Guide to Matching Clothing Colours

Everybody always wants to know how you can pull of a yellow top or a red pair of trousers and in this guide, we will show you just how to match the toughest of colours and the do’s and don’ts of the trade.

Matching clothing colours can make or break an outfit. No matter how nice an individual item looks, if it hasn’t got the colours around it to complement it then its wasted. Following these few simple tips will leave you on the straight and narrow and you will never doubt your colour matching again.

Pick One Main Colour

I think this is the most important point to remember if you’re ever struggling to work out what colours should go together. The one colour trick is simply what it says. Just pick one main colour for your outfit, for example a green t-shirt, then with this green being your main colour try to surround it with neutral colours.

There is nothing harder than trying to mix vibrant colours with other bold tones. It is easiest to surround your primary colour with more subtle blacks and whites for example.

The North Face Mountain Q Jacket Yellow | Levis Line 8 Slim Tapered 512 Jeans Black

It’s important not to try and overdo an outfit. Keep it simple. If you want to wear a bright yellow hoodie, this isn’t a problem if you don’t go over the top with your other colour choices elsewhere in the outfit. A yellow jumper would work well with black jeans for example because not only will it stop people’s eyes from hurting when they look at you, but also the black jeans will make the yellow hoodie stand out more as your signature piece.

Keep it the Same

Let’s say you have a red jumper and you don’t fancy pairing it with some black jeans because they’re a boring option. What do you do? Well I would suggest going with the exact same colour.

A great example of this is matching tracksuits. These are very popular and they show perfectly how you can wear two items of clothing with bright vibrant colours. It is very important though that the colours are the same. For example, a red jumper must go with red bottoms.

Franklin Marshall Logo Hooded Tracksuit Burgundy

Putting on a green pair of tracksuit bottoms with a red top just isn’t going to work, unfortunately. Remember you don’t need to incorporate every colour of the rainbow into your outfit to stand out.

The Monochrome Look

Is there anything safer than a good mix of black and white? I think not. These two colours complement each other perfectly and more importantly, suit every other colour imaginable. But it isn’t just black and white that you can use to help tone down an outfit. Neutral colours such as navy, grey and burgundy also work well with this theme.

Money Sig Ape Sweatshirt White

 Never doubt if the colours black and white go together. Putting these colours together is almost like a little fashion life hack but I would expect you already know this.

Tonal Colours

Make the most of the number of different shades of the same colour there are out there in the fashion market today. There is nothing that looks better than an outfit which makes the most of trying out different shades of the same colour. This trick looks effortlessly cool but also looks like it’s been planned purposely. Basically, you’re onto a winner.

Alpha Industries MA Jacket Pink | Adidas Originals California T Shirt Pink

Different shades of pink are always a good example of this tip. Let’s say you have a pink lace-tone top on – you can easily put a champagne pink jacket on over the top of this and it will match perfectly.

The Trusty Colour Wheel

Putting some colours together isn’t exactly the hardest thing you will ever do, but what happens when there are tricky shades that you don’t have a clue what to match with. This is where the colour wheel comes in useful.

The chart shows exactly what colours look great together and which colours should never see the light of day combined. The table is easy to work out with colours that are complementary to each other being on the opposite sides of the table. For example, the colour blue goes well with pink and red shades.

If you’re ever in doubt about any colour mixing then this should be your point of reference.

Written by Joe Griffiths