Color Blocking How To

Color blocking... It's a trend I hated a week ago, but as I played with my clothes and accessories more, I slowly started falling in love with it.

At first I thought there was no rhyme or reason to it.  Boy was I wrong!  Color blocking is all about the color wheel, and thanks to Google and Mrs. Patrick's 10th-12th grade art classes, I was able to start making sense of this trend that has made many appearances over the years.

Here is a color wheel with guide lines for color blocking.  Study the color wheel and guidelines if you would like to know how to put together a great color blocked outfit.

I pulled out a few things in my wardrobe, and tried to pair them based on these rules.  Now keep in mind, a few months ago, I was a neutrals only kind of girl.  (Boring, I know.)  I have slowly been branching out to adding more color to my wardrobe.  So I am somewhat limited in choices.

Outfit Number 1:

Complementary Colors: green and red
Shirt: Old Navy $10; Pants: Forever 21 $10.50; Red Shoes: old; Necklace: Charlotte Russe $1.99; Purse: Old Navy $5 

I was going for the green and red complementary colors here.  My shirt is actually a little greener than this picture shows, but I like that it's not a Christmasy green.

Outfit Number 2:

Analogous Colors: Pink, Purple, and Red
Shirt: Old Navy $8; Skirt: NY&Co old; Red Shoes: old; Necklace: Wet Seal $2; Belt: came off some dress

I'm not sure I love this one, but it worked for analogous color blocking.

Outfit Number 3:

Analogous Colors: Purple, Blue, and a Tealish/Light Blue
Shirt: Forever 21 old; Pants: Forever 21 $10.50; Shoes: Aldo thrifted $4;  Scarf: Charlotte Russe old;  Leopard print belt: Charlotte Russe $5; Bracelet: Forever 21 (part of set and spray painted by me)

Once again, the colors are hard to see in this picture, but in my opinion, this is a more subtle way of color blocking with analogous colors than Outfit Number 2.

Outfit Number 4:

Split-Complementary Colors:Yellow, Blueish Purple
Yellow Shirt: Forever 21 $12; Skirt: Old Navy old; Belt: Forever 21 $5; Shoes: Mossimo thrifted $4.50;  Fake Pearl Necklace: Walmart $8

One of these things is not like the other....  Ok, I forgot to do a Split-Complementary outfit.  So I whipped this up and took a quick pic with my phone.  Yeah.... the lighting is terrible.  To get a better look at the yellow shirt, check out Outfit Number 6.

Outfit Number 5:

Triadic Colors: Blue-ish Purple, Burnt Orange, and Lime-ish green
Shirt: Banana Republic thrifted old; Skirt: Banana Republic Outlet: $14; Shoes: JC Penny $10; Belt: Forever 21 $5; Necklace: thrifted $5

Outfit Number 6:

Triadic Colors: Yellow, Red, and light blue
Cardigan: Forever 21 $14; Shirt: Forever 21 $12; Black Cords: Ralph Lauren thrifted $8; Shoes: old; Purse: Old Navy $20; Necklace: Forever 21 $1.50; Skinny Belt: Forever 21 $2

If you're like me, and you only want to dabble in color blocking, try these inexpensive ways to do it.

1) Accessories- Look for earrings, necklaces, scarves, skinny belts, bracelets, headbands, purses, or whatever!
2) Thrift Store- These are the perfect place to find skirts, shoes, and shirts.
3) Nail Polish- Have fun with it!
4) Spray Paint or dye unwanted items and make them new again!