How To Wear Your 'Wrong' Colours

Colour analysis is one of my favourite parts of my job. 
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I love supplying clients with a perfect palette of their 36 best colours that will make them glow.

But the problem is, once you've learned your colour code, you still have a whole wardrobe filled with colours you can't wear...

...your 'wrong' colours.

These are the colours that wash you out, bring out your fine lines, dark circles and blemishes, and make you look ill.

Your first instinct may be to throw everything out and buy a whole new wardrobe in your best colours...

But this usually isn't a practical solution for most women. You probably have neither the time nor the budget to pull this off.

So what do you do?

Here's my  advice: as items naturally wear out and are discarded, replace them with items in your best colours.

Before you know it, you'll have a wardrobe filled with clothes you not only love, but that love you back!

In the meantime, continue wearing the items in your wardrobe. How? Read on to find out my top tips on how to wear your 'wrong' colours...
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1. Keep them below the waist. 

If the colour is below your waist, it's not going to have as negative an effect on your overall look. The only colours that really matter are the ones you wear near your face, so if it's below the waist, it's not going to matter as much.

That being said, I always recommend that my clients transition their entire wardrobe over to their colour palette - including bottoms - as this means that everything mixes and matches easily. If a skirt or pant is in your 'wrong' colour, it won't blend with your wardrobe and won't seamlessly mix and match with your tops. It won't be as versatile. 

Moral of the story: definitely transition your bottoms over to your new colour palette; it's just not as urgent as transitioning your tops.
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2. Wear a pop colour near your face.

Okay, so what if the item in your 'wrong' colour is a top? This is a little more difficult, but the best way to pull it off is to wear an accessory with it, like a scarf or necklace, in one of your pop colours.

A pop colour is one of your 'wow' colours - it's usually one of the brighter colours in your palette and is one of your best, most striking, eye-catching colours that will make you look absolutely stunning. If you're going to a high-school reunion, don't wear black: wear a pop colour. You'll be the best-dressed in the room.

But I digress... Because the pop colour will be sitting between the 'wrong' colour and your face, it will detract attention away from the unflattering top and reflect itself onto your face, giving you a much better look.

The unflattering colour still won't look great, but at least its negative effect will be semi-neutralised by the pop colour.
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3. Wear a brighter lip.

So what if you don't have an accessory on hand... or the top just doesn't look good with an accessory around your neck?

​Your next-best option is to wear the brightest lip you can pull off.

Your best 'pop  lip' will depend on your colour code (I actually wrote a blog post about this very subject - click here to find out the best bright lip colours for each colour code). 

Wearing a bright lip will raise your contrast level and help you better pull off an unflattering colour. Wearing more makeup in general (in your best colours, of course) will help stop you from being washed out by a 'wrong' colour.
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4. Keep it to 10-20% of your outfit, max.

If you have a garment in a 'wrong' colour that you absolutely love, and you want to continue wearing it despite its unflattering effect on your colouring, the best way to do so is to keep it to 10-20% of your outfit.

As long as at least 80% of your outfit is in the correct colours for you, you'll look amazing. But how can you do this when it's a garment that takes up more than 20% of your outfit, I hear you ask?

Get creative!

If it's a top, wear it with a layering piece in a great colour for you, like a cardigan, jacket or blazer. This will cover a lot of it, so the only part you can see is a central column. (As a bonus, this will also give you a super-flattering silhouette. It's called column dressing and will make you appear taller and leaner.)

Whatever you do, just make sure that the 'wrong' colour doesn't take up more than 20% of your outfit and you'll be fine.
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5. Dye it!

Finally, if you love a particular item so much that you can't bring yourself to get rid of it, I've got a simple solution... just dye it!

Now I must admit, I have never tried this myself, and I have heard that there is a bit of an art to it, so definitely do your research before trying this out. But this can be a great way to turn an unflattering garment into one of your best pieces.

​Have you tried any of these tips? 

If you're wondering which colour code you are, click here to learn more about my Discover Your Colour Code online service - a quick, easy and affordable way to learn your best colours.

That's all from me for this week! If you have any questions, comment below - I love hearing from you.

​Until next time,

Kiarra