Imagine a world with no colour, a world where the closest thing to colour is black and white, insipid right? Well I am yet to meet anyone who despises colour; fact is, it is impossible not to love colour in a world of colours. Growing up, I remember my best colour being yellow (unfortunately I wasn’t loyal enough; don’t judge me). The Reds, the Yellows, the Blues, the Pinks, the Oranges… colours generally have a way of bringing life to the dullest of days, especially the bold ones.
Bold colours require bolder hearts and the Seventies fashion scene was characterised by just that; men and women who rocked daring trends and styles, not to forget colours! Bold and vibrant colours flooded the seventies ‘fashsphere’. Colour blocking was popular from the 60’s through to the 80’s. It is a method of wearing multiple solid colours in an outfit. The outfit revolves around a palette of two or more colours usually in bold and bright shades which stand alone without interference or distractions.
This seventies inspired trend was revived again in Twenty-ten, and we are unapologetic, I guess our nostalgia for the oldies couldn’t be quenched. It began hitting the runways, gracing the red carpets and making rounds on the streets, winning over the faintest of hearts in no time. Fast forward into 2014 and this attention-seeking, “in-your-face” trend seems to be going nowhere, our love for this trend isn’t diminished just yet.
Colour blocking seems to fit perfectly into our fashion forward world. Emma stone and Leslie Mann proved this when they keyed into the trend for their red carpet looks, looking colour-fabulous. Emma, in a Thakoon outfit, wore a lilac-armless-crop-top with a pink-draped-ball-skirt to the Met Gala, while Leslie Mann wore – from the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2014 collection – an orchid-silk-linen bandeau and a red-silk-draped-ball-skirt to the premiere of “The Other Woman”. They pulled off this trend impeccably making it easy to deduce the right way to pull off colour blocking from their overall look
First, “…love casts out fear”. The easiest way to avoid being afraid of this trend is to fall head-over-heels in love with bold colours. Basic colours like, whites, blacks, greys and nudes are beautiful and have their place; however we all need that pop of colour to brighten up our wardrobes. Hence the love of colour is the beginning of blocking.
Play safe. I must say, matching colours isn’t on the same intellectual plane as reciting the alphabets; therefore it is easier and safer to stick to colours from the same family. Instead of playing with different hues, opt for different shades of the same hue. For example, fuchsia and purple; sky blue and dark royal blue. Although, if you are an expert in matching colours, this may not apply; by all means ignore the danger sign but remember, looking like a rainbow is not a pleasant option.
Less is smart. In this case, less is not just more, it is smart too. Avoid loud accessories; keep the rest of everything simple. Bold accessories will clash with your outfit and turn it into an eyesore.
In the world of colour blocking, bolder is always better, how bold can you get?