HOW TO COLOUR BLOCK LIKE A PRO

Our Fashion Intern, Hawa Zungu, tries her hand at the latest fashion trend - colour blocking! She gives us some awesome tips on how to wear this trend and look vibrant in eye-catching colours.  

Summer is here and fashion is always different but style is forever! The colour blocking trend is everywhere this summer and it’s time to go back to the basics. Primary colours mixed together to create secondary colours are increasingly popular. It is time to be bold, colourful, classy, and sexy and most of all – it’s time to FEEL BEAUTIFUL. Now is the perfect time for “colour blocking”.

Even the name of this trend, “Colour blocking”, sounds like so much fun. The problem is that colour blocking needs to be done correctly. You need to know what colours look good on you and what colours look good together. Colour blocking includes using colour in big blocks to create a certain look. Other shapes are also used but the idea is to use solid colours to create a beautiful style. Just be careful how many colours you actually use, because more than 3 can look a little bit overwhelming. You can also stick to something simple like this t-shirt designed by “Made with love” from Indiemode below:

Let’s look at ways YOU can make colour blocking HOT, TRENDY AND FASHIONABLE using the help of the Corporate Fashionista blog. Here’s how to identify your colour blocking style and how to put it all together:

Which colour blocking style do you like?

STYLE A – Monochromatic - one colour throughout the entire outfit in different hues.

STYLE B - Separates – a mixture of garments in contrasting colours (2-4 colours).

STYLE C - Stand-Alone – one colour blocked garment or a garment where the designer has already done all the work for you.

Which one do you like and which one do you think would suit you best? You decide and let us know in the comment section at the end of this blog post.

Below is a colour wheel that can help you mix and match your outfits to obtain the look you require.  This will help you select your colours correctly. Don’t be shy to wear these colours; bright colours are all the fashion this summer. For those who are skeptical of colour blocking, try it at least once, who knows, it might be your favourite style this summer! Take the risk, at least you know were brave enough to try something this beautiful and crazy at the same time.

The colour wheel below will assist you in using the correct colours for your look. If you look at the colour wheels on your right, they have different titles that show you what colour combinations work best. For example:

• The ‘primary colour wheel’ on the right-hand side has 3 colours - you can wear blue with red, yellow and blue, or red and yellow combined.
• The ‘hue colour wheel’ shows you different shades of a specific colour i.e. from dark purple to light purple. Or dark shades of orange to lighter hues. You can pair different hues of each specific colour together.
• The ‘complementary colour wheel’ combines opposite colours to create a striking look. Take a look at the main colour wheel - purple is the opposite of yellow, green the opposite of red. 

Remember use both the main colour wheel and direct what you are looking for at the smaller colour wheels. Have fun playing with colour.

Here are websites that I thought could assist with colour blocking. They give you the different steps on how to colour block:

Corporate Fashionista

Basic Color Theory

Photo Credits:         

Orange Dress

Solange Color Block

Black and White

Working Wardrobe

Paint Blocks