Dressing in the right colors, a vast subject, a source of headache for many of us. First of all, the choice of colors is not a mystical science, taught to the most deserving and almost impossible to implement in real life.
Things are much simpler. You need to know the basic colors of men's wardrobe and be sensitive to the beauty of a color. And that is something to be worked on. For my part, I regularly look at the lookbooks of Japanese brands, always ahead of the curve and full of subtleties, particularly in terms of olive, saffron and honey tones.
That said, if you like really flashy colors, there is one style that you can have fun with, and that is streetwear. Indeed, it is very uninhibited with the use of bright colors and the codes are no longer really the same as the "casual chic" to which you are accustomed.
On the way to my color vision.
The colors I like
At first, I tended to stick with blues and grays, but as the years went by, I started to get bored.
These are two essential basic colors for men, especially with all the possible shades, but as soon as you feel ready, move on.
For example, blues or grays that you don't see often!
This is why I really like duck blue, or petrol blue.
As for gray, if you've followed me for a long time, you know that I'm a fan of light gray, because I find that in winter, it brightens up an outfit and that in summer, it's elegant and discreet.
So much so that Julien, our collection manager, had to insist that we release charcoal pants and an anthracite blazer, years after having released light flannel, a light gray coat, a light gray summer suit...
Light gray is still a color that I highly recommend, because it goes very well with brighter and/or stronger colors.
So I always stuck to blue, gray, white, and I gradually introduced a lot of olive and beige.
And that was done thanks to Japanese brands, which every enthusiast should look at…
My taste for colors among Japanese brands
I like the olive color when it's a Japanese fabric.
It is perhaps the Japanese's love of vintage and military clothing which is responsible for their great sensitivity to olive tones, quite light, without falling into the first degree pine green.
For me, olive is a real color that goes with everything, it's timeless, it's casual, I find that it gives a special aura to an outfit
Another color that I like more and more are all the honey/or “saffron” shades, which we see a lot among Japanese brands. It 's a very nice alternative to beige, both more original and easy to wear.
Let’s talk about Japanese brands!
They influence me a lot, and quite broadly.
We are always in search of the ultimate subtlety, again, and again…
For example, I like the tones used by Japanese outdoor brands, whose color philosophy has nothing to do with European outdoor brands, which offer very colorful clothing.
With the Japanese, everything is gentler.
Then obviously, there are the behemoths that are Visvim or Nanamica for example.
They perfectly illustrate the inexhaustible Japanese taste for basic colors and all possible variations, always with a faded touch.
On the techwear side, I really admire Veilance, they always manage to release articulated collections of one or two colors, with original colors, that you don't see anywhere else.
Besides, after my taste for honey/saffron colors, I am starting to appreciate “lavender” shades, because I like this soft pastel side.
If you want to practice your eye for color, my advice is to look again and again at the lookbooks of Japanese brands.
To do this, I advise you to regularly go to Guillotine, which is a super cool French site specialized in Japanese labels.
And you see, spending time on Japanese lookbooks is good, because it will allow you to get used to high-end colors.
My definition of cheap colors
From the start of BonneGueule, I made a distinction between cheap, entry-level colors and more elaborate, high-end colors.
By becoming a clothing brand, I was reinforced more than ever in this observation.
When fabric suppliers send us samples there is clearly a “trick” in the most luxurious homes.
Let's say that in the case of a worked, high-end color, we feel that it took time to find a nice balance.
Whereas on a somewhat cheap fabric, you have a very “prime” color, which doesn’t have much to say.
Really, being on the other side of the fence, being a clothing brand now, it's very obvious when you get sample cards
As such, for the release of our big lambswool sweater, we went to do a report at Todd and Duncan, a very prestigious Scottish supplier, which provides all the luxury.
They have a color card that is very renowned, and appreciated by mesh manufacturers, because they have a unique sensitivity.
And it’s one of the very few suppliers that takes the time to properly document its color inspirations.
Speaking of original colors, there is a style that is a special case in my opinion: streetwear.
The special case of streetwear
For me there is a style that lends itself very well to atypical and strong colors, and that is streetwear.
It is a very uninhibited style with the use of very striking colors.
It's difficult to say what color to wear or not because the very notion of “style advice” doesn't really make sense in streetwear, it's more a question of what we want to say or not, and everyone's tastes.
For example, a Gore-Tex jacket from the Palace brand which is extremely colorful, and from a consulting perspective, it has no place.
But in order to enjoy it, to have a strong piece, yes why not!
The same goes for shoes, personally, sometimes I get a little tired of seeing minimalist white sneakers for years, even if I always come back to them. That's why I'm always keen to have a pair of red sneakers or a totally unexpected color.
While there are styles that lend themselves to slightly stronger colors, there are also clothes!
We talked about colorful sneakers, but there's more than that.
For example, t-shirts in summer, I really like the latest colors of Jinji tees, like a lavender color or another mint color.
The same goes for sweatshirts, like what the Village Paris brand does! As much as I love a good heather gray sweatshirt, I really want to wear color in sweatshirts, just to have a little more contrast in my outfits.
There you go, I hope my advice will help you add even more colors to your outfits!
