So how does a color-shy minimalist like me factor in significant color, as I’m itching to do? That’s what I’m trying to figure out as I pause for the first time this year to think about what I have and what I want/need to make between now and the year-end. As I alluded to before and will talk more about, I’m focused on the most potent needs right now: a Venn diagram of sleeves, dresses and linen, plus addressing the imbalance in my stack of pants, which are almost entirely heavy cotton/canvas and next to no linen or summer-weight anything.
The challenge of working with linen is it means mostly solids. It’s like a box of crayons. And whereas I have no problem combining solid neutrals (and the occasional stripe), it’s taken some thinking to figure out how to work with crayons in a way that still feels like me. I’ve determined that the secret lies in the specifics of the palette and in combining colors in offbeat ways. What got emphasized when I went to put this into a 2019 Mood board was that it also means tonal dressing, maybe even more than mix-and-mismatch, which again I totally get! I’m just used to doing it with neutrals. But now that I’m seeing it that way, it seems like a no-brainer.
What it comes down to in terms of the palette is augmenting my existing blues and camels and stripes with rusty-pinky-melon tones, yellow, and a hit of spearmint green.
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PREVIOUSLY in Wardrobe Planning: Me-Made May data
Given your coloring, a pop of bright cobalt blue (perhaps in linen pants?) would be a wonderful addition to your mood board options.
I have no shortage of blue in my closet! So my focus at the moment is augmenting that.
This is so fun! I love color more than I can say and this has inspired me to revisit my own color board and do some new planning. Thank you!
Glad to hear it!
I’m a tonal neutral person too. When I stray, I usually regret it. But I have introduced color in a scarf or accessory and felt good about the outcome. After seeing how great you looked in that yellow, it’s got my itching to try some.
I tend to regret making things in color (although the risk is greater with knits than sews), so I’m really hoping I’m getting this right.
I love tonal dressing too — the only time I wear color is when I’m combining a red coat with a burgundy bag, etc. My problem is that I then feel limited with the versatility of the pieces — if I only wear red with other reds, pinks and burgundies, it feels so limiting because obviously I don’t have a ton of pieces in those colors, and then I get stuck wearing my only green top with my only green pants and it feels formulaic and I don’t know how to get around it.
Can your red tones and green tones go together, or are they too Christmas-y?
I think it’s possible to have a wardrobe built around a family of neutrals with a few colours that work well with them. For myself, I’ve chosen pale silver grey, white, black, and denim, with teal, very pale blue and heliotrope for some colour. I too prefer linen, and for variation I try to find yarn-dyed plaids and stripes, as well as linen/rayon and linen/cotton blends. A great source for linen in Canada is https://purelinenenvy.ca/, which is good to know since mail order from the US is prohibitively expensive after value-added taxes, duties, and shipping.
I hadn’t heard of them — will check it out!
I think those lovely warm tobacco and sienna colours will work beautifully with your neutrals, as will yellow if course. You could always print your linen yourself with a simple lino cut or wood block. Surprisingly easy to do!
There is definitely some printing in my future.
The yellows and golds are new for you, right?
Some of my all-time favorites clothes have been yellow, but they’re few and far between.
This is delightfully encouraging to me—still trying to break the black, grey, white habit! Have plans for both sewing and knitting in navy and paler blues—more neutrals, but different! Love yellows and golds, but they don’t look wonderful with my grey-ish hair. Also intrigued by the bricky pinks and ochres here. You have long been an inspiration to me, KT, and it’s so heartening to see you moving ahead with your bday resolution to add color to your palette!
Here’s hoping I can make it work!
I’m the opposite – my wardrobe is so full of pattern and colour I find it hard to put outfits together. Guess I’ll have to take a leaf out of others book and introduce more neutrals for it to work better
They are often the connective tissue.
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