The pros and cons of a limited colour palette

I looked at my clothes the other day and realised I have a very limited colour palette in there, and I mean very limited. Guess how many colours are in my wardrobe? Go on, guess? Hmm, guessing doesn’t really work on a blog post, does it? Ok, I’ll tell you.

Five, I have five colours in my wardrobe. Yep, that’s it. And I mean literally five. Those five special colours (and pretty much in order of amount) are:

1. Black, black and more black. A staple neutral in my wardrobe. At least half of my wardrobe is black. Hmm, I’ve never counted, so possibly more than half. I mix it up with different shapes and textures, but A LOT of it is black.


2. Brown. Another staple neutral. Mostly it’s dark brown and quite a lot of it as well. Brown shirts, brown shoes. No brown pants though. I use brown on days I want “warm” colours.


3. Grey. The last staple neutral in my wardrobe. Grey shirts, grey pants, grey stockings. I use grey on days I want “cool” colours. I don’t usually wear the grey and brown together though.


4. Red. Now this runs the spectrum from cherry red, to burgundy, to maroon, but it’s all pretty much red. I like red, red suits me. Red goes with black, and can be a cool colour with grey or a warm colour with brown. Red is good.
   


5. Purple. This is a new addition this season, and it’s working for me. The purple goes with grey and brown as well, and makes an unconventional burst of colour when paired with red.


6. Wait, there is no six. That’s it.*

Wow, do those colours look familiar. Oh yes. I’ve ended up using them on this blog as well. Oh well, I’m nothing if not consistent.

Other colours occasionally make their way into my drawers, usually because I think to myself, “I really should get a few more colours to wear”. After a few months, they make their way back out again, because they’re just taking up space that could be used for just one more black t-shirt.

The pros of all this (and to get to the whole point of this post) are:

1. Just about anything I pull out of my cupboard with go with anything else. I decide if it’s a grey or brown day, and then I go from there.
   


2. Mostly, I spend very little time choosing what to wear. Most of the time is spent making sure the architectural shapes work together (can I wear this boxy cropped jacket with a pencil skirt).


3. Shopping is easier as well. I know the colours that suit me, and I go for those. The things I buy in these colours stick around for some time as well, so I get a high value per wear.

OK, now to the cons.

1. Yes, sometimes my wardrobe is BORING. Note how I said I “mostly” spend very little time choosing what to wear? Well occasionally I just can’t find anything to wear. I crave a little colour (or at least something not black) and I just can’t find it and I’ll spend an hour or two trying different combinations to find something that “pops”.


2. Actually, that’s the only con for me.

So, why don’t you tell me. How many colours are there in your wardrobe? And are there any more cons to having a limited colour palette?

* OK, I admit to owning 1 blue denim jacket, 1 indigo pair of jeans (I thought they were black when I bought them), and 1 gold cropped jacket (which really falls into my brown category) and a pair of cream shoes. But that’s it.

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