Color Wheel Theory

I do a LOT of talking about colors and their relationship to each other all the time. When I'm with clients, I try to help them see the way one color can "highlight" another tone in another color that's next to it. (huh?)
It's the same theory behind when someone says, "It really brings out your eyes" or "Wow, red is really your color".

Essentially, colors play off each other. True, your skin color, hair color, and lighting all play a part in the way a color reads on you BUT, you also have a consistent "undertone" to your skin that's never changing. Sometimes it's referred to as a season and, unless you're tanning like a guidette, your skin's general predisposition of color is always there. This is an element I use when working with clients- find colors to flatter their undertones. So if you're a Spring, you have more golden undertones accented with pink in your cheeks. If you're a Fall, you have more earth-colored undertones with red to accent your cheeks. You can read more about it by going to this website. It's a men's site but the information still translates for women.

This came from a baby nursery site.

BUT, to better understand any color theory, you have to first have some knowledge in the color wheel. Complimentary colors, tertiary colors, and secondary colors. You know this stuff already, you just don't know it. Sometimes seeing it laid out with pictures and bullet points makes it more accessible. This website did a great job explaining the basics. Below is the explanation of what a color wheel is.

A color wheel (also referred to as a color circle) is a visual representation of colors arranged according to their chromatic relationship. Begin a color wheel by positioning primary hues equidistant from one another, then create a bridge between primaries using secondary and tertiary colors.

Try to take it from there and use this information in your own wardrobe. To give you a place to start, I have a question for you. If you answer it, you're already a better stylist than you think you are:

If tertiary colors come from secondary and primary colors mixed together, it stands to reason that, since they're all from the same "family" of colors that that "family" of colors will look good together in an outfit
(...did I just get all color philosophical on you? If you get stuck, scroll up and revisit the segmented wheel :)

Image(s) courtesy of www.creative-baby-nursery-rooms.com
 www.worqx.com