4 Easy Ways to Wear Fall’s Shocking Bold Colors

So yes, I’m a beauty blogger, but I’m also big-time into fashion.  However, on the new FutureDerm.com, I’m committed to keeping my fashion reviews as in-depth as my skin care and beauty product reviews.

So let’s start!   All I’ve seen for fall ’11 is color, color, color:  From rich jewel tones to fluorescent highlighter-esque brights, the runways are like a rerun of 1987 with better hair.  Yet models aren’t the only ones who should get to rock this trend.  The 5 keys to wearing it without looking too day-glo:

1.  Invest in one bright-colored piece.

Contrary to what the nice salesperson might have told you, no one needs more than one of these bold-colored pieces in his or her wardrobe.  They’re flashy and likely to go out of style before Justin Bieber’s haircut (seriously – those bangs hide all sorts of acne nationwide).  Yet when bold color is no longer the trendy thing, nothing will make you stand out more in a sea of head-to-toe minimalist white-and-black than a blast of color.  Standing out is going to leave you subject to scrutiny – That’s why you need to invest in a quality piece now.

My choice was a Zac Posen blouse I found for an astonishing 85 percent off at the Saks outlet in Pittsburgh (see below).   However, sites like BlueFly and Net-a-porter feature luxury items at up to 70 percent off, and ebates offers up to 10 percent cash back from many major online retailers.

There’s also always the thrift store option.  The key is to find thrift stores that are not in high-end areas!  While I don’t recommend that you travel into the heart of the most dangerous neighborhoods for your retail rush, I would say that you are more likely to find a Prada blazer severely undervalued in a middle-class neighborhood than, say, Beverly Hills.   Peruse thrift stores near you using The Thrift Shopper.com; enter your zip code, and find some deals!

2.  Choose your shade – then consider your skin tone.

What you know is what we’ve always been told:  People with warm undertones should wear warm colors, whereas those with cool undertones should wear cool colors.  A reminder on how to tell the difference:

• Those with warm undertones will generally have yellow or olive undertones to their skin, tan easily, have greenish veins on their arms, look best in gold jewelry, and have skin that tends to look sallow.  They tend to prefer clothing in yellow, orange, brown, orangey-reds, yellow-green, and ivory.
• Those with cool undertones will generally have bluish or pinkish undertones to their skin, burn before they tan, have bluish veins on their arms, look best in silver jewelry, and look pale, not sallow.  They tend to prefer clothing in blue, purple, blue-green, green, magenta, bluish-red, and white.

 “It’s only recently that psychologists and researchers in other disciplines have been looking closely and systematically at the relationship between color and behavior. Much is known about color physics and color physiology, but very little about color psychology…It’s fascinating to find that something as ubiquitous as color can be having an effect on our behavior without our awareness.”

3.  Pair with khaki or brown if you’re modern, black if you’re classic.

The *new* way to wear bright and bold colors is with khaki or brown.  Fashion designers paired a lot of bright colors with black in the 80’s, which is why it looks a little too Dynasty for some right now.  See all that red and gold paired with black?

Yet it feels a little too informal to pair khaki with a bold color for a fancy event, so I say, do so at your own discretion.  I wore a black skirt with a raspberry-colored top recently to a dinner with friends at night (see below), and I didn’t feel like I was channeling the ’80s at all.  So the thing is, do what you’re comfortable with:  Khaki/tan if you’re more modern, black if you’re more of a a traditionalist.

4.  Consult the color wheel when choosing other clothing & accessories.

Here’s where we can really have some fun on FutureDerm.com.  There are so many things to consider, but I’ll narrow them down to identicality, complementarity, and depth:

Identicality – Everybody would love for their shoes and bag to match, but let’s face it, it’s hard enough to match shades of black, much less this season’s haute raspberry and highlighter yellow.  (!)  Therefore consider lighter shades of the same color look terrific together.  Check out my Zac Posen blouse with Jessica Simpson shoes:  the same color, two (slightly) different shades:

Bottom Line:  As long as your clothes and accessories are in the same color family, you’re fine.

Complementarity-  This is an advanced one, reserved for mixing three or more colors.  Colors that are one spot apart, like yellow and orange, generally would look better with green or red (also one spot apart) than with, say, blue.  That just looks better to the eye.

It gets a little more complicated when you’re considering lighter and darker shades of a color.  Tangerine, for instance, often looks great with lime green and sky blue, because each are two spots apart on the color wheel.  However, tangerine does not look great with dark green or navy blue, for the same reason.

You can, of course, divert from these “rules” – we live in the eclectic digital world of ‘just about anything goes’ – but it still looks best to the unknowing eye when you stick with these principles.  I would even advise the very serious fashionista to invest in a 256-color wheel from a hardware or art supply store!  At any rate, usually one like the one shown below works well.

Depth-  This is where the real fashion magic comes in:  the amount of dye, texture of the materials, and reflection of light.  Some experts say that it is best to stay consistent – lighter materials, like silk, stick with lighter fabrics like linen, never suede or leather.  I say that it’s best to consider your own style and what type of look you want.  For instance, one of my own favorite looks is a pale pink angora sweater with light brown leather pants and leather booties.  And ultra-feminine pink teardrop earrings.  Basically, let you shine through on this one.  Sometimes not following rules is a style in and of itself.

Bottom Line

This season’s brights are surprisingly wearable – you just have to remember which rules to follow, and which not to be afraid to break!  🙂

Photo source:  Freedom Calls / The Forward Jump / Ethical Fashion Photography / Model with guitar, originally uploaded by Sayan Devaan Leanage.