The ecru OCBD

[radicaldog]

Blue, pink, and white are much more common solid colour choices for an OCBD. Why? Ecru goes with everything, photographs very well, and is subtle without being showy. Why do people shun this colour? Answers on a postcard.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

Excellent question, radicaldog. I too love ecru, and cream shirts more generally. I agree it goes well with most jackets and ties. I wonder if its unpopularity compared to white, ivory, blue, and pink shirts is partly due to those shirts' being widely thought not to look bad with any complexion. Whereas I think many people feel ecru goes poorly with sallow or yellowy complexions. I also think that if you put a pattern on a shirt with an ecru ground, it's going to look louder than the equivalent pattern on white, pink, and blue shirts. Why this is so for pink I'm not sure.

 

[PaintSplattered]

Part of it might be the rarity of seeing one in person. In my experience, at least. The complexion issue is certainly a possibility, and when a person can't hold the fabric next to their skin that can make purchasing difficult if they are already unsure.

I've become interested in them the past few days, since I want to get some nice OCBD shirts. Was thinking one blue and one ecru.

I made some crew neck Breton style shirts with fabric paint and found ecru to be a nicer ground than bright white. People liked them.

 

[radicaldog]



if you put a pattern on a shirt with an ecru ground, it's going to look louder than the equivalent pattern on white, pink, and blue shirts. Why this is so for pink I'm not sure.

I would've thought that most patterns stand out more on a white ground, relative to ecru, which is softer. A white ground is more reflective, so it illuminates the area around a tie or between lapels.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



I would've thought that most patterns stand out more on a white ground, relative to ecru, which is softer. A white ground is more reflective, so it illuminates the area around a tie or between lapels.

Agreed. What I was trying to say, rather poorly, was that the total effect of a pattern (say, a black graph paper check) on an ecru ground is visually louder than the same pattern on a white ground. We're getting into E. H. Gombrich/Rudolf Arnheim territory here, but I think there's a difference between the way the pattern looks against its ground and the way it looks with the ground. The former is more focused on the pattern itself, the latter is more focused on the gestalt of the pattern-plus-ground. So I think you're right about a pattern's standing out more on a white ground than on an ecru; what I'm talking about is the loudness of the whole package of the pattern and its ecru ground.

Trying to come up with some swatches with the same pattern on a white ground and on an ecru ground, but not having much luck.

 

[PaintSplattered]

Agreed. What I was trying to say, rather poorly, was that the total effect of a pattern (say, a black graph paper check) on an ecru ground is visually louder than the same pattern on a white ground. We're getting into E. H. Gombrich/Rudolf Arnheim territory here, but I think there's a difference between the way the pattern looks against its ground and the way it looks with the ground. The former is more focused on the pattern itself, the latter is more focused on the gestalt of the pattern-plus-ground. So I think you're right about a pattern's standing out more on a white ground than on an ecru; what I'm talking about is the loudness of the whole package of the pattern and its ecru ground.

Trying to come up with some swatches with the same pattern on a white ground and on an ecru ground, but not having much luck.

Hello, there. Great timing. I was trying to do this yesterday and had zero luck.

I will add that, as a painter, I'm constantly reminded that color doesn't exist in a vacuum. Context is critical and a color I've mixed up on my palate needs to be held over the painting I'm considering using it on, for context.

Also important: Law of Simultaneous Contrast.



It certainly applies to clothing, and I have discussed this with a salesman at a store I go to. He went to art school so he understands my point of view. For the record, I didn't go to art school haha.

If I can find matching patterns over Ecru and White, I will certainly post them.