My friend in Seattle said my color choices were too safe for streetwear

She looked at my last five designs and said, 'You keep using black, gray, and olive. It's like you're scared of color.' I swapped the main fabric for a bright cobalt blue on a new hoodie sketch and it looks WAY more interesting. Anyone else get stuck in a color rut and find a way out?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas.cameron2mo ago

Scared of color" is such a perfect way to put it. I used to do the same thing with navy and charcoal until a friend asked if I was designing uniforms for a sad army. Try picking one wild color you'd never normally use and make it the main thing, like you did with the cobalt. It forces you out of that safe zone. What other colors are you thinking about trying now?

cora1772mo ago

Maybe burnt orange next, @thomas.cameron, that cobalt move was a game changer.

parkermorgan1mo ago

Scared of color" is a nice way to put it, but I'm going to push back on that a little. I think there's a reason people stick with navy and charcoal @thomas.cameron, and it's not just being scared. Those colors work. They're easy to live with and they don't fight with anything else in the room. I've seen too many people pick a bold color like burnt orange or cobalt and then six months later they're completely sick of it because it clashes with their couch or the lighting makes it look like something from a dentist's office. Sometimes playing it safe is just practical.