What Is Visual Harmony, And Why Is It Flattering?
Dressing in visual harmony means your own personal coloring and your outfit colors are related. What you wear below the shoulders should be similar in color characteristics to what’s above the shoulders. This creates a flattering head to toe look that keeps the eye from getting stuck on any features you might be self-conscious about.
The outfit below is great for blondes or honey colored brown hair with light skin and hazel or brown eyes. The pops of deep burgundy would harmonize nicely with the deeper colored eyes, while the rest of the colors are light.
Via Anthropologie
Wearing colors that are harmonious to your own personal coloring (your hair, skin and eyes is one way we keep from creating what I call a head-separate-from-the-body look. Think decapitated Barbie. Anyone with brothers may have a very clear visual.
Your best colors are not just a matter of which colors to wear, but also how to wear them. Color is the first visible impression we notice, even more than dressing your shape. That’s why the colors of your outfit make such an impact.
When the outfit colors seem unrelated to the person’s own coloring, you instantly know something is off, even if you can’t put your finger on it. We look for harmony automatically. Therefore, it’s a head tilt kind of moment when color is off. I don’t mean the alluring intrigue kind of a head tilt, but a what’s wrong head tilt.
This lady is wearing her perfect colors with visual harmony. Her outfit is harmonious with her own personal coloring making her lips and eyes a focal point.
Dressing in Visual Harmony Is Easy On the Eyes
When wearing colors in visual harmony with your own coloring, others will scan quickly from head to toe and back to your face. Color harmony is one way to keep the eye from lingering on body features you are self-conscious about.
Dressing in visual harmony does not mean ‘the same color as’. I am not suggesting the outfit colors have to be the same color as what occurs in your hair, skin and eyes. However, they should be harmonious and related to your own personal coloring to create the best look.
Look at this same lady in colors that are not harmonious with her own personal coloring. Of course she’s lovely regardless, but you can see clearly how the light pastel pink completely washes out her features.
Our brain naturally looks for patterns or similarities, and recognizes discrepancies. The result is that colors that do not look harmonious (like the picture above) will stand out or wash your features out.
The next time you are browsing a fashion catalog, see if you notice where models are put in colors that are stronger than the model or significantly lighter than the model’s coloring. That keeps the eye focused on the outfit
