How to Pull Off a Color You Normally Can't Wear

We all know there’s a right way to wear color and a wrong way to wear color. The wrong color may wash you out, make you look sickly, or drain all the color from your face. The RIGHT color will brighten your complexion, give your skin vibrancy, and bring out the color of your eyes.

But what if you fall in love with a piece of clothing in a color that isn’t flattering against your skin tone? This has happened to me a few times, particularly with one of my favorite colors, yellow. Curious how I pull off this color? Watch the video below to learn how YOU can pull off a color you normally can’t wear (or simply WON’T wear because you feel like a ghost when you do).

(00:03)
Hello friends! Welcome back to the Simplify Your Style video blog series where I teach you how to create more outfits with fewer pieces of clothing. I'm your virtual stylist, Sandi Mele, and today we're talking about how to pull off a color you normally can't wear. What I mean by that is simply how to wear a color that might wash you out or doesn't look good against your skin tone, or a color that doesn't flatter your face and causes you to look pale, sickly, or red in the face.

(00:41)
I have three examples for you today, and I wanted to start with this yellow dress. Last Easter, I wore this yellow dress in a head-to-toe yellow. We're talking a lot of yellow! It's really close to a mustard yellow, but technically it's a really bad color on me. It's a little hard to show you because I have makeup on that particularly balances this color yellow, but this is how I pulled it off! I wore color in accessories around my face that are flattering to my skin tone, including this red earring. My face picked up on this color rather than just the yellow! I also wore a really similar shade to the color lipstick I have on today, which is a coral color. It brightens up my complexion and ensures I'm not washed out with all this yellow! I also put on just a little bit more blush to make sure everything is bright on my face, and I don't look sick or pale.

(01:53)
I also wore this heel, which I know is really far from my face. The dress hits me below the knee, so with part of my leg and skin tone showing, it really helped to have a teal color in a shoe! This way my legs didn't look sick and pale. The right color in a shoe isn't as important as the right color by my face, but it helped. Fun fact! Teal is actually one of the four universally flattering colors. Anytime you fall in love with a piece of clothing that isn't technically flattering on you, grab a teal shoe, earring, or neck scarf! Teal is a color that looks good on everyone.

(02:49)
The first example is how to use accessories to brighten up your complexion when wearing a color in a top that washes you out. The second example is with this graphic tee. I actually wore this tee for my pregnancy announcement on social media! My husband and I announced we were pregnant with our first baby on New Year's Eve and thought this tee would be appropriate. I realized this shade is not a great color on me, so I decided to grab my coat in an all over teal color (similar to this color except in a coat). It worked well because it was New Year's Eve and cold outside, so I wore the coat over the tee! I also wore this polka dot scarf by my face to ensure I had the right color right by my face. My face picked up the color in the scarf rather than just the pink color in the tee, and again, I applied lipstick, makeup, and blush to add more color to my face. That's the second example!

(04:12)
The third example is actually the cardigan I have on. When I tried this on in the stores, I was with my husband and he mentioned how it washed me out. The light blue isn't the worst color on me, but with the orange beside the blue, it didn't do much for my complexion. I always wear this cardigan with navy which looks really good beside my complexion and eye color. I have yet to work with a client who doesn't look good in navy! Navy is one of those colors you are 99% ok wearing. It isn't one of the four universally flattering colors, but it's a really, really good color to have on hand. I consider navy a wardrobe staple and a neutral you want to have on hand because it goes with everything.

(05:09)
Those are my three examples of how to pull off a color you normally can't wear! The idea is to use accessories, makeup, and lipstick color around your face to balance the way the color is washing you out. I hope this was helpful, and I'll see you in the next video!