I decided I’ll be living in color

Can you imagine if our world were white, beige, and black? Would you want to live in it?

Are we losing joy chasing “quiet luxury”? Because the increasing trend of everything-neutral is boring. Yes, I said it.

Wearing (and living in) color is not as complicated as some make it out to be. Sure, it can take some planning and coordinating, but once you’ve got it down, it can work just as easily as a white/beige/black wardrobe. It’s not all that different from coordinating neutrals. Because, newsflash, some neutrals don’t look that great together — you still have to consider textures, tones, etc.

Although I must admit there is something soothing about a neutral interior. A well-done one, that is. Most of the times, many just feels so… sterile and impersonal… boring.

Like some of those interiors you see on Instagram. Yes, you know the ones — the all-beige with a fake olive tree in some corner. For the love of God, can we please get rid of the plastic plants already? I promise they aren’t adding anything to your space (other than dust, of course, among other things), and everyone can tell they’re fake!

There are many live plants you can replace them with, yes, even in darker spaces, that will look much better and require little care. Here’s a guide. Quick tip — multicolored leaves (like this one) need bright light, although this one can do well in low light (yes, I know it states the opposite). Also, orchids do well in darker spaces once they have fully bloomed. But, I got sidetracked here…

A colorful home can be just as calming as a neutral one. The difference is that the first feels cheerful, inspiring, personal, while the other, you tell me — does it really inspire you?

The same goes for all-neutral outfits. To me, they just get boring. And after a while, they blend in together to look as one and the same. I realize that for some, this works, but I wish we collectively stopped going for “what’s cool” over what we actually enjoy. Case in point: a European influencer I follow (I’ll leave it anonymous) went all in with the “all-neutral” trend, to declare a few months later that she was bored and craved color, and to come back around to what was always her style — full of color. Good for her! She tried something new, decided it wasn’t for her, and was brave enough to be true to herself, rather than go on with something that wasn’t making her happy. That’s authenticity.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the psychology of color and how it affects us. Here and here are two to get you started, if you wish to learn more.

If you want to break out of the all-neutral style, begin with small steps — wear a colorful top with a neutral bottom (like this open-stitch sweater top with these pants), or vice versa. Or add colorful accessories like I did here.

One of my favorite all-time purchases is this colorful basket bag — I truly adore it. It’s the perfect size for me, it goes with a lot of items in my closet, can be worn year-round, and it’s really well-made.

Rules for a colorful, yet balanced outfit

I could never, ever give up on colors, and especially my blues, in all their shades! Because if you’re looking for a soothing color, blue is it!

I do, however, have a few personal rules when wearing color.

Firstly, I try to keep my bag and shoes neutral, so as not to overwhelm my look.

My accessories are either coordinated in the same tones, if possible, or kept neutral as well.

Coordinate! As in, balance colors throughout your outfit, as I did in the photo above.

I also don’t wear more than three colors at the same time (unless we’re talking a multicolored print).

I avoid neon or super-saturated colors, like a mostly head-to-toe hot pink outfit. To me, neither of those looks classy. But again, that’s just my personal opinion; if you love them, wear them!