Bright & Colourful or Subtle & Reserved?

Colour is big, colour is bold, colour is different, colour is individual and colour is difficult. The male fashion world has finally accepted colour as a sartorially acceptable part of the perfect wardrobe, but whether everyone agrees with this move, partakes in it or even considers it at all is another issue entirely. As it further permeates the catwalks it builds more of a presence on the high street; every shop is full of colour, crying out for our attention, and the contents of our wallets.
But colour is far from easy and some would say, far from necessary. There was an audible sigh of relief across the board when it became clear that colour was here to stay – it is undeniable that it does open up a whole new world of possibility, but that is far from confirmation of its place in every man’s wardrobe. The colour question still hangs over many a fashion conscious male; the impetus to use it exists but whether we actually need it or want it is still open for debate.

What Constitutes Colour?

Colour is arguably a more complex topic than it might seem at first thought. The biggest question to ask of it is at what point colour becomes colourful? What makes a standard colour become something more? Take blue for example, the spectrum for shading is huge – from dark navy to the brightest of skies, there are hundreds of different shades, each with their own name and infinitesimal differences in accordance.
However, this doesn’t identify when a colour actually becomes what we as a collective group call a bright colour or a shade that is beyond the normal spectrum. It would be fair to say in fact that there is no real, concrete distinction – it is a case of each to their own. What one may consider colourful, another may not. We need to understand exactly what our own concept of muted and toned down is, and this comes from our style.
Your style is very personal. It helps to define you as a person, as a personality, it reflects who you are, how you feel and how you act – the colours that make up your wardrobe should and most probably will already reflect this. Colour is a confidence thing – you have to WANT to wear it, you have to feel comfortable in it, you must feel confident walking down the street in it – especially if your choice happens to be at the more vivid end of the scale. It cannot be half cut, so you must ask yourself whether you could in all seriousness pull it off, and whether it actually works for YOU.
To help explain what I am getting at and to give you a few visual cues, take a look at the images below.

The Colour LookBook:

The Monochrome LookBook: