colorblindness and the effect on your wardrobe

[Milhouse]

I'm trying very hard to expand my palette in terms of my wardrobe, however, I am quite colorblind. My wardrobe literally consists of shades of blue, white, grey, black, and tan (khaki pants). My prior efforts to be creative have always consisted of solid colors with interesting textures in the weave of the cloth.

In an effort to be experimental, I am looking at purchasing a few ties to add some color, yellow and burgundy seem popular with blue shirts. This is a big leap for me, without a safety net (I'm single, so I have no one to dress me in the mornings). I'd like to move beyond just ties, however, and include more color and patterns in other garments as well.

How do other color blind guys deal with things like color and patterns? How have you adapted to your colorblindness to keep from walking out of the house wearing something awful?

 

[yachtie]

Stay away from Oswald Boatang.

 

[Milhouse]

Originally Posted by yachtie

Stay away from Oswald Boatang.

Done! (I've never heard of Oswald Boatang)

 

[Nantucket Red]

Oswald Boateng

 

[DocHolliday]

I tend to stick to very pure, true colors, rather than quirky, hard-to-describe shades. It's much easier to mix colors that way, and the effect has become one of the defining elements of my wardrobe. I once found the limitation frustrating, but have come to quite like it. Thankfully, I look best in high-contrast clothing.

Also, when I buy something with a pattern, I get my girlfriend to identify all the colors for me. As long as there's no crazy color in it, it's pretty easy to match. And, like you, I use a lot of texture.

One of the worst problems for me is my inability to tell browns from greens. I wore a pair of green socks for a couple of years thinking they were brown. Blue/purple is a big problem, too. And the worst is trying to describe colors when selling here and on eBay.

Ultimately, I may not hit every note right, but I chalk it up to sprezzatura and don't worry about it.

 

[Nantucket Red]

If you're color blind, doesn't that mean all reds and blues appear grey?

 

[DocHolliday]

There are degrees of colorblindness, from a slight inability to see certain colors to a total inability to see color at all. If you're red/green colorblind, for example, you can't tell red from green. I can do that, but other colors throw me for a loop. In first grade, I colored a Christmas tree purple. My teacher thought that was funny until Mom told her I was colorblind and normally read the color names on the crayon wrapper.

.

 

[Bandwagonesque]

I can see reds and greens easily - they don't appear grey at all. It's just when mixed with other colours, it becomes difficult to pick them out. For example, if I look at something you describe as being olive, I might see it as being a medium brown. Same goes for the amount of red. A non-colourblind person can tell when something is clearly dark purple. I'll likely see it as navy.

 

[Milhouse]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

One of the worst problems for me is my inability to tell browns from greens. I wore a pair of green socks for a couple of years thinking they were brown. Blue/purple is a big problem, too.

I have trouble with all those colors as well. Pink tends to look the same as blue/purple. Also, burgundy (oxblood) leather is the same as black.

I've actually started judging the quality of a store on how well the staff deals with my colorblindness. At one store, I pointed to an item, and asked about the color (thinking it was black) and the sales clerk looked at me like I was a moron and said it was dark red. I've never shopped there since. Just recently, at another store (J. Crew) a girl working there spent quite a bit of time helping me pick out shirts (every single one that I initially liked was pink or purple, she picked out all the blue shirts and let me decide). I'll shop there more frequently because of her help.

 

[Bandwagonesque]

I remember when I was younger and started going colourblind, the first thing my mom said to me was I could never become a pilot.

So when I saw Little Miss Sunshine I laughed ****** off during that scene.

 

[Milhouse]

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

If you're color blind, doesn't that mean all reds and blues appear grey?

My grandfather literally saw things in black and white due to the severity of his colorblindness. I'm lucky in that I see in color, just not many colors.

Red, depending on hue, tint, saturation, and some other words my art teacher tried to teach me, may be blue (pink is light blue, purple is navy blue), or black (dark burgundy) or mix well with green. If you throw a red ball in the green grass, I'll never find it because red and green are too close. I need high contrast.

 

[AlanC]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

One of the worst problems for me is my inability to tell browns from greens. I wore a pair of green socks for a couple of years thinking they were brown. Blue/purple is a big problem, too. And the worst is trying to describe colors when selling here and on eBay.

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

There are degrees of colorblindness, from a slight inability to see certain colors to a total inability to see color at all. ...Mom told her I was colorblind and normally read the color names on the crayon wrapper.

Yes, I well remember needing to read the names on the wrappers when I was a kid.

I think your colorblindness is a variation of red/green, which is very similar to mine. I can tell that leaves and grass are green. I can tell an apple is red. But there are some shades I just can't distinguish. Some browns throw me as do some purples (I see them as blue). That's a result of the red in those colors not registering properly in my eye.

I'm able to operate pretty effectively with mine, and when I run into problems I consult my wife. Colorblindness is quite common among men, and I suspect there's a strong minority of people at SF who suffer from it to some degree.

 

[bullethead]

I try to keep one of the two (shirt, suit) solid, and have some fun with the tie and pocket square. I obviously explain to the clerk that i'm colorblind and just remember what goes with what. I just had some shirts done and anything I liked I had to ask what color it was!

Funny side note-I used to work at a Versace store in the early 90's and only one co-worker knew i was colorblind.

 

[Sartorian]

Originally Posted by Milhouse

My wardrobe literally consists of shades of blue, white, grey, black, and tan (khaki pants).

Are you sure?

I'm very color-sensitive, a rarity among males, I'm beginning to learn. I actually have found my girlfriend to be slightly colorblind herself, though it seems to be more an issue of gradation and hue than mixing up different hues.

I think the suggestion about using patterns in your shirts and ties is an excellent one. I don't think one needs a lot of color in order for it to work well. In fact, with a suit, less color is often more. Perhaps you could divide things in your dresser according to hue (the color itself), and keep a list by it of what colors go well or should not be mixed together. For this, a color wheel could help you--opposite colors are 'complementary', while neighboring colors are 'supplementary.' I'd also recommend you try and categorize things according to basic, 'true' colors--hues--as Doc recommends above. In other words, look to supplant your color judgment with linguistic labels.

I think a very important differentiation to make, which can dramatically alter a look, is between purple and brown. The purple/rouge/maroon/burgundy/brick/red transition really has to be pinned down correctly, otherwise, the color might look muddy.

Finally, pay attention to value, or the shade of things, and this could help you a lot. Even people who can see colors well often create imbalances because they neglect to notice the value. Look at things as if they were on a grayscale spectrum.

 

[woodywoodson]

It can be tough sometimes. I stick to blues, grays, reds, black, white, tan, and some richer browns. I have a couple of green things, but I usually can't remember which they are.

I don't mess around much with pinks, lilacs, etc. They are too subtle for me to tell apart reliably. I have bought purple things accidentally because I thought they were navy. Very embarassing.