If you have read history books, kings, priests and leaders were always adorned in purple cloth among other dyed linens as a symbol of prestige, status and power. In the recent past, it became an open secret that most men find it hard to incorporate color into their daily style, and that is not their fault. From childhood this gender has been taught to shun anything that makes them seen by society.
Shockingly, things were not always like this. Not until the end of the 19th century, pink was –at least in the western world considered a masculine hue. Connotations of girlishness gradually progressed in the early 20th century as marketers repositioned the color with femininity as industrialization and the rise of corporate culture took hold of the economy. Another strategy used by politicians and boardroom members to manipulate the public for profitability.
For the average man, it does not come naturally to perfectly select and lay colors. Equally, it takes a bold guy to wear bold colors, a man that does not fear to be seen. It also takes a lot of creativity and thinking, because there is a thin line between looking like a rainbow, and a multi-color doodle. And so the question goes; how do you wear your favorite colors without looking like doodle art from a 3 year old?
To guide us, Collins the Smiling Man @mxfexa is a perfect exemplifier whose profile is a fiesta of color and fashion. I just love how he so easily incorporates color and blends different shades in his attires making his page a pastel. Here are some lessons we picked from his polychromatic life, as displayed on Instagram.
Matching Color Smoothly
If you are going to wear some color, then the colors you are layering should have the ability to blend together seamlessly. The trick is in mixing parent colors (Red, Green, Blue, Orange, Yellow, Purple) with neutral colors (grey, pitch, pink, maroon, navy blue and lighter shades of these colors) that don’t compete with each other. The parent color is the main color people focus on, and the other colors will enhance the parent color thus harmonizing the entire ensemble. To understand the concept study the picture below, and determine if you can mark out the parent color from the neutral color.
Picture1: Yellow (Parent color) Green and Grey (Neautral colors)
Picture 2: Orange (Parent color) White and Grey (Neutral color)
Skintone
There is a very hot debate that certain skin complexions look better in certain colors, for example dark skins have the advantage of playing with bright colors as compared to light skinned ones. And that light skins should stay away from bright colors. Yes, there is something true about that, but trash that. The magic is in finding the colors that work for you, and choosing the hues which flatter you most and artistically matching your attire. In conclusion, anyone can wear any color that they want to wear, you just have to be wise enough to get away with it because to a larger extent it is an issue of execution.
Power of Layering and Toning
Your closet has more than one shade of blue, right? Good! now in the coming week, lets do this small exercise. You will look for a color which has more than one shade, for example blue(or yellow). Find all the blues(or yellows) you have, and using it as a parent color, find a neutral color on which you will contrast the blue(or yellow). As a beginner, don’t go so hard, just try to get accustomed to color by trying to match related hues and in no time you will be an expert.
All colors have a lighter hue that is brighter or cooler, take for example the picture below; although wearing brown through out, Collins styles different shades of the same color (brown) and gets amusingly away with it. But for the start, always have a neutral color base. These neutral colors act like a plain page on which you can put any thing.
Personality
If you don’t plan on getting lost in the crowd (yes, some people like that -sadly) then prepare to replace most the greys and blacks in your closet with fresher colors that will make you stand out( sorry I’m saying this again). Bright colors are fun, and for the record, I don’t understand why one would wear bold colors only to sit in a corner to scroll their phone (just an example, I got nothing against scrolling phones or sitting in a corner) but if I were to wear orange pants and a purple shirt, I would seal it up with bubbly vibes.
Creativity and Confidence
Sometimes inspiration can come from studying other peoples style (studying! not copy and paste) Following people like @mxfexa on social media gives you ideas on how to work with what you have and if you know someone in real life with impeccable style, feel free to walk to that person and ask if they can share tips with you, but don’t forget to compliment their style first. Most people will be glad to share.
Are you still doubting on whether or not to incorporate yellows and purples into your wardrobe? If you are, just know that adding a pop of color here and there makes you stand out from a drably dressed crowd, giving you an edge to make a memorable impression. Now go wear some color, have a good day and make the world brighter
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