How do you wear colour...

[FridayIsItFridayYet]

...without looking like you've been dressed by a toddler?
I felt really miserable this morning going out to the office in my dark jeans and dark grey cardigan and black coat. I would like to wear something a little more cheerful but am worried because I have no fashion sense and don't want to look like an idiot in the office. Most of the people are at least ten years younger than me, 10 it's lighter and look put together. Whereas I usually look tired and my age!
Dress code is smart casual.

Jewel colours suit me and I like them - deep burgundy, dark green, medium to bright green, teal, coral and brighter pinks, bright blue to some extent. I use jeans, navy, charcoal grey as neutrals, with gold or warm toned jewellry and struggle with lighter colours. Patterns don't really suit me. In summer ballerinas in eg red, or Green converse. I like to dress as though I'm going to a gig or with a nod to the 1940s really 😂. I'm on the lookout for a decent colour wool peacoat, I have a burgundy leather jacket, a denim jacket and a navy Mac.

I’m a bit like you and tend to wear dark, plain colours. I like a bit of bright though - but not too much - so I might wear a very bright shirt but with a plain jumper over it so you only see the shirt’s bright collar, cuffs and tails. That way it doesn’t feel ‘too much’.

If I was you, I’d start small and build up. Start with some more colourful accessories (jewellery/scarf) and build it up as you feel more comfortable.

I find what works for me is to either pick one big item (like a dress or jumpsuit) in a loud colour or pattern and go plain with the rest of my outfit or keep the main part plain and go loud with my accessories (bag, shoes, scarf, socks, hairband. Just pick a couple for an accent).
I do usually stick to just one bright pattern, unless I'm wearing stripes or leopard print which you can mix quite well.
Although TBF I do tend to dress more abit like a toddler some days!😁

Since I turned 40 I thought sod it I'm wearing bright colours. I pretty much live in pink. I even have a bright pink coat that I have had no end of lovely comments about. You will rarely see me in anything black. Possibly I do look like a toddler but I feel great!

I love wearing colour, and I also wear neutrals like navy, black, charcoal, and very dark brown. Having my colours done really helped me to know what to choose and what to avoid. And not so much to know what colour to choose, but what shade of each colour. I am a bright/clear spring and have very pale neutral/slightly warm skin, with warm grey/blue eyes and mid brown hair. I particularly suit teal, turquoise, cobalt blue, coral, fuchsia pink and warm bright purple.

I have learned to go for medium high contrast in my outfits. So, for example ivory, charcoal, fuchsia. Or navy, cobalt, oatmeal. I can wear clear or tomato reds, and like to mix them up with dark denim and warm pale blue. I can also do fairly light pastels, eg pale pink, with dark chocolate brown. I look terrible in soft or muted shades such as fleshy pink, sludgy brown, light khaki, or medium wash denim. White washes me out. Clear and contrasting are my watchwords.

I wear a lot of colour - it is important to understand what suits you but once you have a good grasp of that it becomes easy. I look rubbish in pastels, white, blue and grey but can wear a range of earthy/muted greens, browns, yellows, oranges and reds and look natural and pulled together. I’m not convinced that black really goes with anything other than black - wearing jewellery in the metal that best suits you tends to give it a bit of life.

I'd say "gemstone" colours, especially going into the winter - deep, rich & strong shades, like ruby, emerald, sapphire...

I have an outfit I like atm of smart, high-waisted jeans, sapphire blue blouse, off-white cardigan and trainers, but the trainers have a slash of blue on too. Then understated earings of deep, blue glass.

It depends on the time of year as to what kind of colours I wear. During colder months for example, I might wear jewel colours, like deep purples, emerald greens, cerise. But then I would pair them with something darker to keep it looking sophisticated. For example I wore a deep pink sweater to work recently which I wore with a pair of smart black trousers and leopard print pumps. And I have a lovely navy wool coat from Hobbs which looks great with a brighter sweater underneath. I saw something online once where people hold loads of different cards up to their faces to see which colours suit them most.