How to Layer in Winter (or Any Season) Using More Than One Colour

In winter, many people rely on blacks and neutrals as wardrobe basics so the idea of wearing head-to-toe colour can be a little daunting. I share some ideas in the video on layering in winter using more than one colour.

How to Layer Using More Than One Colour

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Go Monochromatic

An easy way add colour to your winter outfits is to stick with different shades of the same hue to achieve a cohesive look. Start with a single piece of clothing and build off of it. Go two to three shades darker or lighter from your chosen staple piece of clothing. Go from dark blue to light blue, for example.

Colour Block Using a Colour Scheme

Colour blocking is a technique of pairing two or more solid colors together to create a cohesive outfit. Opposite colours on the colour wheel make great pairings but that can be intimidating at first when you are used to matching your clothing. Colour blocking can also be done using analogous or triadic colours.

Here is an example of an analogous colour scheme with colour blocking

If you don’t like the bright colour block look for layering in winter, then try wearing one dominant colour such as a coloured neutral like olive, burgundy or navy blue and then adding secondary color in a smaller proportion or wearing neutrals with smaller proportions of colours.

Use an Accessory

You can use also an accessory to increase your colour contrast so look for accessories with multiple colours built in such as a scarf or necklace.

This scarf adds an additional colour to my outfit without it feeling overwhelming

Do it With a Print

Print and patterns are a great way to add colour to your winter outfits, especially if you’ve already dipped your toe into adding colours in into your wardrobe. You can pair a patterned skirt and a top that borrows one of the colors from the pattern. This will help to form a more cohesive look.

Here in this summer layered outfit, I’ve used a patterned kimono that is in a variety of blues and white and then used an analogous scheme with my top – the blue of my skirt is one of the blues in the kimono and I’ve layered a similar colour necklace to my top rather than add something contrasting.

I prefer to wear analogous colour schemes because it’s less overwhelming but sometimes I might go to two parts of a triad. If I’m wearing more colours, I will also make sure that I will add a stronger lip colour to bring colour to my face.

Here I’m colour blocking 2 parts of a triad with black as my neutral

The cardinal rule of style is that there are no rules, only style guidelines. Your clothes should be a way of expressing yourself.

If you really want to nail down the palette of colours that suits you, you can call me for a personal colour analysis or you can do my 7 Steps to Style program which includes a personal colour analysis and creating outfits with colour (remember that wearing colour will bring more joy into your own life as well as those around you – now isn’t that something to strive for?