The New Way to Run the Block.
As the weather warms, the sky brightens, colour starts to fill the streets. Using colour this season is going to be very exciting with a strong trend emerging from the northern hemisphere. Colour blocking stemmed from a Yves Saint Laurent womenswear in the 1970s. Of course, the Paris runways were the first to tempt the trend into the mens’ market, and BOOM! Europe exploded with colour like a twister mat in a food processor.
Introducing: Colour Blocking.
Defined as combining two or more solid blocks of colour; one creates a mix of warm, cool or complementary colours in bright or muted tones. The trend is finding its way into everything from hair to shoes, accessories and make-up, but stylish folk like us will take the trend and roll it into our wardrobe with as much (or little) vigour as we choose. The trend is filtering into all aspects of the wardrobe, with collections from Calvin Klein, Prada, Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci and Jil Sander all showing strong colour block themes in their trousers and shirts, to socks, ties, belts, boat shoes, sports coats and ties this Spring/ Summer.
So how do we create the look?
The colour range approach:
Choose a selection of colours from one of two colour ranges. Choose either warm colours (red, orange, maroon, yellow) or cool colours (blue, green, violet, teal). Try mustard chinos with a maroon cardigan and orange belt/boatshoes. Warm colours? I meant hot.
The complementary colours:
Colours that are opposite on the colour wheel achieve a dramatic look. Try light blue shorts with orange loafers. A white tee and orange rope belt will complete your look.
The pattern approach:
Just as you can colour block different colours, you can choose a block pattern as one of your selections to add more depth to your look. A colourful floral shirt with a block muted colour sports coat and trousers will have you turning heads.
Does it sound crazy? It looks cheerful and perhaps even blinding, but I assure you there is method to the madness. Colour-blocking enables designers and stylists to strategically place darker colours in areas of the figure they want to downplay (belly) and brighter colours in areas they want to accentuate (chest, arms). Think of it as your personal spotlight on your assets.
For best results; keep it simple, stupid. Choose a block piece as the focal point and theme your other selections around that. If the theme is bright, don’t overdo the amount of colour selections as to avoid looking like a rubik’s cube. You can always add white, grey and black to keep everything grounded. Never put too many colours together, aim for three or four but don’t be shy to experiment.
Nathan White is a style writer for men’s style website www.man-brand.com.au
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