There are many reasons why you might like to start injecting more colour into your wardrobe. Perhaps you’re looking to express yourself more, stand out from the crowd, or add some cheer to your day.
However, finding the confidence to wear bolder pieces can be tricky. Many of us reach past that brilliant blue blouse or that emerald green tie and opt for blacks and greys instead.
It can sometimes feel safer to stay within your comfort zone and dress in a way that allows you to blend in and draw as little attention as possible. But dressing with colour and confidence can be liberating.
If you’ve often thought, “I like that, but I’d never have the confidence to wear it”, the good news is there are a few things you can do to break free of these self-limiting thoughts and start dressing in a way that’s more true to your personality.
From exploring which colours suit your skin tone to knowing how to work a bold pattern, here are 10 tips to help you dress with colour and confidence – and hopefully feel fabulous as a result.
1. Start small – add a colourful hair accessory, tie, belt, or bag
Deciding to start wearing more colour doesn’t mean you have to wear it from head to toe. Adding small pops of colour to your everyday outfits can have a transformative effect, while giving you a chance to get used to wearing brighter things.
For example, if you tend to wear black, perhaps you could add a colourful bag, belt, hair accessory, or tie. Or maybe you could opt for a piece of clothing with a black and white print that has a splash of colour included.
You could also try swapping black pieces of clothing for those with a lighter tone, such as navy, grey, khaki, or stone – as this can help you make a gradual transition towards brighter tones.
Adding colour to your outfit in small ways will allow you to experiment with different colours. This is a great way to help you decide which ones make you feel good, and which to steer clear of. It’ll also help normalise wearing colour and start breaking the cycle of automatically reaching for colours that help you blend in.
2. Focus on fit first, and colour second
While it’s important to make sure you like the colour or pattern of any outfit, it’s just as important – if not more important – to be happy with the fit. Wearing clothes that are too baggy may leave you feeling frumpy or bigger than you are. On the other hand, wearing clothes that are too tight can leave you feeling exposed and vulnerable.
Adding colour in both of these situations may cause you to feel even more self-conscious and put you off wearing anything that might draw attention altogether.
Sometimes, we might try to compromise on the fit of an outfit because we like other things about it, such as the pattern or colour. But this can mean we spend our time constantly pulling at it and readjusting it, and may even get the urge to change or cover up as soon as we can.
If you don’t feel fully comfortable in your outfit, it’s also easy to assume that everyone who looks your way is thinking something negative – even when that’s not the case.
For this reason, it’s important to choose clothing that fits well and makes you feel comfortable and confident. That way, if you find that more people start to notice and compliment your fashion choices, this will simply reaffirm your positive feelings about what you’re wearing, and hopefully give you a confidence boost.
3. Choose colours that complement your skin’s undertone
If you’d like to incorporate more colour into your style, it can help to consider which colours you’re instantly drawn to and which complement your skin’s undertone. When we talk about this, we aren’t referring to how light or dark our skin is, but to the warm, cool, or neutral colour that shines through underneath.
If you have a cool undertone, your skin is likely to have hints of blue, red, or pink, whereas if you have a warm undertone, your skin will have a more peachy, golden, or yellow complexion. Skin with a neutral undertone will have a mix of cool and warm undertones roughly the same colour as your actual skin tone.
You can determine your undertone by identifying what colour most of the veins in your arms are, assessing whether gold or silver jewellery suits you best, and thinking about your hair and eye colour. Have a read of this article from Healthline to find out more.
Knowing your skin’s undertone can guide you in making wardrobe colour choices. Warm undertones look particularly good against colours like coral, honey, and cream or earthy and rusty tones, such as deep greens, reds, and oranges.
Cool undertones, on the other hand, are often complemented by frosty blues, purples, and pinks. Neutral skin tones are often suited to a more muted version of bright colours like jade green, lagoon blue, or cornsilk yellow.
Though skin undertone can be a helpful guide when deciding what colours to inject into your wardrobe, there’s no reason you can’t experiment with an array of shades to determine what makes you feel happiest and most confident.
If you love a particular colour but think it doesn’t suit your skin undertone, you could consider wearing it on your bottom half, rather than up by your face.
4. Explore different ways to wear colour
Pair pastels with neutral colours
Part of wearing colour well is knowing what to pair different colours with. For example, by pairing pastel colours with neutral tones like blacks, creams, nudes, and greys, you can create a playful yet sophisticated look and avoid your outfit looking too ‘sweet’ or ‘sickly’.
Wearing too many pastel colours at once can also leave some people looking washed out, so try to break up outfits with neutral colours to balance them out.
Experiment with prints
Once you start wearing colour, you might like to experiment with different prints. Leaf prints, abstract flowers, stripes, polka dots, and animal prints are just a few of the patterns you might be drawn to.
The key to introducing prints to your wardrobe is to keep it simple and not overdo it. This means opting for staple pieces with a print, like a fitted blazer or a pencil skirt, and teaming them up with complementary block colours.
