How to Pair Colors Together in Mens Fashion

Concluding week, reader Oscar sent me this question:

"I have problems when trying to combine colors. I adopt to wear only gray scales because I'm not sure how to match colors. Whatsoever tips?"

Great question Oscar. I go this ane all the time and I'm REALLY excited to answer it because I get to phone call out another slice of dumb style.

If y'all search "How to mix colors" into Google, y'all'll be confronted with dozens of websites showing you this:

LOOK HOW "SIMPLE" THIS IS! — LOOK HOW "Unproblematic" THIS IS!

The color wheel.

I'k going to allow you in on a little secret: I HATE THE Color Wheel

It's stupid, disruptive, complicated, and just plainly useless if yous're trying to figure out how to mix colors in your outfit.

I spent ten years working as a menswear designer and you lot know what? Not ane company or person I ever worked for my entire career ever referenced the color bicycle.

I'm starting to doubtable that using the color bicycle to learn how to mix and match colors is some old wives tale style writers regurgitate because they actually don't know how to teach it.

Earlier I show you how the pros practice information technology, I want you to promise me this: If you ever read a blog or magazine that tells you lot to learn the color wheel, close the window (or mag), and never read anything from them ever again.

Ok. Let me show you a much simpler and intuitive manner to mix and match colors.

WHAT COOKING CAN TEACH YOU Nearly MIXING COLORS

In cooking, Chefs utilise what's called "Flavor profiles", these are groups of flavors and ingredients that are associated with certain types of cuisine.

For instance, if I said "Mexican food", you might automatically think chill, cumin, lime, onion, garlic, and cilantro.

If I said "Chinese food", you'd call back soy, ginger, garlic, and scallions.

We're going to use something very similar to help us learn how to mix colors. Instead of "Flavor Profiles", I'm going to show you "Color Profiles".

They same fashion yous think of specific flavors when you hear "chinese food", you're going to instinctively think of specific colors when yous hear a phrase like "Americana" or "Romantic".

And here's the best part, they're INCREDIBLY piece of cake to learn and apply. You won't need to memorize a stupid color wheel, or endeavour to sort out what analogous, gratis, shades, and hues mean.

MIX AND Match COLORS BY "INSTINCT"

Color Profile are merely groups of colors that announced together often. Just like how certain flavor combinations are found in dishes from a certain cuisine.

Take a look at that photograph above. Can yous sort through and find outfits with similar color combination patterns? Take a few seconds and see how many you can grouping together.

If we sort it out, it would await something similar this:

Can y'all see it conspicuously now?

Let me swoop deeper into these 3 most common color profiles.

COLOR PROFILE #i: NEUTRALS

The start colour contour is Neutral. This is the colour profile I testify my clients to use first when they're building their essential wardrobe.

Neutrals consist of black, white, greyness, navy or dark bluish, browns and olive. They're called neutral because they're non overpowering. They're infinitely mixable, extremely versatile and compliment more intense colors as you start adding them to your wardrobe.

Color PROFILE #2: AMERICANA

The second color contour is what I call "Americana". This color profile stirs upwardly images of classic America.

Think Army, Steve McQueen, 1950's military.

It's a variation of a neutral color profile, but a strong emphasis on combinations like military green, khaki, denim (lighter blues) and cherry. It'southward a neutral palette with the addition of denim blue and ruby.

Browns and blacks are institute too, often in the form of leather jackets, boots and shoes.

Information technology's classic color profile.

Color PROFILE #3: MONOCHROMATIC / ALL Black EVERYTHING

Last is monochromatic. This is when yous dress virtually entirely in a single color. This could be whatsoever color, just yous'll find this almost ofttimes with all black wardrobes. This style of color mixing is sometimes jokingly referred to as "All black everything".

MASTER MIXING COLORS IN THE Adjacent 10 MINUTES

Mixing colors isn't every bit complicated as a lot of people like to brand information technology out to be.

Learning a color contour is like tasting mexican food for the kickoff time and getting familiar with the flavors. In one case you know what to look out for, information technology'southward EASY to identify and use.

Your Activity Steps For Today:

Go over the colour profiles I shared in this post
Memorize these colour groups and outfit examples shown (it should accept you less than a twenty-four hour period. For some practice, have a look at what colors guys are wearing in magazines or next time you're at a coffeeshop, run across if they fit into these color profiles)
Get-go mixing colors in your wardrobe based on these color profiles.

Connecting these groups of colors with the names of Colour Profiles and the example images will aid cement them into your brain. Yous'll first to see colour combinations intuitively.

I want you to become into your closet and pull out an army green jacket, blue jeans and a white t-shirt and instantly recollect "americana colors". The same way you would would go into your cupboard and combine soy sauce, ginger and garlic and gustatory modality "chinese"

To assist y'all master color profiles fast, I put together a color contour cheatsheet of this post, including 1 bonus color profile that'southward actually my personal favorite.