Colour theory and seasonal colour analysis are all the rage on social media at the minute! It is a super important part of fashion and can help you pair the best matching colours together or avoid pairing two colours that aren’t complimentary.
Colour theory describes the behaviour of colours (in particular, the mixing of colours) and how these colours then affect your emotions. All in all, mixing the “correct” colours together has been positively correlated to improving a persons mood and be perceived better by an outsider.
The Fundamentals of Colour Theory
As you can see below, this is the fundamental colour wheel, displaying each colour and their shades. Tonal colours, which are the same colour just different shades (which we think mix together so well!), analogous colours are colours that are next to eachother on the colour wheel and are not typically paired together and seen to be non-complementary. On the contrary, non-analogous colours (i.e. complimentary colours) are seen to go well with each-other and are encouraged to be paired in an outfit!
Just for the record… we absolutely LOVE analogous colours paired together and we are colour blind for “correct pairings”! Was anyone else taught “green and red are never to be seen” as a child… yeah that’s gone out the window, sorry mum!
The History of Colour Theory
Colour theory all came about in 1810 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He published a book called “Theory of Colors”- a book explaining his beliefs on the psychological nature of color. However, before this, ancient Egyptians documented color "cures" using painted rooms or sunlight shining through crystals as therapy and associated this with colour healing practices. The psychological impact of colour is very prominent in todays society and we can’t wait to do a deep dive into this topic .. NEXT WEEK!
Circling back to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his beliefs on how colour affects a persons mood, he had an explanation for why a person feels a certain way when looking at a specific colour. Yellow being the colour nearest to light itself, is seen as serene and exciting, red is seen to be graceful and attractive, wearing blue can make you seem more powerful and green can bring a person joy. In other words, each colour can have an individual psychological impact on the human mind.
Colour Matching/Blocking
Now, moving into the power of colour blocking. Colour blocking is typically when you pair colours opposite to each other on the colour wheel (non-analogous), but at H.L. Lang, we think any colour looks amazing paired together correctly. For example, here is one outfit pairing analogous colours and one pairing non-analogous colours- which do you prefer?
Would you believe that the outfit Leonie Hanne is wearing is actually considered non-complimentary? Not our words! Colour blocking is such an easy way to put together a colourful outfit and is so easily implemented in summer with brands selling mostly brightly coloured pieces! Usually colour blocking features no more than two colours to keep it minimalist.
A 2019 study by Domicele Jonauskaite indicated that yellow was most often chosen when people felt joy, whereas achromatic colors (black, white, and grey) were preferred during sadness. Therefore, embracing the emotional impact of colors, at H.L. Lang, known for its vibrant clothes, we love to see colours mismatched together and will continue this practice, regardless of whether the combinations are widely accepted or not!