manual
By Donovan Atkinson, Jayplaywriter
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Not sure if that tie goes with those pants? Never clash again by throwing out what you thought you knew about color
Photo illustration by Kit Leffler
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A friend of mine confided to me that his only hang-up about fashion was that he just didn't know how to color coordinate. Trying to match colors with one another seemed to be a Herculean task. And with fashion magazines, books and reality television all giving out rules for using color in your wardrobe, it's easy to see how someone can feel overwhelmed. There is really only one thing to remember, however, when selecting and coordinating colors: There are no hard and fast rules.
hue
It's all about taste and cultural norms, says Delores Ringer, associate professor of theater and film. Having designed cos $^2$ tumes for professional and academic theater, Ringer has seen differing theories come and go about how to use color. For example, fashion trendsetters once recommended choosing colors based on what "season" your complexion was.
Ringer says that while there are no real rules to perfect color coordinating, there are ways to play it safe. Working in monochrome, pairing neutrals with color and avoiding complementary colors of the same intensity are all ways to safely match your colors. But don't feel limited by the safe way. "There are always exceptions to the rule that people can pull off," Ringer says.
Anne Schmader doesn't worry about color when she puts her wardrobe together. To the Leavenworth senior, every color matches every color. She says the reason that she wears certain colors together is what makes them match. "Clashing" only happens when others don't understand her choices.
Schmader, a theater design student, doesn't necessarily follow rules or theories either when she puts together her wardrobe. "If I like the piece of clothing, I'll wear it regardless of what color it is," she says. She likes to play games with her clothes, trying to wear as many different colors or patterns as possible. Her color choices are often focused around a certain accessory, a desired look or even a theme.
Regardless of your color philosophy, it's important to just try different things. Ringer suggests dressing to match your eyes and to choose colors that flatter your complexion. Look in the mirror and see how different colors react with your skin tone. But Ringer does have one warning: Stay out of fluorescent light.
"Under fluorescent light, we all look bad," she says.
datkinson@kansan.com
Color terminology
Hue
The name of the color.
Red, violet and green are all huos.
Values The gradations between the lightest and darkest variations of a color.
Shade The darkest value of a color.
Tint The lightest value of a color.
Intensity The vividness or distinctness of a hue.
Monochromatic A color scheme using different shades and tints of a hue.
Complementary
colors Colors directly across from each other on the color wheel: red and green, blue and orange,yellow and violet.
Neutral Created by mixing complementary colors. Browns and grays are neutrals.
Adapted from The Costume Designer's Handbook
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Jayplay 03.10.05