a colour plus neutral print, and have found…
One of the things I’ve discovered tends to confuse people is that they think that they can only wear colours that are the same value as them, so if they are overall lighter in value they can only wear light colours, and if they are deep/dark, they have to wear dark colours only. Ideally we…
The next in Carol Karl and my series on choosing jewellery is all about getting your contrast right. Contrast is a hot topic in my online style program 7 Steps to Style – as it’s the key to how you take a generic colour swatch and then choose colours in a way that work for…
Contrast is one of those subjects that has been coming up lots in my Evolve Your Style and 7 Steps to Style programs in the past week or so. I thought I’d make this video to talk about understanding your contrast and how to figure it out. Here is a handy contrast tool for you…
Have some fun with your colours this weekend. Why not play with contrast – either Value Contrast or Colour Contrast and by adding an accessory near your face such as a scarf or necklace, or alternatively use a layer – such as jacket or cardigan to create the contrast over what you’re wearing. Notice…
Would you consider doing an article on spring and summer looks for high value contrasts? I can’t wrap my head around how to get a summery look with dark colors. Especially if I don’t want to wear navy all the time. I’d love some photos to help me see how to make it work. I…
So we’ve covered colour contrast and value contrast, the final piece of the puzzle is how your personality affects your contrast levels. Your personality can be a ‘rule breaker’ or ‘rule stickler’ one – if you are dramatic, rebellious or high energy (life of the party), no matter what your outward appearance, you may enjoy…
I have a burning question: How do I create interesting outfits as a medium-high value contrast and low color contrast gal? Everything about me is warm – my skin, eyes, and hair – all a shade of gold-ish caramel/chocolate. I am by no means Jennifer Lopez, but I feel like her coloring matches mine well…
