Color. Color. Color

For being one of the the most liberated generations, we sure are encircled in colorless surroundings (grey cars, monochrome neighborhoods, and steel cities). It saddens my soul a bit that people only feel safe expressing themselves in the virtual world but not in the real world out and about on the streets.

It is hard to get inspired, staring at a beige walls all day. Embracing color into your closet can bring bring light into your eyes, sun kisses to your skin, and creativity to your mind. Therapists even say wearing red undergarments can give a person a boost in happy hormones.

Color can be confusing to navigate when wearing them but can bring so much life to an outfit and joy to your mind and to strangers passing by. Here are some quick tips on how to incorporate color in to your everyday wardrobe:

1. Choose a neutral base to start. The rule of thumb is black and grey compliment cold colors. Brown and white compliment warm shades.
2. Pull a color from a piece of clothing with a pattern on it. This will bring out the highlighted color in the pattern garment, making it the focal point.
3. When in doubt, refer to the color wheel. Red to Green, Purple to Yellow, and Blue to Orange
4. Keep your outfit monochrome and let the accessories do the popping. Hats, scarves, footwear, and jewelry are the simplest ways of adding a little vibrancy to your ensemble. It even gives you room to add a couple of different shades in your outfit. For example, if you're wearing a black dress with a red hat, it might be a fun element to wear green boots in the same shade. Refer to Rule #3.
5. Not sure if a color suits your skin tone? An easy hack for this is when you're fresh faced in the morning dew, hold a color up to your face. If your skin tone darkens making you appear tanned, this is an excellent color choice for you. If your skin appears drastically lighter, then this is probably not the best shade for your tone.
1. When a color is not your best, it does not mean you write off the color all together. It just means you might have to do some research with other shades and tones within that specific color. For example, I look terrible in robin egg blue but its sister color periwinkle is a stunning color on my skin tone.
2. Another easy way to wear a color that is not great on your skin tone is wearing it away from your face. For example, mustard yellow is another bad shade on my skin tone. However, if I am wearing a mustard yellow dress and add a complimentary color such as burgundy (which is in my good color wheel house) in the form of a scarf, necklace, or maybe even a shade of lipstick, then voila. Problem solved. The burgundy is what radiates from my face, making the illusion that I can wear mustard yellow. ;)

In conclusion, our bodies are blank canvases we get to decorate every day and show the world how we are feeling. The challenge for this winter is add a pop of color everyday to your ensemble, even in the smallest of ways, and watch your mood perk up and maybe even make a stranger's day. As always, "Be Your Own Muse, Be Your Own Artwork."

Stylishly yours,

Miss Nicks and Muse