The Fashion Project

Okay, I've got to have a bit of a rant here. I have officially come across 3 fashion articles this year proclaiming the evils of "matchy-matchy"-ing your clothes. Even the fashion gurus on those quickie news videos you can see on E! or Yahoo News say that matching an outfit by color is a fashion-don't.

Well, call me crazy, but I think they are dead wrong about that. Perhaps I'm just obsessive-compulsive, but I prefer my clothes to match each other. And I prefer it when other people's clothes match each other too. It is fatally hip right now to wear a color combination that hopelessly clashes, and sometimes I think that looks cool too. (Case in point, my final HFW post where I combine medium blue and orange.) I also like it when people use "creative" color combinations such as hot pink with turquoise, yellow with gray, and brown with light blue. But I find that going out of your way to mix colors and patterns is just annoying. It's like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Totally unnecessary, and vaguely nauseating.

If it is done right, matching your clothes within 2 or 3 colors looks smart, put together, and classic. If done wrong, such as when the outfit consists of several shades of the same color or two colors, then it looks like the person is somewhat color blind. (No offense to color blind people.) But like any style, there is a "good" way to do it, and a "bad" way. I just feel offended when the fashion world proclaims an entire color scheme to be a major "don't" just because some chickas out there don't do it right. If that were the rule, no one would be able to wear anything! (Check out Yahoo's What Were They Thinking? sometime if you don't believe me...)

Perhaps it is my own prejudice coming out, but I think it's tacky to deliberately refuse to match clothing items. Designers always say choosing a color scheme is really important when putting together an outfit. So instead of assembling a wild assortment of colors and patterns in the hopes of avoiding the dreaded "matchy-matchy" look, try choosing a complimentary color scheme, and then adding an accent such as a brightly colored or patterned accessory. And remember also that when it comes to adding that bright or patterned item, less is more.