Does color blocking have to be exact?

When you color block do the colors have to be exactly matching? I have had this purple jacket for 4 years now. I love the cut of it the fabric is lush and cozy and I think the fit is flattering on me. It was a purchase from Chico's. When I did my wardrobe sort in the past few weeks I discovered this jacket all over again. I also realized that it was an orphan of sorts. I didn't really have a bottom element other than jeans or black pants to wear with it. I also wanted to do more with my column of color idea. The idea is to match the top and bottom outer colors and add the interest with the interior top article of clothing.

The minute we went out to shoot these it started snowing

So off to the President's Day sales I went in search of purple pants that were as close to the jacket color I could find.
The result were these knit jeans. The colors are exact but the saturation is different. It was incredibly difficult to find them. There was another cotton jean style that matched exactly but the fit was terrible so I went for fit instead of exact match.
So my question is do they still look like a column of color and work or do they make the outfit look off?

Column of color and zig zag one afternoon top.

This top was made in an afternoon with just 3 yds. of  60 inch wide fabric!
I chose fleece because it would be warm and because it would mean I didn't have to finish any edges save for cutting off the selvages. 

This top was so easy to make. You basically cut slits in the fabric and add the sewn sleeves. The top of the piece becomes the 'collar', and the rest just hangs open. I chose this fleece fabric because I have a lot of clothing in the turquoise and teal family.
I have been trying to sort out my wardrobe and said I like to wear a column of color. This means you match tops to bottoms either in the outer layers or by the interior layers. Well after going through my clothing I realized I have very few tops and bottoms that match. I have lots of similar colored tops but few bottoms that match. In this outfit I do have a top that matches the dark denim jeans. I think that by matching my interior top and bottom it has a slimming effect that way by adding the outer layer that is the pop of wild color and design I can camoflague my figure challenges.

Downton Abbey Hats: I just love those 1920's styles

I just love the Downton Abbey Hats. They are definitely inspiring my spring 2013 collection. The one on the right the character 'Edith' is wearing. I love the asymmetrical brim. I am working on one in felt at the moment. I have already blocked the crown to be a rounded one like in the picture above. I have cut the brim so it is shorter in the front and back and longer on the sides. I am going to sew the wire on the brim next then work on lining the crown and will then trim it.  
This one is the prototype for the brim shape. If I am successful I will make some in straw for spring summer. Wish me luck!!

Hair do update:Growing into a bob

hair in October

Up date on the hairdo. I started out the year wanting to wear an asymmetrical hairdo. I decided that it just didn't work on me. So now I am inspired by Rihanna and Anna Wintour's  bob haircuts. 
You can see below that my hair has grown out and soon will be a bob.

 

hair in Feb

 I get tired of wearing my hair short. Do you change your hairstyle every so often? I wore my hair in a bob in 2002 and liked it. I may see how it is when it grows out more. I think my hair grows fast so by summer it will be there. I'm feeling visible today so go see me on Not Dead Yet Style Blog

Color grouping, another purple combo

Color grouping brought about this combination,purple with muted gold. I thought it would be okay to mix the tweed purple jacket with a knit top that has a jumble of colors in it. A purple rust and taupe combination.


I added my bracelets because I need to wear my jewelry and get it out of the j-box. 

The scarf with similar colors adds yet another pattern mix to the group. Do you like the mixing?

Coloring grouping part two;When is an olive not an olive?

I'm continuing my sorting and found another gap  that I have several olive green tops and jackets but no bottoms to wear them with other than denim and black. So I went out and purchased a pair of 'olive' green skinny cargoes.   I like my tops and bottoms to match because I am shorter so I like the outer piece to 'match' the bottom and to put the contrast in the middle. I don't always sport this look but it is a trick to make me look taller. 

 Note to self not all 'olive greens' are alike. Notice in the pictures below that my outer wear jacket and top are more of a true olive.  The pants I bought are more 'blue green' and obviously they don't match at all. Back to the drawing board. The leather jacket is more of a taupe so it works better with the pants.

The quilted jacket above is my fall winter warm jacket and it is a truer olive green. It is very close in color to the top.

Color Group your wardrobe: My purples

Every year at this time I like to color group my cool weather clothing. I sort my clothing by color groups. I then sort those into tops and bottoms. 
 I have been acquiring clothing that is only flattering with my personal coloring. I find that my wardrobe is more cohesive color-wise because of this strategy.
My wardrobe now consists of neutrals in the brown, beigh, navy (denim) and black groups. The colors I have fall into turquoise, teal and green color group,orange, rust and gold color group and purples. I have many basic pieces in the gray and black from before I decided that black isn't really all that flattering on me. I kept them because  sometimes black  is a great background for the other colors. I also own a bunch of beigh, camel and tans but they are more in the summer hot weather fabrications. 
The other reason I do this is because I sometimes have closet orphans and when I sort my clothes I can easily identify them.  
I then sort my scarves similiarily into color groups.  
After all of this sorting I then can see where I need to fill in my wardrobe.  
I  discovered a purple dress I bought last Christmas 2011. Yep I haven't worn it since then. Well I recently bought a tweedy jacket with the purple tones in it. So I popped that jacket over that dress and Voila new life for the dress.  
So here are some of my purple pieces and looks.  

close up of the fabric in the jacket