Wardrobe Architect: All About Prints and Color

This is a long overdue post, but since it’s officially spring (it was in the 70’s last weekend and it snowed yesterday, hahaha), I figured now was the time to get all of this completed!

The next part I needed to figure out for Colette’s Wardobe Architect were the colors I tend to gravitate towards and what fit with the my defined core style: colorful, feminine, confident, happy, chic.

Neutrals –

The older I get, the more and more I wear neutral colors, funny enough.  In my last job, I was required to wear black for dress code, so it was always easy to get dressed for work every day.  Even before then, I wore black a lot because, honestly, black goes with everything.  In the winter months, I have a penchant for gray and can’t get enough of it!  Occasionally I’ll reach for some browns in the fall, and I think cream looks better on me than white.

Almost Neutrals – 

These colors aren’t “neutrals” by definition, but could be consider as such.  I have a love for anything Tommy Hilfiger, and navy is almost like his “black” in everything he designs.  I love the preppiness of navy!  The rest of these colors are happy and fun, and go with so many other different colors.

Statement Colors – 

And finally, my statement colors.  When I look at my closet, and the fabrics I’m drawn to when shopping, I really like pinks and blues (heck, just check out what I’ve made in the past few years).  Purple is another color that I have a connection to and feel really good in it when I wear it.  I had to include green as well, since it’s my favorite color (and it’s funny because I rarely sew with it!).  Anything jewel-toned is a color I really like to wear and I think looks good with my fair skin.

So when this was all said and done, I picked out my palette for the colors I’m going to try to sew with for Spring/Summer 2014 – it would be great to start sewing a wardrobe that coordinates together!

I really like these colors together – they feel fresh and feminine, and seasonably appropriate.  It’s also great that I have fabrics in these colors in my stash, so I can start sewing right away!

Now, onto prints vs. solids…

I always thought of myself as a print girl because honestly, those were the only kinds of fabrics I bought when I came back to sewing a few years ago (prints hide sewing sins).  After sewing for a year, and looking at what I made vs. what I wore, it was obvious I needed to start sewing with more solids so I could mix and match the garments in my closet.

I took some photos of my closet this week after I transitioned my spring clothes and packed away my winter clothes.

I never know how to organize my closet…anyway, what you see above from left to right are some of my dresses, zip-up jackets, casual tees, dressy tees, blouses, blazers, cardis, and button-downs.

Left to right – button-downs, three-quarter sleeve tees, long sleeve tees, sweaters, skirts, and yoga/workout hoodies etc.

Notice anything?  Not a lot of prints!  Actually, when I went through my closet and figured out my 10-20 most worn garments, they were ALL solids!  This is probably because it’s not obvious how often I wear them; if I wore my printed garments more, it would be obvious that I’m wearing that “same floral shirt” again.  Plus, it’s easier to make outfits out of solids.  As much as I love prints, especially at the fabric store, I need to stick more to solids to get more bang for my buck in my closet.

Not to say I can’t sew with prints anymore…I do love a good stripe, polka dot, or geometric print.

What colors do you like to wear?  Do you wear more prints or solids?