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Monday, April 29, 2013

Styling 101: Color Combinations by Emma Klug

I stumbled upon Emma Klug’s blog, The Style Note, while researching for a post I was planning to write about color combinations for the Village Shoes blog. She wrote about the same subject, and since I found it impossible to explain it better, she was kind enough to allow me to share what she knows about color with the VS fans. 

Here’s what she had to say:

Styling 101: Color Combinations


Screen shot 2013-03-23 at 11.14.54 AM

Inspired by the warmer season that are approaching us (slower than I would like but whatever), I feel that now is an appropriate time to talk about one of the most basic principles of fashion design and styling: color. I’ll admit, I’m not a color person and my closet consists of mostly black and gray. However, whether you’re like me or you’re the type of person who has an abundance of color in their wardrobe, understanding color theory and combinations can prove useful for a variety of reasons.

A new color combination can add innovation to a seemingly dull wardrobe and can completely transform a look from winter to spring, spring to summer, and so on. Color theory is relevant to several aspects of style besides clothing as well.  For example, hair color, makeup choices, interior design, and more are all types of style and design that revolve around color choice.

The Basics:
While the color wheel may seem intimidating at first, I can assure you, it really is easy to use and super helpful for piecing together flattering and unlikely color combinations. Like any great skill, you have to know the rules first in order to test them and break them if you so choose to. The color wheel holds a lot of information and quite frankly, more than I’m willing to discuss within the limits of this blog post. However, these basic elements of color theory are more than enough to get you by and help you understand color relationships.

1. Hue, Tint, Tone, & Shade.
Hue is essentially the color in it’s purest form. Tint, tone, and shade are all derivatives of Hue. Tint = hue + white, tone = hue + grey, shade = hue+ black. These four elements are used to create the color your eyes see.

2. Saturation
Saturation, not to be confused with any of the previously mentioned elements, refers to the intensity/vividness of the color. Colors that are highly saturated are bold and rich, while those that are desaturated lack in vibrancy. For example, saturation could be the difference between wearing a hot pink sweater or a baby pink sweater. Both can actually be the same exact color of pink but are just at different levels of saturation.

3. Primary colors
Basically what you learned about colors in elementary school, the primary colors are red, green, and blue. These colors can not be formed by mixing other colors together, but can be combined in 100+ ways to make every color imaginable.

4. Secondary colors
Secondary colors are the colors that are formed after mixing each one of the primary colors together. Yellow + red = orange, red + blue = purple, blue + yellow = green.

5. Tertiary colors
Tertiary colors are the colors that are made from mixing secondary colors together along with primary colors. Some tertiary colors you may be familiar with would be orang-yellow, green-yellow (lime), orange-red (coral), blue-green (teal), etc.

5. Cool colors
Cool colors are all derived from shades of blue, also known as cool hues. The easiest way to remember what cool colors are, is to think of what colors would best illustrate a cool temperature such as greens, violets, light pinks, etc. Cool colors look wonderful on pale skin with pink  undertones and silver jewelry.

6. Warm colors
Warm colors, the opposite of cool colors, are based around hues of reds, oranges, yellows, etc. Warm colors look best on warmer skin tones and gold jewelry.

neutral colors
7. Neutrals
Neutrals are colors that do not pop out or attract a lot of attention to the eye such as black, beige, taupe, olive, and more. They literally go with everything and anything, and can be used  to slowly integrate color into your wardrobe by pairing bolder color combinations with them.

So…now what?
Once you have a general idea of what the color wheel encompasses, you can begin to combine the colors together. There are a million different color combinations out there. From prints and patterns, to color blocking, accessories and everything in between there are so, so many ways to utilize these combinations. Here are some of the basic ones:

Screen shot 2013-03-25 at 12.14.41 AM
(Michael Kors, Roksanda Ilincic, DKNY)

1. Monochromatic
The simplest color scheme to make, but often the hardest to pull off: monochromatic. Monochromatic is a color combination that is comprised of just one color. Wearing an outfit that is entirely blue, pink, green, etc, isn’t something that you seen often but if it’s done right it can look super cool. The best way to pull of monochromatic is to mix different elements of a specific color together such as saturation, tint, or shade and design elements such the texture and structure of the fabric.

Screen shot 2013-03-24 at 9.50.46 PM
(House of Holland, Victoria Beckham, Jonathan Saunders)

2. Complementary 
These are the colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel. Because of their high contrast, as the name implies, they complement each other the most out of any color combination. Because of this not only are they the simplest color combinations to create but they’re also the most bold. An easy way to add a complementary color combination to your outfit is to start out with a primary color as the base for the look and then wear its complement in your accessory choices.

Screen shot 2013-03-24 at 10.15.47 PM
(Roskanda Ilincic, Gucci, Nanette Lepore)

3. Analogous 
A combination of any three colors that are directly next to each other on the color wheel are analogous. This color combination is the most harmonious out of all the color combinations. It’s important to note that when creating an analogous color combination that you choose colors that have enough contrast between them, whether that be through shade, tint, tone, etc, so they’re not overwhelming. Although this color combination does encompass three separate colors, only one of them should be the dominate color while the other two can support.

