If you know me in real life, you know that I’m not shy when it comes to wearing color. Although I’m a maximalist at heart, my closet leans a bit more minimalist. (For a girl who works in fashion? Shocking, I know.) Keeping a pared-back wardrobe certainly has its perks—space, time, money—but lately, I’ve found myself in a bit of a style rut. Determined to pull myself out of it, I turned to new ways to experiment with color instead of buying anything new.
You know those moments when you envision an outfit in your head, but realize after putting it on that it’s just downright horrible? Well, surprisingly, the opposite occurred for me when I decided to test out a few new color combos. What seemed like an absolute “no” in my mind turned into an “absolutely yes” when I looked in the mirror. The best combo so far? Brace yourselves: red and yellow. I know, it’s a total ketchup and mustard scenario (ew), but it worked.
In my desperation to switch things up, I realized that while I normally go for a pop of color, I rarely style more than one at a time. What started as an introduction to complementary colors quickly turned into a full-fledged love affair with head-to-toe color blocking. With many popular color schemes resembling national holidays, fast-food restaurants, and beloved childhood characters, I spent years coming up with reasons not to mix colors. Once I got over my fear of turning into a McDonald’s marquee, my creative potential exploded.
The 8 Best Unexpected Color Combinations to Style
1. Red and Yellow
Ah, here she is: the aforementioned mustard and ketchup pairing. Though this outfit seems pretty straightforward, if you look closely, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Since I chose to primarily stick to two colors and matched my sunnies to my shoes, I needed to find ways to break up the uniformity. The subtle sequin and pearl additions create depth without taking away from the overall look.
2. Blue and Green
Let’s try something here: I want you to imagine this same outfit, only the pants are beige and the bag is black. Cute, right? I’d wear it. Now look at the photo again. You’ve forgotten all about the neutral combo I told you to imagine, haven’t you? The outfit in this photo is the perfect example of why I’m suddenly reaching for loud color combos: life’s too short not to wear the fun stuff. Oh, and notice the small pop of orange on her wrist—it’s a great way to add a third color without going overboard.
3. Blue and Red
Outside of the Fourth of July, I can’t recall a time in which I’ve worn the patriotic color scheme… until last week when I was running late to an event and frantically paired a red bag with a blue top. Reluctant to show up to the event in the flag-waving combo, I arrived and started to receive a few compliments on what others thought was an intentional pairing. Here, I like that she’s decided to keep the accessories neutral in order to give the red pants the main stage.
4. Purple and Yellow
If you’re feeling a bit apprehensive about styling complementary colors from head to toe, opt for experimenting with colorful accessories to start. Speaking generally, this idea works best with outfits that are either entirely neutral or monochromatic. When I began to dabble in a bit of color mixing myself, I chose to start with a groutfit and then carefully added in opposing accessories. Though I chose to pair my purple sunnies with a yellow bag, it could have easily worked with a green or blue as well.
