Ask Fashion Girl

Dear Fashion Girl,

Dear Fashion Girl,

I was wondering is it appropriate to wear the same color on the same color, especially if they are two different shades of the same color? I see this quite often and I was wondering if I should even say anything to the culprits. Please respond.

Clea

Dear Clea,

The look you are talking about is becoming increasingly popular, especially among minimalist designers like Prada in Italy. Whether a person wears a tone-on-tone ensemble successfully depends on the particular color of the individual garments.

Every color in the spectrum has three measurable qualities: Hue, Saturation and Value.

value
Color
Value

saturation
Color
Saturation

color wheel
Color Wheel (Hue)

A color's hue indicates where it is located on the color wheel, the saturation is a measure of a color's purity or intensity and the value is the degree of lightness or darkness of a color.

When determining whether colors will work well together, a lot depends on these three factors. A navy blue suit can look fantastic with a shirt of the same hue but one shade lighter in value. A purple skirt can look great with a purple sweater that is slightly different in hue on the color wheel, but is equal in saturation. Tone-on-tone ensembles tend to fail when the two colors are too close together on the color wheel to compliment each other, but too far apart to be harmonious.

One thing to consider when evaluating the use of color in fashion is that it is a designer's job to push the boundaries of style and educate the public about new possibilities. So as a fashion-conscious person, keep an open-mind to new looks but continue to question colors and styles that you feel don't work.

Thanks for your question,