# Advice on clothing color combinations **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069 "2005-04-06T18:05:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/1 "2005-04-06T18:05:57Z")
How do you determine when colors go together and when colors clash? What I need to understand better is when colors are just similar enough to clash, but not similar enough to go together. You know how you always hear people saying that pink and red clash together? Maybe this is a particular instance of a general rule that pastels and primary colors don’t look good together. But then pink and black seem to go well together… even though pink with black always makes me think of the Good ‘n’ Plenty candy that’s pink on the outside and black licorice on the inside. When I wear a black cardigan over a pink blouse I’m like a Good ‘n’ Plenty turned inside out. Right now I’m trying to decide if I can wear a purple velvet top with a maroon velvet skirt. I keep trying them on together and then putting them away again, scared that people will think I’m color blind. Intellectually, I can’t think of any reason why purple and maroon would clash, but are they too close while not being close enough? Does it make a difference if both are velvet? Is it ever acceptable to wear two different colors of velvet together? I’m desperate to figure this out right now, because I’m trying to decide what to wear tomorrow, but hoepfully this thread could become a useful idea exchange if anyone else has similar questions. That’s why I gave the thread a general title, to allow for all kinds of color-clash questions. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/2 "2005-04-06T18:19:08Z")
1. That’s too much velvet, unless both are exactly the same style and color (like a matched set that you bought together at the same store). 2. Purple and maroon are not good together. You want colors that contrast, not colors that will beat each other up. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/3 "2005-04-06T18:22:42Z")
There’s no way on earth I’d wear purple and maroon separates, but that’s just me. Try going to different websites ([jcrew.com](http://jcrew.com), [gap.com](http://gap.com), [bananarepublic.com](http://bananarepublic.com), [bebe.com](http://bebe.com), [anthropologie.com](http://anthropologie.com), [ardenb.com](http://ardenb.com), [anntaylor.com](http://anntaylor.com), etc.) to get a feel for what colors combinations are in this season. Of course, there’s also learning what color combinations work for your skin tone, but that’s a different animal altogether. Finally, I’m totally with you on the pink and black/Good and Plenty vibe. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/4 "2005-04-06T18:24:49Z")
Last night on Madison Avenue I saw a woman wearing a _pink_ coat with an _orange_ scarf. I had to be restrained from pushing her into the path of a moving bus. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/5 "2005-04-06T18:27:05Z")
I once found [this site](http://www.desertdance.com/world.htm) when I was looking for an example of a color wheel to show a friend. Ignore for the moment that it’s a site for belly-dancers, it’s got a pretty good rudimentary explanation of complementary colors, etc. In general, if you pick colors that are are too similar, it’s gonna look like you tried to match but failed. Like maroon and purple are both purply but not purply enough to really match. (plus, purple is a pretty strong color so consider carefully the look you’re going for) ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/6 "2005-04-06T18:46:20Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > (plus, purple is a pretty strong color so consider carefully the look you’re going for) And if you’re plus sized and on the short side, you’ll look like an eggplant. … what? I’m just saying… ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/7 "2005-04-06T18:49:55Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Last night on Madison Avenue I saw a woman wearing a _pink_ coat with an _orange_ scarf. I had to be restrained from pushing her into the path of a moving bus. I’ve seen that pulled of quite nicely if the shade/saturation of colours is right. Red and pink used to be a no-no, but in the right tones, it’s quite popular as well. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/8 "2005-04-06T18:51:34Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I’ve seen that pulled off quite nicely if the shade/saturation of colours is right. This was _not_ pulled off quite nicely. Though had she been a few steps closer, I _would_ have pulled it off her quite nicely. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/9 "2005-04-06T19:00:06Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > This was _not_ pulled off quite nicely. Though had she been a few steps closer, I _would_ have pulled it off her quite nicely. I don’t doubt your fashion sense, **eve** , but just wanted to illustrate my point: [Women’s skirt,](http://www.oilily-world.com/medium.asp?mediumalbum=25&medium=656) and [top](http://www.oilily-world.com/medium.asp?mediumalbum=29&medium=697), [little girls’ dress](http://www.oilily-world.com/medium.asp?mediumalbum=25&medium=656) Oh, just go to [Oilily](http://www.oilily-world.com/text.asp?text=1) ! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/10 "2005-04-06T19:09:54Z")
If you have one strong color, the rule is to have a muted color to go with it. Purple is \*very \* strong on the eyes. Purple & red will look like a Crayola box. Two soft colors can go together, which is why people can get away with pastel tops & bottoms. Also white can go with a lot of things but remember white has a very “bright” feel to it, so be careful not to wear it with too many dark things. A black shirt & white pants will make you look like a referee. Watch it if you’re a little overweight, you will end up looking like a fruit if you wear too many bright colors. If one piece is patterned, the other piece should usually be solid. Patterned skirt, solid blouse, solid skirt, patterned blouse, unless they are coordinated separates. ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/11 "2005-04-06T19:15:43Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Right now I’m trying to decide if I can wear a purple velvet top with a maroon velvet skirt. Oh my goodness, no! Too much velvet, and purple and maroon are too close, and will clash horribly. Honestly, you will probably look like you got dressed in the dark. You could wear the purple velvet top with some nice black pants, or a black skirt, in a light flowy fabric. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/12 "2005-04-06T19:23:10Z")
