Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we'll be discussing the color wheel and how to use it, the power of
color and directing attention, and how to use these principles so that you can assemble
stylish outfits.
For those who are just breaking into the world of menswear, assembling outfits that are harmonious
can seem to be a daunting challenge.
After all, if you just throw a bunch of garments together with abandon and they feature all
kinds of different colors, the end result might be that you end up looking like a clown.
The first step to preventing this outcome then is to start by assembling a base wardrobe
of solid and conservative colors.
Namely things in the grayscale, shades of brown, and shades of blue.
Regarding the grayscale, gray and white are far more versatile than solid black actually
is.
In fact, for more information on this topic, you can check out our video on how black is
the most overrated color in menswear here and regarding browns and blues, you can take
a look at our recent video on how to pair brown and blue effectively, you can find that
here.
After assembling this base wardrobe, some men will then be tempted to try experimenting
with different bolder colors and this doesn't have to be a challenge.
With that in mind, let's cover the fundamental knowledge you'll need to commit to memory
in order to start experimenting, that is how to understand the color wheel.
First pioneered by Sir Isaac Newton around 1665 to show the colors refracted from a beam
of light, the concept of putting the colors of the rainbow in a circular orientation was
soon applied to pigments as well thus, the modern color wheel was born.
In order to start discussing the color wheel then, we'll first turn to primary colors.
The world of menswear mainly concerns itself with the color wheel used in the visual arts.
As such, three colors we consider to be primary are red, yellow, and blue.
What is a primary color then?
Simply stated, primary colors are the foundational colors from which all other colors are mixed.
In other words, you don't mix any colors to get red, yellow, or blue, they simply are
what they are.
Next up are the three secondary colors.
Purple, also called violet, green, and orange.
The secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors together.
For example, red and yellow combined to make orange.
Referring again to the diagram of the color wheel, you can see that each secondary color
is located directly in between the two primary colors that make it up.
The final colors on the color wheel are intermediate colors also called tertiary colors.
They're made by mixing a primary color and a secondary color together.
These colors can sometimes be referred to by their own unique names, for example, the
combination of blue and green can sometimes be called teal but in more simple terms, they
can also be referred to by simply combining the names of the colors that create them with
the primary color coming first.
So for example, teal could also be called Blue-green.
There are, of course, many thousands of variations in colors, each with their own specific names
but for the general purposes of color theory, breaking the color wheel down into twelve
simple parts should be sufficient.
Next up, let's talk about color temperature which refers to the perceived warmth of a
color.
Of the three primary colors, red and yellow are said to be warm whereas blue is considered
cool.
It follows then that any combination of red and yellow will also, by default, be a warm
color.
Meanwhile, when cool blue mixes with one of the warm primaries, different things result.
While green is usually said to be a cool color, purple is often said to be a warm color.
Even so, the relative temperatures of these secondary and intermediate colors can vary.
For example, while green is collectively considered to be cool, a yellow-green will still be warmer
than a Bluegreen.
Another important concept to understand is that of color intensity or the lightness or
darkness of a color.
Another word for color is hue and that's usually the word used when we're talking about the
relative lightness or intensity of a color.
If white is added to any color, this is referred to as a tint of that color.
The result is a lighter and less intense hue.
Conversely, if black is added to any color, this results in a shade, sometimes also called
a tone, of that color.
The result is darker and also less intense.
For the highest intensity possible in a given color, just go with the default true hue.
Speaking of black and white, they're not considered colors in the strictest sense since they're
not on the color wheel rather they reside on their own spectrum which we refer to as
the grayscale since when black and white are mixed together in varying quantities, they
result in different shades of gray.
It's also sometimes said that you can achieve black by mixing together all of the colors
on the color wheel though this is really more of an approximation.
You may also have noticed that Brown isn't anywhere to be found on the color wheel, this
is because in order to create a brown tone, certain colors have to be mixed together.
This brings us to our next important point, color relationships.
In addition to the colors on the wheel relating to each other in terms of how they mix together,
they also have relationships in terms of how they interact when they're kept separate.
If that's a little hard to understand, just keep your eye on the color wheel for these
next few terms and everything should come together.
The first term we'll go over for these kinds of relationships is analogous colors.
Simply put, analogous colors are ones that are similar in temperature and are found close
to each other and sometimes directly adjacent on the color wheel.
Any color analogous to a primary color is a color that features that primary.
So for example, everything from yellow-orange to red-orange is analogous to yellow because
all of those colors feature some amount of yellow in them.
The other important color relationship is that of complementary colors.
In simplest terms, any two colors that are directly across from one another on the color
wheel are considered complementary.
Because of this distance apart from one another on the color wheel, complementary colors have
the highest amount of contrast possible.
Some examples of complementary colors include red and green, yellow and purple, and blue
and orange.
In addition, the designation of split complementary colors can be applied to any one color and
the two direct analogs of that color's complement.
To state that more simply with an example from the color wheel, red-purple and blue-purple
are these split complementaries of yellow.
So answering our question about how to get brown then, the simplest way to achieve a
brown tone is to mix complementary or split complementary colors together.
Simple, right?
There's a complete overview of the color wheel out of the way.
With all that knowledge at hand, you might now be asking the broader question, why is
it important to understand color relationships in terms of putting together your outfits?
