Accessorising & colour for a behind-the-times frump mum starting out!

[TimeForAnotherNameChange]

Be gentle with me - I've never been up to the minute!

Okay, I've just lost quite a bit of weight and have rediscovered a limited interest in fashion, or at least in clothes beyond white t-shirts & jeans! I have a couple of questions, is it too matchy-matchy to co-ordinate shoe colour and t-shirt/top colour? I've got some nice fitting skinnies and have just branched into some coloured flat pumps/deck shoes, but my instinct is to match my top/vest colour to the pumps. Would a managed clashing/contrast colour be a better choice? Also on necklaces/bracelets etc, again my natural inclination is to match them to other accent colours on whatever I'm wearing. I'm assuming this is also twee and safe?

So can anyone give me some contrast colour combinations that seem to work? I'm aware of pink & navy for instance, and one of the mums I admire at school often wears navy/blues & lime e.g. What about green, what contrasts with that, and with red/orange? I know I must seem terribly naive, but I do appreciate any & all help!

Well, technically greens are the complimentary colours to reds/orange

You can put any two (or more) colours together really, it will just create different effects. What is the effect you are after?

I personally like burnt oranges with navy, tan or camel shades, or deep wine reds. I also like rusty oranges with grey marl and cool light blues. Moss green with camel is very nice. Or pale heather green with blush nudes or beiges. Jewel green I would probably pair with black and gold in an outfit. Lime green - white or sunflower yellow. Pale lime - pale blush.

burgundy and pink with grey
aqua and lemon/ soft lime with grey
nude and neon orange or pink with navy
blue and green shades worn together with navy- cant think of what contrasts with green!
tan accessories or grey leather shoes and bag

Having a few neutrals and a few bolds along with navy or black always works.

This outlines the basics of classical colour theory:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory

You might also like to look at:

www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-theory-intro.htm#color_harmonies

Personally, I love greens/blues/greyish turquoises - ie sea colours - all together. But what suits you will depend on your own colouring. I am most definitely not an expert, but (a) other Mumsnetters are and (b) you might like to have a look at this:

www.womansday.com.au/style/fashion/2011/2/how-to-choose-which-colours-suit-you-best/

and this:

www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/how-to-find-your-perfect-colors/

Did you know you can go to one of the large department stores and have a personal shopper experience? You need to book it but it's free and there is no push to buy as the assistant isn't on commission.

I only know this as my oldest daughter did this a couple of weeks ago. She spent two hours choosing from items that the helper had run round the shop for her and she looked blooming gorgeous in her mix and match bits.

Wow, thank you so much - this is exactly the kind of information I was looking for!

Flora I'lll spend sometime looking over those links, I like theory and research
bluesbaby and TKKW - I think that with a a couple of small purchases I can create quite a few of those suggested combinations. I just bought some lime and some neutral/gold-ish pumps, and a selection of pink, orange and lime t-shirt & vest tops. I'm after some pinkish or red pumps if anyone has further suggestions?
Lettuce - not sure I'm brave enough to do a personal shopper experience with a stranger yet, but I might ask one of my more fashion conscious friends to take me round some places!

My daughter said how nervous she was and the girl put her at her ease and made her feel 'sooooooo comfortable' she said.

The personal shoppers are used to 'shy'. They are not like the upfront folks on TV that do intimidation for the camera story.

The gold/ metallic pumps sound great!
Where did you get them?

Clarks of all places! Don't know if they're particularly on trend as opposed to old lady chic but I like them, and well, baby steps y'know! Henderson Silk, in metallic and lime. At half price I can live with a possible mistake for this season :-D