Colour schemes and texture

Colour schemes guide which hues go together. The values, intensities and amounts of each are the designer's choice. Think of the colour wheel.

Related schemes (they share a hue):

• Monochromatic: one hue in different values or intensities (light blue, navy, sky blue).
• Achromatic: neutrals only (black, white, grey).
• Accented neutral: a neutral with one hue (a grey suit with a red tie).
• Analogous: two or three neighbouring hues on the wheel (yellow, yellow-green, green).

Contrasting schemes:

• Complementary: two opposite hues (blue and orange).
• Double complementary: two pairs of complements.
• Split complementary: a hue with the two neighbours of its complement.
• Analogous complementary: neighbouring hues plus the complement of one of them.
• Triadic: three hues equally spaced on the wheel (red, yellow, blue).

Texture is how a fabric seems to sight and touch: how it looks (shiny, dull, transparent), how it behaves (stiff, limp, clinging, flowing), and how it feels (soft, crisp, rough, smooth).

Texture comes from the fibre, the yarn, the construction (weave, knit, felt, braid, lace), the finishes (starching, calendaring, napping) and surface decoration (tufting, flocking, embroidery). In dress, textures should suit each other, the figure, the silhouette and the occasion. Pick hues by the wheel; feel the fabric's story.