Avoiding The Clash

You walk outside, look down ... aaaaghh! It "matched" in the house! Now what do I do? Unfortunately, not much. Maybe mutter under your breath that you'll never try to match beiges again.

Pairing orange and purple, or chartreuse and teal, is not usually the source of the stealth clash. No, usually it's something like trying to put orange-brown with purple-brown, or wearing chartreuse-taupe with teal-taupe. They're neutrals, right? And neutrals go with everything, right? Uh, not exactly.

In The Age of The Essay, Paul Graham writes:

An essay is something you write to try to figure something out.

People, I don't have this one figured out. But it's been on the front burner ever since my very practical daughter recently decided she wasn't going to buy green pants, because she likes to wear green shirts (and she should - she has green eyes). So here's my messy essay.

Some thoughts on building a wardrobe without clash:

• Start with the pieces near the face. For more on selecting these colors: the Salty Jacket series.
  
  
• As previously mentioned in Frugal Mom Classics, always buy the coordinating piece if it's available.
  
  
• Don't try to assemble a do-it-yourself suit. Instead, choose another color the contrasts or blends. (More posts on color and color harmony.)
  
  
  
• Using a pattern with a small amount of the color you are trying to match allows being less precise. It's amazing! A small amount of pink, for example, can look magenta when paired with a magenta jacket.
  

We're trying to figure this one out together, right? What thoughts would you add?