June 25, 2024
Happy Pride Month!
First of all, Happy Pride Month to all of our LBGTQ+ staff members, customers, and followers! Secondly, did you know that Arc’s Value Village thrift store is one of the hottest places to get attire for the Twin Cities Pride Festival? It’s so easy to shop because not only do the store staff members make displays with everything Pride-related, but the racks are all color coordinated so you can go straight to the size and colors you want to wear!
Now when it comes to Pride attire, sure, we can buy and re-donate afterwards because Pride happens only once a year. Or maybe we have that special go-to outfit we wear on repeat every year. Well, if this time around you’re thinking about buying an outfit and want to utilize the pieces again in your everyday wear, then keep reading because I’m going to talk all about color blocking in this month’s post!
What is Color Blocking?
Color blocking is taking 2+ colors from the color wheel and pairing them together and is commonly made up of solid colors. The appearance of color blocking can be seen as bold, elegant, chic, yet daring. It’s said that the history of color blocking started with the Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian, who is known for creating artwork made up of colored squares, mostly using primary colors.
There’s a second tier I like to consider as color blocking, monochromatic. Now this sounds contradictory because monochromatic means the use of 1 color, but think about it this way – wearing 1 color but in different shades. Picture lavender with violet or a light blue with a cobalt blue. Another popular combination is ivory or a cream with tan which is mostly seen in winter fashion. So yes, neutrals count as color blocking too!
So when did it hit the runway? There are many articles out there that say different things, but the most common answer you’ll find is Yves Saint Laurent! He supposedly debuted it in the 1950s with inspiration coming from, you guessed it, Piet Mondrian!
How to Color Block
How to color block is a common question I get asked by my MH Style Consulting clients as well as my Arc’s Value Village clients. I always tell them the easiest way to put an outfit together is to look at a color wheel and take 2 colors that are opposite of one another. Example: Purple with yellow or blue with orange. You can also take 2 colors that are within the same color family. Example: Blue with purple. Red with orange. Otherwise, you can view the color-blocking combinations I have created for you below:
To wrap up this month’s blog post, I dare you to try color blocking! If you follow me on social media or know me personally, you know I love color and I always encourage people to put at least 1 color into their outfit to brighten up their day and try something different. I even do research on color psychology….say, that’s a good idea for next month’s blog post, COLOR PSYCHOLOGY! Anywho, share your outfit with me by tagging me and Arc’s Value Village on Instagram. Additionally, if you have a topic that you want me to write about next month that’s related to color (or not color and even for future blog posts, not just next month), feel free to request your topic(s) via this form. Happy Pride everyone!
Until next time,
-Melissa
MHstyleconsultants.com / IG: @MH_style_consulting / Facebook: @MHstyleconsulting
If you would like to book your FREE personal shopping appointment at any of our 3 locations, visit: https://arcsvaluevillage.org/shop/personal-shopping-service/