Transitioning into Fall

It it almost fall already? It seems as if we say the same thing every August, not believing that May came, and summer went. Now it is August. We are attempting to transition into fall; which as we all know, our fall is not really fall. September, October, and November, are really just an extension of summer in New Orleans. We get to appreciate three additional months of hot weather, while wearing light- fabric clothes in fall colors. That is about all of the fall we get here. Then, maybe, if we are lucky, we can wear a warm cozy jacket a day or two in December.

As we “transition” into fall, we have to be careful not to gravitate to our very safe basic fall colors: black, brown, and gray. Exploring colors is more difficult than it sounds. No more black shoes, black belt, black purse combinations. It is the season for orchid, gold, choral, rose, red, endive*, perfect intense colors to add personality to your neutrals and move you into the fashion forward fall elite.
So, to make it easy on us all, there lives the color wheel. You can come up with brilliant combinations that will transform any outfit from average to spectacular. This will help us all avoid being so matchy matchy all the time.




Primary colors: red, yellow, and blue; any combination of them look amazing together. That’s why canary yellow and navy look unexpectedly harmonious when placed next to one another, like in this Cynthia Vincent take on the shift dress and Martinez Valero suede shoes.



Color Temperature
Yellow through red-violet are warm colors. Violet through yellow-green are cool colors.
Pair a warm color (orange and red) with a cool color (green and blue) and you’ve automatically found something pleasing to the eye. Kate Spade has mastered this concept.

She placed turquoise adjacent to red and hot pink next to green in this clutch and shoes below. Designers do this to effectively create aesthetically pleasing patterns so they are not perceived as busy.



Complimentary Colors: These are colors found at opposite ends of the color wheel. Chanel brought the power of black and white to the forefront of the fashion industry. This classic opposite can be edgy and elegant.

This BCBG dress is a great example of bold opposites, and the tie facilitates a slimmer waist. Try a dress like this with a nude shoe instead of the easily selected black or cream matched shoe. You can even add a bold colored shoe like royal blue or red.

X Colors are colors that form an X on the color wheel. Experiment with color by making Xs on the wheel. You can come up with many fun and exciting combinations.


Color Rules Based on the Color Wheel
1. Colors that lie next to each other (yellow and green)
2. Colors that form right (90 degree) angles with each other
3. Complimentary Colors: colors that are directly across from each other.
4. Colors that form an X (i.e. blue, orange, violet-red, and yellow, violet, blue-green, and red-orange, etc.)

*Check out Pantone.com for more info on fall colors. Also, visit http://www.pantone.com/images/pages/20710/2010-02/index.html for a full fall color report.