Basics of combining colours in clothing

Keep it to three colours

The most common reason an outfit looks busy is too many colours. Cutting the total to three makes combining far easier. It matters to count shoes and bag as colours too: two garments plus a bag and shoes in different colours already makes four. Patterned clothes count the colours in the pattern as well. On days you wear a check or floral piece, matching everything else to one colour from the pattern or to neutrals keeps the pattern looking tidy. A simple rule: going beyond three colours only works when most of them are neutrals.

The three dimensions of colour

Colour is easier to understand when split into hue, lightness and saturation. Hue is the kind of colour, such as red or blue; lightness is how light or dark it is; saturation is how vivid or muted. Different hues go well together when their lightness and saturation are similar, while the same hue can look awkward when those vary widely. What people call matching tone is exactly this: keeping lightness and saturation close. Pastels with pastels and muted colours with muted colours look like a set even when the hues differ.

Use neutrals as the frame

Black, grey, navy, beige and white go with almost everything, including each other, and clash with nothing. Fill most of an outfit with these and add one colour, and it rarely goes wrong. When building a wardrobe, adding more neutrals greatly multiplies the possible combinations. Placing similar neutrals side by side, such as black with navy or beige with white, can look like an unintended mismatch, so either make the contrast clear or match them exactly.

Vary the proportions

Two strong colours in equal amounts fight each other. Use one broadly and the other sparingly and the same combination looks composed. A bright colour in a small area draws the eye, so decide where you want attention and place it there. A bright colour near the face makes the overall impression lighter, while placing it at the extremities, such as shoes or socks, adds a light accent.

• Largest area: neutrals
• Medium area: one colour
• Smallest area: the strongest colour
• Bright colour where you want to draw the eye

Staying within one family

If choosing colours is hard, using a single colour in different lightnesses is the safest approach. Pairing light and dark blue removes the colour decision altogether. Mixing in fabrics with different textures keeps it from looking flat; the same grey across a knit, wool trousers and a smooth shirt, for example, gains depth. Neighbouring colours on the wheel, such as navy, sky blue and slate blue, are stable for the same reason.

Handle complementary colours with care

Colours opposite each other on the wheel, such as blue and orange or green and red, make each other look more vivid. They can make a strong impression, but if both are vivid and similar in area the effect is tiring to look at. The trick is to mute or darken one side and make a big difference in area. A navy jacket with a mustard scarf, one side dark and the other small, is complementary yet calm. If you are unsure, trying complementary colours first in small accessories such as a bag or socks is a low-risk start.

Lighting and screens change colour

Colours differ when you buy clothes online because every screen renders colour differently and the photography lighting varies. Dark navy and black, or beige and white, are especially hard to tell apart in photos. When colour matters, look at several photos and refer to shots taken alongside other clothes or reviewers' photos in daylight. In shops too, indoor lighting and daylight show different colours, so if possible check once more by a window. If you want to match something you already own, wearing it to the shop or photographing both under the same light is the most reliable comparison. Tools that compare colour codes on screen are useful as a rough reference.