It's surprising how often people shy away from using color when it comes to the clothes they wear. Lots of us stick to neutral blacks, grays and navy blues to avoid making a fashion mistake, however, it isn't that difficult to get color right, and we can create dramatic new looks for ourselves if we are prepared to step out of our comfort zones and start to have some fun with color.
If you want to give your wardrobe a makeover or fancy seeing what wearing color can do for you the first thing you will need to understand is how colors work. Think back to art class and the color wheel and how certain colors blend and contrast with other colors. You can easily research color wheels on the Internet to find out more about the relationships between the various colors and work out how to mix and match for maximum effect.
Color experts seem to agree that most colors fall into one of two categories. There are cool tones that have bluish undertones and warm tones that are yellow based. The secret to getting the right color to suit you is to work out if you suit warm shades or cool tones the best. This will depend on your skin tone and the color of your hair.
Once you understand the thinking behind warm and cool colors you can extend it to mixing and matching the clothes in your wardrobe. The general rule of thumb is that warm colors go with warm colors and cool colors go with cool. However, this is not set in stone, and you can have fun experimenting and finding out what works and what doesn't.
One rule of thumb that was once in fashion is now something of a no-no. It used to be thought that color matching all your accessories i.e. shoes, belt, bag, earrings, etc., was a good way to color coordinate. However, this is now considered to be old fashioned. This doesn't mean to say that you should throw too much color together, however, if in doubt follow the Parisian women's color code and have no more than 3 colors in any one outfit. This will help you to stay looking chic; and remember an outfit should have only one dominant color.
For those who prefer to stick to their favorite neutral shades or those who are still not convinced you can add splashes of color to any outfit via accessories such as shoes, coats or scarves. This is a safer way to have fun with color and brighten up your usual look.