STYLE | Colour Blocking Style Guide

Colour blocking was the runway trend for Spring 2012, and as these collections sneak their way into stores – despite the chilly weather outside – here is a handy guide for making it work for you.

What is Colour Blocking?
“Colour Blocking”, in essence, involves combining two or more “blocks” of colours in one look. No patterns. No stripes. No polka dots. Just solid blocks of colour. This bold use of color is a great way to kick start your Spring wardrobe, moving you away from the darker, colder tones of Fall and Winter. You can colour block with clothes, handbags, makeup and accessories, giving every woman a myriad of options. This trend does require a little bit of thought before you dive in. For example, it can be easy to go wrong and end up with something that just doesn’t work when mixing bright, intense colours. The easiest way to get around this is to colour block using brights and blacks, or brights and whites. Using black or white as a base allows the other colours to pop all the more, and will give you a perfectly styled look.

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What Colours go Together?
To avoid clashing, use this quick and handy colour wheel to find the perfect blend of tones and hues for your look. Use the rule of thirds and create an equilateral triangle on the wheel. Where the triangle’s points touch, choose two of the three colours to block with (see below). If you’re feeling adventurous and what to add another colour, be sure to pick something outside your triangle to avoid the classic “blue, red and yellow” primary clown combination.

How to Colour Block
Wondering why colour blocking is so popular? The answer is that it’s one of the best ways to emphasize your best features! Simply dress the parts of your body you want to accentuate in those bright, colourful hues while using darker colours to give the rest of your body a sleek and chic look as darker colours have a wonderful slimming effect.

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Remember: when colour blocking, don’t combine more than three colours. It can get messy and, as always, the more colours you add, the more chance there is that you’ll clash.

But don’t forget to be adventurous. Colour blocking is about being bold and trying something new. Don’t worry if you get it wrong the first time. Fashion is about experimenting and playing. And after really getting into this style for Spring, you might even find that these bold colours help you feel a bit more confident and bold yourself!