Colors - Matching

[MacLowlife]

There are theories about colors- about what goes well together and what does not. There is also dogma, or a set of ideas that go beyond mere theory, but still has no means of proof. Why? Because we are talking about matters of taste. Having said that ( and implying that nobody can dispute matters of taste) let's take a look at the color wheel.

Imagine a triangle. At each point, place a color- red, blue, yellow. Now place a second triangle on top of it to form the Star of David. Between red and blue, put purple, between blue and yellow, put green, and between yellow and red, put orange. The first three colors are the primary colors, the second are secondary colors. Each primary color is directly across the center of the star from a secondary color- blue is across from orange, etc. And each pair of colors across the center is a pair of Complimentary colors. That is, blue looks good with orange, red with green, and yellow with purple.

Of course, there is a whole different way of characterizing colors- warm ( or yellowish ) and cold ( bluish). And there are dozens of other ideas, like the one that compares colors to the seasons of the year. Generally speaking, though, people like to see complimentary colors together. They also like to see warm colors with other warm colors and cold ones with cold ones.

You will note, however, that such classic combinations as the blue and green of the Campbells and the Black Watch do not follow this rule. And we have not even mentioned brown or black. My advice is to look at the colors in your tartan and see if you can "pull out" minor colors ( i.e., accent them) by repeating them in another part of your outfit. Or go for a nice contrast where matching won't work. My final advice is to close your eyes and throw on the first five things you put your hand on. Take a look. If it scares you, change. If it looks surprisingly good, wear it.

Finally, everything goes with black. But all black? Maybe not.