If you’re not sure, one way to be safe is to always wear a bold color and a neutral. You still get the color impact but you don’t have to worry so much about clashing or matching. Neutrals are basically White, Grey, Black, Tan, Olive, Khaki, Brown and sometimes Navy. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/13 "2005-04-06T20:10:43Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Oh, just go to [Oilily](http://www.oilily-world.com/text.asp?text=1) ! “Who designed these costumes? It looks like Edith Head puked, and that puke designed these costumes.” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/14 "2005-04-06T20:25:53Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > “Who designed these costumes? It looks like Edith Head puked, and that puke designed these costumes.” > > Stranger They are the height of fashion for uptown kids (and now grown ups, it appears). Pricey stuff actually. From Holland. Not that this automatically makes it better than Osh-Kosh, but it is good quality and it looks better on than you’d think. Kind of like Benetton. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/15 "2005-04-06T20:38:01Z")
There are no hard-and-fast rules in regards to what colors go with what, despite what “experts” will try to tell you. Every color has it’s own set of connotations, it’s own trend status, and there is always room to play with the rules a bit. Dark or bright purple is a really hard color to wear, even if you are absolutely otherwise gorgeous. I’ve given up on wearing it completely, because every time I do I look like a wacky elemetary school teacher with too many cats. The big problem is that it goes easiest with black, but you run the risk of looking like a teenage goth. It doesn’t go well with any colors (exept as a very carefully used accent) and you can’t wear it with brown at all. Gold doesn’t look nice except on very very formal occasions (yellow and purple are complimentry colors) and silver looks gotthy. The best bet is a very solid well-made piece in a shade of grey that is the same lightness or darkness as the purple, or black done with accessories and cut that shies away from the “goth” look (unless that is what you are going for). Or you could dress it down with jeans and some cheap trendy accssories. You can do that for just about anything. Maroon is also kind of a hard color, but it looks so classy with black that people rarely bother to try anything else. The more adventurous can try lighter shades of maroon, burnt oranges, and browns. But this is best left to the very confident. A good rule on fabric and cut is that you should only wear one flashy, revealing, shiny, or special thing at a time. One velvet piece is luxerious and classy. Two makes you look like the rich drunk aunt at a christmas part. The bulk of your wardrobe should be solid, simple, well-made, neutral things (pick a color: grey, brown or black) with a few colorful, trendy, revealing or otherwise interesting items and accessories Your best bet is to go to a shopping district in the nearest biggish city and peoplewatch. See what you like and what you don’t. How you carry yourself is the most important part of making any outfit work, and the best way to do that is wear what you like. Trends are okay and fashion experts sometimes have interesting stuff to say, but don’t rely on fashion magazines or advertisments to tell you what to wear. Just find someone that looks neat, and copy the bits of their outfit that you like. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/16 "2005-04-06T23:09:25Z")
There is no such thing as one colour “going with” another. Wear any colour combinations that appeal to you. And, yes: I am a bloke whose friends always criticise how I dress… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/17 "2005-04-06T23:44:36Z")
Thanks for the help, everybody! What was I thinking? :smack: I just _knew_ something was wrong with that idea, but I couldn’t explain why. Cat ladies, drunken aunts at weddings, Goths… quite a cast of fashion bugaboos already haunting this thread, as variegated as the characters in a Bob Dylan song. I _do_ use the Goth look on purpose, dear. Not because I’m trying to be Goth, but when I was figuring out how to put together my look, the easiest look I figured out, that I could manage, turned out to resemble Goth. Hmm. Should you take that as evidence of my hopelessly deficient fashion sense? I liked me Goth, that’s all I know. So this is why I don’t understand color yet: I’ve been wearing all this black all the time. Black with purple sometimes, but mostly just black on black. Eggs and black. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/18 "2005-04-07T00:37:49Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Oh, just go to [Oilily](http://www.oilily-world.com/text.asp?text=1) ! Is that monologue really supposed to sell clothes? The skirt in your first link looks like a fancy lollipop. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/19 "2005-04-07T05:43:17Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I _do_ use the Goth look on purpose, dear. Not because I’m trying to be Goth, but when I was figuring out how to put together my look, the easiest look I figured out, that I could manage, turned out to resemble Goth. Hmm. Should you take that as evidence of my hopelessly deficient fashion sense? I liked me Goth, that’s all I know. Oh, by all means go goth if you like it. I dress like if Punky Brewster grew up to be a punk rocker and was then caught in a paint factory explosion. My boyfriend is like you- he only wears black and white becuase he figures that way he can never go wrong. It works out. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069/20 "2005-04-07T11:57:04Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > If Purple is \*very \* strong on the eyes. Purple & red will look like a Crayola box. You say that like it’s a bad thing! I’ll wear a purple sweater over a red turtleneck, with a black skirt, and it looks great. At least – I thought it did. ( **runs sobbing to closet** ) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-clothing-color-combinations/298069.md?page=2)