The Wordsmith's Forge

>>For a weekend to a week, I highly recommend Whatever's Clean 13. You literally cannot clash that. It has a couple of cool tricks using this template.<<

This is very useful. I especially like the template, so I can see the break down of how it's supposed to work.

>>* All the neutrals (black, gray, white, brown, tan, cream) go with each other, although some specific shades work better than others; you can't clash neutrals. To avoid boredom, consider animal prints or colorblocking.

* One bright color with one neutral is also a pretty safe bet. Most of those look good. Some are very common, like blue/white, pink/gray, red/black.<<

This is good to know. If I pick the wrong shade of neutral, it might look a little off, but at least shouldn't clash. The one bright colour with a neutral is also useful, and I did start to do that already. I have black and grey as my neutrals, with bright pink as the accent. I a trying to find one more colour to add with it though.

>>* Lighter and darker shades of the same color almost always work too: navy/sky, red/pink, violet/lavender, etc.<<

This one is harder for me since shades of certain colours really don't look right together, like some shades of pink for example.

>>* Use color theory. You can actually buy a pocket color wheel to carry while shopping to help you match things. Warm colors usually match each other; cool colors match each other. Using contrasts is harder to get right.<<

I really like the pocket colour wheel. I might have to look into getting one of those. I haven't checked out the fashion apps yet, but that is on my to-do list, and it's helpful to know resources like that exist.

>>* Start a capsule wardrobe with one garment or piece of jewelry that uses 2+ colors. As it was made by a professional, those colors will almost certainly match.<<

This is a really good tip, I like it! :)

>>* You can also find sweater sets (cardigan and blouse) or twinsets (top and bottom) which are fantastic if they have a pattern because they match each other but can be mixed with other solid colors. Vacay sells 2-piece dresses and rompers designed for maximum versatility.<<

This sounds like something to look into, especially the sweater sets, since I have a particularly hard time with finding an outer layer and usually don't wear one.

>>* If you pick your favorite of the Pantone colors offered new each season, it will be easy to find things in it and you will be "in fashion."<<

That is an interesting idea for adding colour. I will definitely have to look into it. It would make finding the same colour easier too.

>>As mentioned above, color + neutral will usually look good, and even if not the best possible match, won't look garish.<<

I'll try to keep that in mind, though I can be nit-picky about shades matching, should if the colour and neutral aren't the best match, my brain will usually notice but not necessarily be able to figure out how to make it look better.

>>Feel free to prompt for those if you'd like to see more.<<

I just might do that. I like when you write examples of how things could be, or in some cases, should be. It makes it a lot easier for me to see how to get from where I am to where I'd like to be, with less guess work and stress than if I try to do it myself.

>>Yyyyyeah. I ran into one place where the staff pestered me, wanted to write my name on the fitting room door, and there were only three sizes none of them standard ones. 0_o (Lady, ignore the tits stuck to my chest and look at my face, do I LOOK like I'm having fun in here?) If I hadn't already found a hard-to-find item, I would've bailed. But I never went back there.<<

That's never fun. Hopefully you have better places to shop.

Thank you so much for your response! It was really helpful! Now to wait until my next pay cheque so I can do more shopping...