Analogous colors: (also known as adjacent colors, harmonious colors, and related colors),

are Colors, which lie next to each other on the color wheel (contiguous colors).  They harmonize since they each contain some of the same color.  An example would be blue pants, a blue-green shirt and a purple sweater.   

Warm and Cool:  
Families of analogous colors include warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and cool colors (green, blue, violet). Designers often build color schemes around two or three related colors.

Select two warm colors with one cool or two cool with one warm to create dynamic harmony.  Examples:  navy suit, light blue shirt and red tie, or a yellow shirt, rust jacket and blue jeans. 

Neutral: shades of white, black, gray or tan.   

Neutrals work well with all colors or may be worn together.  Khaki pants, white shirt and a gray sweater worn together create an ensemble made up of all neutral colors.  Together, all neutrals may not be a dynamic look, but it is sophisticated.  

Black, White, Gray, Tan, and Brown are not separate colors on the color wheel, but are made up of different percentages of red, yellow and blue. To make neutral colors mix either all three primary colors, or mix a primary and secondary color (secondary colors are made from mixing two primaries).  

          For example: 

How to make a brown?
Mix a color with its complementary color. Add orange to blue, purple to yellow, or green to red. Each of these combinations makes a different brown. 

How to make a grey?
Mix some orange (or yellow and red) with a blue then add some white. You can also mix blue with an earth color, such as raw umber or burnt sienna. 

Caveat:  You must pay attention to tone (adding gray), tint (adding white) and shade (adding black) of a hue (pure color).  Green and red are complementary colors, but if you match pure green and red you’ll look very Christmassy!  Which is fine for Christmas!  But burgundy and hunter green are quite stunning together. 

You can also opt out of mixing and matching color and go: 

Monochromatic: all one color, but different shades, tones or tints. All blue attire could consist of a Navy suit, light blue shirt, dark blue tie, blue pocket square, etc.  Add some contrast to this combination by using texture and pattern.  Some of your clothing items should be smooth; others rough in texture.  Some items could be patterned; others solid.

Putting the Core color and Accent color chart to specific practice:

These are Colors that traditionally go well together, but remember this is only a guide. 

*A note on Pocket Square coordination:

Compliment, don’t match, your shirt and/or tie with your pocket square.  If you do have a yen to match go for the shirt, never the tie.  For a very conservative look try plain white, even if it is a little stuffy.  There was a brief period such as the early 1940’s when men did match tie and pocket square, but thank goodness we’ve moved on. 

There is some school that believes that the tie or jacket and pocket square should contrast in fabric.  If you’re wearing a silk tie opt for a linen square, or a tweed jacket is best worn with a heavier more casual square of wool or cashmere.  White linen would appear too formal.   This theory has some merit, but silk still looks great with any fabric.

Andy’s Tip for matching trousers to sports jackets:  The bone buttons of your jacket have a range of colors.  You can choose trousers that match any of the colors of the buttons and they will go perfectly.

Some additional considerations:

• Seasonal Colors: Some colors are more appropriate at certain times of year than others.  Like the pastels of yellow, are usually associated with summer, while autumn colors are rust, brown, green, and burgundy.  Wearing rust in the summer, or light yellow in the fall looks out of place.
   
• Think contrast.  Try one light element with two dark, or one dark with two lights, such as a charcoal suit, white shirt and red tie, or tan suit with yellow shirt and green tie. Or Khaki pants and a dark blue shirt.
   
• Color Value: Dark colors recede thus making you look thinner, and light colors project, which tends to bulk you up.  Dark colors are more formal than light.

This is the stuff artists, master gardeners, and interior decorators study, but now you can use this knowledge to paint a picture with your clothes!

Now, go get dressed!!

 -- Andy Gilchrist

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