The art of matching colors and shades

[the_sulks]

1) What is your attitude towards matching shades and tricky colors be it tan, cognac, coffee, burgundy, oxblood or anything of that sort.
2) How do you manage to find the same shades for different items of your apparel?
3) How do you decide if the shades match perfectly well?
4) The last question is how the heck the genuine tan leather apparel should look like.

I am in the process of changing all my brown-colored stuff made of leather to tan. This means I decided to stop buying brown leather items (shoes, bags, straps, belts, wallets) for summer and started to buy all the tan ones. I'm going to act the same with the black items for winter. I want to discard all the black leather items changing them to burgundy.

I thought the process would be easy. It turned out to be a hell. Matching basic colors like brown and black is no brainer but matching shades like tan is extremely challenging. Every manufacturer seems to put its own meaning in what tan is.

Here are some examples. Take a look if you please at these items (the wallet, the belt and the shoes). Which one is a real tan?



Just for the comparison here are some other colors:
-The desk is very light brown.
-The stapler is black.
-The belt next to the stapler is dark black.
-The upper crook is brown.
-The lower crook is light brown.


The producer of the wallet is Sage Brown. In real life this wallet looks like brown, just brown. The manufacturer states the color is tan. Here is how the item posted above looks on their web site:


The manufacturer of the belt is Equus Leather. In real life the belt looks like a mix of orange and light brown. The manufacturer states the color is London Tan. Here is how the item posted above looks on their web site:


The producer of the shoes posted above is ECCO. I could not find these shoes on their web site. So, I can't really know how they call this color and yet this color seems to be a true tan in real life. I mean it is an essence of tan in my opinion.

 

[Mr. Moo]

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

Your move, Reevolving.

 

[dfoverdx]

I generally wear dark suits and don't feel comfortable in tan shoes so i never buy them in tan. I am a loyal VASS buyer and buy shoes only in black and oxblood. For the remaining accessories in my opinion matching is not a big deal.

 

[SpooPoker]

Here.

 

[Tropicalist]

Over the years I switched away from black leather entirely- all my accessories are shades of brown now. I don't really bother about matching as long as everything is in the same colour family. Only one rule- no light coloured belts! They look just horrible in my opinion.

 

[the_sulks]



I generally wear dark suits and don't feel comfortable in tan shoes so i never buy them in tan.

I believe navy suits go quite well with many tan shoes with the only exeption being too light tan shoes.

For the remaining accessories in my opinion matching is not a big deal.

Do you mean your belt doesn't match your shoes? Honestly, this is not my cup of tea.

I am a loyal VASS buyer

As for VASS. I liked their newspaper-stylized web design. The problem is they have no online shop on this web site.

 

[the_sulks]



Here.

I just took a look. What an extensive posting it was and yet it doesn't answer my question of matching tan shades. Thanks anyway.

 

[the_sulks]



Over the years I switched entirely swamy from black leather. I don't really bother about matching as long as everything is in the same colour family. Only one rule- no light coloured belts.

I don't get what your 'swamy' means. Whatever. I think dark colors look inappropriate during hot summers. Just imagine some guy strolling along the Florida streets in his his navy suit, black shoes and black belt.

 

[Threadbearer]

Forgive the threadjacking, but I've been having similar concerns so I'm going to elbow my way into this discussion on a tangent.

First of all, if you're going to pick one shade of brown for all your leathers, DON'T pick tan. It's just not versatile enough.

I've had a major crush on these Carminas ever since I discovered them a couple of week ago. Trouble is, their tan color makes them tricky to coordinate with other items, so I probably wouldn't wear them enough to justify the expense.

And now for the threadjacking: Anybody own shoes in this shade of tan, and if so, with what do you usually wear them?

P.S. If you drool on the pic, you have to buy the shoes.

 

[imanewbie]

yup those are some badass shoes...I say match your belt with your shoes and your good....I like the merlot color from allen edmonds lineup and they usually have a belt that matchs its color exactly.

Quote:

 

[msulinski]

Your belt and shoes do not have to match perfectly. As one poster above said, get within the same color family, and you are good.

As for a wallet, I suppose the same rule holds true, though I really haven't given it much thought. I focused more on getting a very thin wallet than worrying about the color, as I figured it is going to be in my pocket almost all day anyway.

I have never heard of anyone matching the wooden handle of his umbrella to the color of the leather items. This doesn't sound easy to do, but I don't think it is necessary (or really even desirable). What about a watch band? Are you having trouble finding a matching one of those also?

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

Forgive the threadjacking, but I've been having similar concerns so I'm going to elbow my way into this discussion on a tangent.
First of all, if you're going to pick one shade of brown for all your leathers, DON'T pick tan. It's just not versatile enough.
I've had a major crush on these Carminas ever since I discovered them a couple of week ago. Trouble is, their tan color makes them tricky to coordinate with other items, so I probably wouldn't wear them enough to justify the expense.
And now for the threadjacking: Anybody own shoes in this shade of tan, and if so, with what do you usually wear them?
P.S. If you drool on the pic, you have to buy the shoes.

Awesome shoes, but no, not an incredibly versatile shade of brown. That said, they would pair nicely with a variety of spring and summer palettes -- any blues ranging from powder to mid-navy (but not too dark), whites, light greys, tans and light browns, and cream. Most people are unlikely to own suits in such colors, so these shoes would be paired with trousers and sportcoats.

Resist the temptation to wear them with khaki shorts and knee-high socks, no matter how dashing our dear friend Moo imagined himself to be when he did so a few years back.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

I should also mention that the Italians would probably pair those shoes with navy suits. It's an Italian thing, and debatably it was an American thing back in the '30s, but it certainly isn't a common American thing in the 2010s. The pairing would likely be seen as gauche in an office setting, and you might even get called out on being incorrect (especially by some women, who take great pains to express their favor or disfavor of co-workers' footwear).

 

[SMatthews]

I'm sticking tomy blacks, browns, and burgundy colors for shoes as they are easy to combine with everything in my closet as opposed to tan.