I don't much like to offer advice on my blog. I don't consider myself a home decor expert, or a foodie, and my fashion sense pretty much peaked in 1991, so that's why most of my blog ink is spilled over semi-embarassing and downright tragic happenings in my daily life.
Today, however, I am going to offer up ... not so much advice...as my own observations.
I call this post COLOR STORY.
Debbie started calling it color story. And by 'it' I mean shopping for/selecting clothes for group photos, ie THE Christmas card photo. "Color story" is really fun to say and makes you feel like you are in an 80s era pyramid sales scheme. And, of course, it means selecting clothes within a particular (but not matchy) color scheme that tell some sort of story about who is wearing them, what they are doing, and whether or not they ate only butterfingers for lunch that day.
Whoops...that was me. Moving on.
In terms of credibility I will say that I've personally taken a wagonload of Christmas card pictures. And then I edited them. Which means I've looked at color and shape combinations until my eyes were dry and scratchy. I'm so thankful that we've all moved beyond the all-denim photo. Also, the jeans with white shirt phenomenon seems to have died down. The theory behind these practices was sound -- keep the clothing simple so that the faces stand out. Good enough.
However, the block of denim (or white) was in itself overpowering. That much denim in one space draws attention all on its own. Sorry denim (although I am hoping the denim vest makes a comeback.)
In keeping with the simplicity theory some folks will wear t-shirts...all the same style but in different colors. While I applaud the color blocking, this schema is rather unnatural. It's clear that these are "picture clothes." It's just not natural.
Of course, there's nothing really natural about picture clothes. The idea is to make them SEEM natural. Like, "Hey...just out on a family walk in muted but complimentary colors." And that's where the story part comes in. Mostly I want my story to say something like...hip, cool family who enjoys spending time together and never gets dressed out of cold, wrinkly laundry baskets while eating chips for breakfast. You might say I'm being fake or pretentious. I just say, "Fake it till you make it." Or..."Let me pretend, if even for a moment."
The nuts and bolts? I like to pick one piece that is interesting or colorful and then pull in other complementary pieces. In this case I started with the plaid shirt. Becca is going to wear that with the sleeves rolled up and a navy cami underneath. I picked out the wool pea coat for some added texture and interest. Different shapes = interesting and unstaged (looking). Jordan's cream sweater and Parker's striped shirt are low key and offset the bright plaid...but still keep the colors in the same family. I bought everything at Old Navy within about 15 minutes...which is my kind of shopping. I might still need to do some tweaking, but the basic structure is there.
I wanted to take the pics yesterday, but Becca is convinced she is getting her braces off on Monday. So I agreed to wait. Which means Madison will, in all likelihood, be wearing that wool coat in 80 degree weather. Yikes.
Color story. Try it. You'll like it.
Love your color ideas.
Posted by: rebecca ellis | November 19, 2011 at 05:49 PM