The answer is because color is the principal way that we can direct the eyes of others.
The primary objective of any colors in an outfit should be directing the eyes of the
viewer to your face and also making your face look as well colored and healthy as possible.
What's the best way of going about doing that?
In short, there are two main methods for achieving this effect with your outfits.
The first of these techniques is to match the degree of contrast between the colors
in your outfit to the degree of contrast between your skin tone and your hair color.
Speaking of which, you can find our video on how to early determine your skin tone here.
The second technique is to directly repeat or otherwise echo one of your natural colors
whether that be your skin tone, hair color, or eye color in the colors of one or more
of the garments that make up your outfit.
As such, here are our tips on how to wear and pair your colors effectively.
Regarding the degree of contrast between a man's skin tone and his hair color, men fall
into one of three basic groups; high contrast, which is most typically characterized by fair
skin and dark hair though the reverse could also be true for darker skinned men with dyed
or graying hair, medium contrast where the colors are different but not to a large extent,
and low contrast either fair-skinned with blond or graying hair or dark skin with dark
hair.
High contrast men can more safely experiment with wearing combinations of bolder colors.
For example, pairing primaries or complementary colors together.
Just don't go for the true hues of all of these colors when you're pairing them together
or you will fall into that trap of looking like a clown.
Instead, try pairing primaries or complements that have been further augmented with tinting
or shading.
For example, you could wear a pastel blue shirt with a darker burnt orange tie, a medium
contrast man can, of course, wear a garment that is bolder in color but he should be mindful
that if he does so, it will draw some attention away from his face.
Again as with many things in menswear, confidence is key here.
Low contrast men are the ones who should be most careful in pairing together contrasting
colors, really make sure that you've muted the hues of the contrasting colors if you
decide to wear them as that's the best way that you'll be able to pull them off.
When it comes to having colors in an outfit that echo a man's natural tones, the keys
here are temperature and intensity.
We've covered this specific topic in depth in that video on how to find your specific
skin tone so we'll just give a brief overview of it here.
If you have light skin and light hair, stick to wearing pastel shades with colors that
echo your undertone.
Colors like blue, green, or purple for a cool skin undertone and red, yellow, and orange
for a warm undertone.
Conversely, dark colors and black will most likely make your skin look washed out and
ashen.
The exception here is if you're a man with light skin and very dark hair, in which case
a high contrast man, and then, of course, you can go ahead and wear these darker colors.
If you have fair skin and still want to go for a subtle contrast, take the cue from your
hair color.
The classic example here is that red-haired men typically look very good in pastel blue
shirts.
If you have medium skin and hair, you can start to experiment with more true hues though
be mindful of them and follow the advice that we laid out in the previous section of the
video.
Slight shades or tints of colors without being too extreme in either direction are going
to work well for you.
You can echo your undertones for a look that's more harmonious or you can go with the complements
of those colors for something that's a little bit bolder and more fashion-forward.
Finally, if you have dark skin and dark hair, you're somewhat lucky in being able to wear
both true hues and darker shades as your face is really in no danger of looking washed out
by these darker colors.
The one area to be careful in your position is if you try to wear extremely light tints
of colors as the high contrast will still end up distracting from your face.
If you want to wear a lighter garment, we suggest that you do so in conjunction with
other darker pieces.
As with medium toned men, echo your undertones for more harmony and go with their complements
for more contrast.
In conclusion then, knowledge of the color wheel and the broader discipline of color
theory is one of the most helpful and versatile tools in the well-dressed gentleman's arsenal.
With this knowledge, he can be confident that he's put together harmonious outfits that
complement his natural tones and draw proper attention to his face.
Also, be sure to check out some of the related articles on our website such as the article
on how to combine three different colors in your outfits, you can find that article by
clicking the banner here.
So what techniques do you use in order to incorporate color into your wardrobe?
Share with us in the comments section below and as always, don't forget to subscribe to
our channel so videos like these can come straight to your inbox.
In today's video I'm wearing an outfit that incorporates complementary colors those being
blue and orange of course in a variety of different ways my navy blue double-breasted
blazer grounds the outfit but it's light gold buttons as well as some of the other elements
in my outfit make sure that it doesn't wash out my fair-skinned and medium toned hair
the primary garment helping to lighten my outfit is my pastel blue shirt from Charles
Tyrwhitt in the middle of the spectrum is my wool challis tie in turquoise or would
that be Bluegreen that's accented with colors of yellow grey orange and navy this is a tie
from Fort Belvedere and you can find it in our shop here also featuring a variety of
different blue orange turquoise and green tones is my vintage pocket square my other
accessories also come from Fort Belvedere today including my gold-plated sterling silver
cuff links they're in an Eagle Claw design and they feature tiger's eye as the stone
which brings out some of the yellow and orange tones as well as the Browns in my outfit the
bright orange exotic Caribbean boutonniere provides a pop of color against the lapel
of the navy blazer helping to balance it out a little bit my trousers are a medium brown
color which helps to Center the outfit to some extent my socks echo my shirt in that
they are also light blue and my shoes which are wingtip derbys that feature a lot of broguing
are in a tan tone which also sits relatively in the middle of the brown spectrum of course
you can find the cufflinks and the boutonniere in the Fort Belvedere shop as well just click
on the link here