(Prabal Gurung)

4. Split complementary
This color combination is found by taking a base color then pairing it with colors directly next to it’s adjacent color. For example, in the picture above, a green-blue (teal) is  paired with red and red-orange to create a split complementary. This color combination has much of the same lasting impression that complementary color schemes produce but because of it is split, it’s generally more flattering.


5. Triadic 
Colors that form a triadic are groups of three colors that are all equidistant from each other on the color wheel. Because of their placement on the color wheel, when paired together, triadic color combinations tend to be very vibrant. Just like other color combinations, it helps to choose one color as the dominate color and the two others as supporting colors in accent pieces.

And remember have fun,
These are just the beginning of all the possibilities that the color wheel can hold for your style choices. Taking into account your personal style and when and how you decide to take color risks is why it’s worth knowing a thing or two about general color theory. However, when it comes down to it, don’t forget to just have fun with it and seriously take risks, make mistakes, and do whatever the hell you want.

post by Amanda

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

How To Tell If Your Shoe Will Stretch

N164 by El Naturalista

Feet come in all different shapes and sizes…no two feet are the same, whereas a pair of shoes just varies in proportions. One shoe that is exceedingly wide for one person is way too narrow for another, and vice versa. The correct fit for a shoe is incredibly subjective. I frequently have customers ask for me to “check the toe” on their shoes to see if it's too big or small. The thing is- I can't tell you if a shoe is too big or small because that is completely up to you. If it feels good, then it's not too big or small for you. On a different person, it could feel completely different.

One question that I'm frequently asked is: Will this shoe stretch?

There are a few things you need to check for before this question can be answered:

First, is the shoe made of leather uppers? If it isn’t, chances are it’s made of polyurethane (plastic), and *might* give only a little bit. If the shoe is made of leather, it will probably give, excluding patent leather. The weave of fabric uppers tends to loosen up a bit as well.

The Carson Oxford by Frye is the perfect example of a shoe that initially feels narrow, but once broken in will stretch and soften.

Second, what is the shoe lined with? If the shoe is also lined with leather, which is ideal, it’ll be quite easy to see where the shoe will stretch primarily, and it’s safe to assume most of the shoe will soften and “mold” to your foot. If the shoe isn’t lined with leather, it’ll still give, but perhaps not as much. If a leather shoe is too tight in the width and “pinches” a bit, it’s quite easy to see where it’ll primarily stretch. With the shoe on, bend your foot at the toes (like you’re standing on your tippy-toes on both feet). Look down. Do you see that crease on your shoe? That’s where the toe cap ends. A toe cap is used to reinforce the shape of the toe, so it doesn’t warp with wear. If you feel pinching where the toe cap is, that won’t necessarily change and you might want to consider trying on the next size up. If you feel pinching where there isn’t a toe cap, you’re close to determining if the shoe will stretch where you need it to.

The black line indicates where the toe cap ends. Inside the red circle shows where the leather will stretch most. Keep in mind that the stretching will occur below the stitching detail.

The third thing to check for is if there is a bunch of stitching on the shoe. Stitching will also reinforce the shape of the shoe, and depending on where it is, it can prevent stretching. Is the shoe pinching not where the toe cap is, but where there’s stitching detail? If yes, I’d also try on the next size up to see if it makes a difference. 

So, now you're able to determine is if it’s possible for the shoe to stretch where it’s tight by checking for a few simple things. The pinching can be remedied by wearing your shoe, which may be a bit uncomfortable initially, but over a typically short period of time you’ll find that your shoe has softened, stretched, and now fits like a glove! Another option is to take your shoe to a cobbler where they can stretch it for you using a nifty contraption that applies pressure to the inside of the shoe.

One thing to keep in mind is that the length of a shoe rarely changes. Like I said before, most shoes have a toe cap which keeps the structure of the toe of the shoe and also prevents it from stretching. Some shoes don’t have a toe cap, which would allow them to give a little based on the pressure that’s put on the leather from your foot pushing forward during use.

Now, for strappy sandals! Are the straps a little too tight? You should start by also checking for what the uppers of the sandal are made out of. Leather straps? Leather lined straps? The straps might be a little uncomfortable at first, however after a wear or two, you’ll find that they loosened up a bit. Being concerned about them stretching too much is completely valid. They very well could, although there’s another easy remedy. There’s a cushion we sell by Foot Petals called Tip Toes that adheres to shoe under the ball of your foot. This not only provides a baby pillow under the ball to ease pain from the pressure that goes along with wearing a heel, it also prevents your foot from sliding forward as much. When straps on high heeled strappy sandals stretch, it can thrust your foot forward, making your toes hang over the edge which is NOT A GOOD LOOK AT ALL.  This cushion prevents sliding forward by adding friction to an otherwise slick foot-bed lining, which will help with the sliding if the straps aren’t holding you as tightly as they need to. 

The straps in front of West by Esska should fit snugly in order to prevent your foot from completely sliding forward. Should they stretch a bit too much, check out Tip Toes by Foot Petals to keep your foot back!

This information will not only come in handy when shoe shopping if a sales associate isn’t available to provide information, but it will also be useful when you purchase shoes online and are trying to decide whether or not they’ll work once you receive them. Knowing when to say no to a shoe you love will save you money, allowing you to have some shoe money leftover to splurge on that other pair that also fit wonderfully.

post by Amanda