What to Wear: Move away from white shirts with jeans.

I get a lot of questions about what to wear. My biggest piece of advice for clients is "Coordinate but do not MATCH." People think they should all wear the same shirt (usually white) and jeans or khakis. STEP AWAY from the white shirts, the same boring outfits of years ago. Color is great. Whether it's muted or bright, it doesn't matter. What you wear should reflect how you dress every day (okay, maybe not if you wear gym clothes every day--instead, think out for a cocktail). It should reflect personalities. If you child has a bright and active personality, color is for them! It should be color that compliments you. If you or your child has blue eyes, blues and greens should DEFINITELY be included. Many times, you can pick a dress or shirt for your child and then coordinate around that, or if you have something you LOVE on yourself, coordinate everyone's outfits around that. 

Here are some examples. 

This is a simple red and orange palette. Notice bringing out the colors of the older girl's shirt with her shoes and dad's shirt and letting mom pop in the brighter color. These colors are great for tanned skin tones but can work for any skin tone.  

Here, I designed a look around the cute blue dress I found online. It's simple but will be beautiful on a little girl, especially with blue eyes. I then pulled that color and added a green to dad's shirt and though mom has a gray shirt, we pull out the blue with her ballet flats. Also, with any of these looks, ACCESSORIZE. You don't want huge jewelry or anything that pulls focus, but some nice jewelry, headbands, etc can add to the look. 

You can even keep things pretty neutral and use one pop of color like this purple skirt. Everyone has navy, white and denim with the girl's skirt bringing color. Mom can accessorize to bring out the purple and gold buttons on daughter's sweater. A cute headband matching the skirt will also add some more pop. 

Here, we have a  blue pallet with boys. See how I don't dress them in the same shirt, but match the colors. Mom brings out blue in her pants (or it can be a skirt or dress). Dad can wear jeans or khakis like the boys. 

I found this adorable Mimi and Maggie dress. This is how you use a lot of color. Sometimes you think colors won't look okay together. However, if you choose a dress with many colors, you can pull every color out of it for the rest of the family. 

Another simpler example of a cute mini Boden dress and taking the pink and blue to create a well rounded, non-matchy look. Again, jeans and khakis can round out the look. Brother could also wear blue or the green color.

Here, the look is made based on the scarf. Again, jeans, khakis, whatever you feel comfortable with. 

This is a very muted Fall look with the color coming out in mom's blazer and the son's pants. 

As you can see, color can be beautifully done and create a beautiful look instead of the same boring palette. Don't be afraid of color and of mixing colors. Pick a piece you love and coordinate everyone else with it. If you need help or have ideas, send me some shots of the pieces you want or the colors you love and i'll help! 

Here is a good list of what colors look good with different hair and eye colors:

• Grey eyes, white blond hair: Most colors will look fine!
• Brown eyes, blond hair turning a bit brown: Brown and fawn, also blue and pink. Think about pale pink if you have very pale skin tones.
• Brown eyes, brown hair: You'll look great in red!
• Hazel eyes and fairish hair: Gold will look great if you have warm skin. Cool skin will look good in purple. Some shades of blue may wash out your eye color.
• Blue/Brown/Green eyes and gray/silver hair: Shades of blue and white.
• Green eyes with brown hair: Something purple or green can bring out your eyes. Purple if you have cool skin, green if you have warm skin.
• Green eyes with fair hair: Same as above, but go for lighter shades, more pastel.
• Blue eyes with ginger hair: Greens and turquoises look great. Don't wear red unless it is an orange-red. Rarely wear pink unless it's a peachy or coral colored.
• Green eyes with ginger hair: Same as blue eyes with Ginger hair, though wear more greens to show off your gorgeous eyes.
• Black haired: Can pull of more intense colors than people with fairer hair.

I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Nicole

Update: Here are some examples of some of my clients who did a great job styling their sessions!

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