If you shop with a colour palette, how obsessively do you try to colour match?

[Terramirabilis]

This is probably a bit of a navel-gazing question but...

After lots of research and thinking, I am gradually rebuilding my wardrobe around a colour palette and taking a great deal of care over having the right items. But I find myself getting really fixated on trying to find the perfect match to the right shade of my colours.

Should I actually bother or, in fact, will it be fine as long as they're reasonably similar? If you have e.g. grey in your palette, do you have a specific shade of grey you look for or do you count any grey as being acceptable?

[burnishedsilver]

I find if you hold it up to your face you can tell immediately if its not acceptable as one of your colours.

[Floisme]

The right shade makes a real difference to me e.g. dark grey is good but light grey isn't and don't get me started on navy.

[SexNamesRFab]

I try to match but sometimes if it just tones (rather than clashes) then I can see it's right. Sometimes it's easier to see if it tones by comparing it to a different colour in the same palette, rather than the one i'm trying to match it with.

The only exception is if it's a neutral colour that I'm going to wear on my bottom half, e.g. Navy trousers. Life's too short to look for the 'right' navy.

What's the palette?

[Floisme]

Life's too short to look for colours that suit you?

You're joking, right?

[SexNamesRFab]

Only navy. Good navy is like unicorn poo

[Floisme]

Yeah that's true. It's like yellow - there's a shade out there that suits me but I've not seen it since I was 22.

[Terramirabilis]

I haven't had my colours done so I don't mean one of those swatch books. I just chose mid-grey, camel, dark crimson (sort of a red-toned burgundy rather than an oxblood colour), cornflower blue and ivory.

[burnishedsilver]

You just randomly chose colours to limit your wardrobe to? Are they your favourite colours?

[midnightmoomoo]

When I first had my colours done I tried to match quite closely but gradually I got my eye in and trusted my judgement. Sometimes now I double check something, but mostly I don't use it. The other check is if you know you have the 'right' shade on, hold the new item next to it and you can see if it's right.

[dragonsarebest]

I've just picked colours I like and enjoy wearing for my wardrobe. I don't worry too much about matching exactly, it all kind of flows though. I don't really see the point of having my colours done, I've got a pretty good idea of what suits me.

[Terramirabilis]

Not randomly exactly. I chose camel and grey as neutrals that are pretty much always going to be widely available and are flattering to my skintone. I don't like black, for example, as I think it's too dour for me.

Then I chose two accent colours. I love burgundy so I had to have that and I look better in blue than most other colours so I chose a version of that. And then ivory is the best version of white for me.

I looked on the Vivienne Files website for ideas.

[Floisme]

I don't use swatches either and I've never had my colours done as I seem to be able to see what suits me. I tend to choose a lot of plums, greens and dark greys but I would say I can wear most colours - apart from black or white - providing the shade is right.