Blocks of neutral colours are often best if you’d like to balance out a print and tone it down. Or, if you’re feeling particularly bold, you could pick a colour from the print and wear it as a block colour somewhere else in your outfit – just as the woman above has chosen to do with her aquamarine necklace.
If you’re not used to wearing prints, it can help to stick to classic fits and avoid any fussy extras (like ruching or frills), which can make the outfit much busier.
The size of the print can also have an impact. Larger prints are often bolder and more eye-catching, whereas smaller prints can be more subtle, while still adding depth to an outfit.
Consider wearing a monochromatic outfit
If you’re looking for an elegant and eye-catching way to wear colour, you could consider wearing outfits that are either all one colour or different shades of the same colour.
Monochromatic outfits can create an uninterrupted line from head to toe, making you appear taller and slimmer. They’re also simple to put together.
5. Explore what different colours say about your personality
The colours you wear can convey different messages about your mood and personality.
Many people wear black because they think it makes them appear chic and sophisticated, but it can also make you appear less approachable and more serious – which may not reflect who you are.
If you use fashion as a form of self-expression, it can be useful to consider what different colours might say about you. For example…
Blue can be soothing and tranquil. It exudes positivity and can make you look intelligent, independent, and trustworthy.
Purple may be well suited to compassionate, creative individuals. It’s also rich and royal.
Red is typically the colour of confidence. It’s bold, fierce, and exudes dominance and passion.
Pink can be playful, romantic, and fun.
Orange is unique, ambitious, creative, and lively. It can reflect a sociable, bubbly personality.
Yellow may be well suited to optimistic, intelligent individuals with a zest for life.
Green is a calm, healing, and natural colour. It’s thought that it’s often worn by people who are strong-willed, kind, and loyal.
6. Find an inexpensive way to incorporate colour
There can be some trial and error in adding more colour to your wardrobe. It might take you a while to find your colour groove, so it can be wise not to commit to too many big spends while you do this.
To save money during this phase, it can help to visit charity shops or websites like eBay that sell second-hand clothing – or start by buying a few cheaper staple pieces, like colourful T-shirts and scarves. Perhaps you could borrow pieces from friends and family.
For some people, thrifting starts as a way to save money but then becomes a regular hobby. There can be something quite exciting about the idea of hunting through forgotten treasures and giving a preloved piece of clothing a new lease of life. Thrifting is also a great way to enjoy fashion sustainably.
7. Ask a friend or family member which colours suit you best
If you’d like to wear more colour but are having doubts about whether something suits you, it can help to get an honest opinion. You should try to ask someone who’ll give you a straight answer and not just tell you what you’d like to hear.
If someone tells you that your outfit suits you, hopefully, this will offer you some reassurance and make you feel more comfortable wearing it. However, if someone tells you that an outfit or a piece of clothing isn’t really for you, and you agree, it’s worth asking them what colours or patterns they think would work better.
Often, our own beliefs about the way we look heavily influence what we consider wearing, so seeing ourselves through someone else’s eyes can be helpful.
8. Choose your timing
For those not used to wearing a colourful ensemble, taking those first steps towards a brighter wardrobe can be daunting. Therefore, it can be helpful to consider the timing.
If you feel more relaxed and at ease at weekends, you could start by wearing some colour when you head out shopping or meet up with friends. Or perhaps you could buy a colourful shirt or skirt to wear out to dinner one evening.
As you get more comfortable wearing colour, you might feel you’d like to start introducing more of it to your work outfits and typical everyday attire.
9. Get inspired
One of the best ways to get some fashion inspiration is to take note of other people’s outfits. You may not want to create the same look as someone else, but you might be able to recreate something similar.
Brigitte Marie Foret, Trinny Woodall, and Josephine Lawlon are women who regularly dabble with colour. Men who are often seen wearing bright shades include Lono Brazil, Irvin Randle, and Martin Kuhlmann.
10. Remember that confidence is key
‘People will stare, make it worth their while’
Fashion isn’t something that should provoke fear or worry. Instead, it should be fun – and it often can be, once we get over worrying about the reactions of those around us.
Injecting some colour into your wardrobe might require you to step outside of your comfort zone and go beyond what feels safe and normal, but you can unlock a whole new world once you do. For many, experimenting with fashion can become a hobby, a powerful form of self-expression, and a confidence booster.
It’s normal to worry about what people might think or say when you start wearing brighter outfits. Or, to feel that you need time to adjust to and accept the idea that people might notice you more. However, you might be surprised at how many compliments you receive or how many more people are drawn to you once you start wearing colour.
If you’re feeling unsure about switching up your look, it’s important to trust your instincts, stay true to yourself, and be ready to laugh things off if you make a fashion faux pas. And try to remember that the most attractive thing you can wear is confidence.
Final thoughts...
We hope you enjoyed these 10 tips for dressing with colour and confidence.
If you’d like to see more content like this, why not head over to our fashion and beauty section? Here, you’ll find articles like: How to dress for your personality type and 9 tips for creating a timeless and sustainable capsule wardrobe.
Does wearing colour make you feel confident? What’s your favourite colour to wear? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!