Colour, Pattern, Texture, shine!

Have you ever stood in front of the mirror, ready to head out the door and thought to yourself, "Something's missing."? If the answer is "Yes!" then this post is for you!; Using the elements: colour, pattern, texture and shine, along with the fashion formula, made popular by Stacy and Clinton, creating cohesive looks is as easy as filling in the blanks. 

The elements and principals of design are used throughout all visual arts to create interesting, yet cohesive looks. From interior design, to photography, paintings and more, these elements and principals are always at work.  

In fashion, colour, pattern, texture and shine are the 4 basic elements that create any great outfit!   The principals that we are trying to achieve by using these elements are mainly harmony, conrast and balance.   

When creating a fashion look, an easy formula to use is the following: 

1 basic  (tee/jeans/neutral top or bottom)

                                                                                                +

1 Interest piece (something with colour, pattern, texture and/or shine)

+

1 Completion piece (Jacket, cardigan, over piece of some kind)

+

3-4 Accessories (Bag, shoes, jewelry[1-2 pieces])

TIPS:

1. When it comes to jewelry, less is often more.  Unless you're Iris Apfel, or going for a similar look, choose a favorite statement piece and let it stand out on its own. 
2. Bags, belts and shoes do NOT need to match!  Rather, they need to coordinate.  For example, if you are opting for a patterned shoe, look for a bag in a solid colour that appears in the pattern.  
3. Be careful with mixing prints.  Avoid mixing things like floral with floral, or leopard with leopard, unless its a matching set.  Opposing prints mixed can work well, like stripes with floral, but can be tricky.   In the example photos below, assuming the croc embossed clutch has a chain attachment strap, the bag can go with either outfit for the following reasons: 

       1. Its monochromatic and the taupe colour can be seen in the leaves of the floral printed blouse, therefore complimenting rather than competing

      2. It is an embossed, textured animal print which creates a nice contrast against the floral

Examples: 

Here are some examples I've pulled from around the web: 

                                                  Girls Night Out                                               

Colour in this example is seen more as a monochromatic palette, rather than one main or accent colour. The embossed croc print is bag represents both pattern and texture.  Texture and shine can be seen in the shoes and more obviously in the sparkly blouse and cuff.  In terms of the outfit formula, the jeans represent the basic, the blouse and bag are the interest pieces and the the blazer is the completer piece; with the shoes, bag and bracelet representing the 3 accessories.  A fourth accessory  of a simplistic earring could be added here, anything more and it  would be too much. 

Sunday Funday

Colour in this outfit can be seen in the open front cardigan, and is carried through to the blouse, which represents pattern.  The cardigan also shows pattern and texture in the crochet knit. Texture can also be seen and felt in the leather bag and ultra suede shoes.  Shine is shown briefly through the casual jewelry.  The jeans are the basic again and the floral blouse is the interest piece.  The cardigan is the completer, and the rest are the complimenting accessories.  

So the next time you are struggling to put an outfit together or feel like something is missing, use this guide as a checklist - does your outfit check off all the boxes on the list?  Are things complimenting or competing with one another?