Coordinating using three colours - The Tri-Colour Challenge (image heavy)

I began my foray into Lolita fashion in September 2012 and I would still consider myself a beginner. I do a lot of web browsing and reading in order to become better acquainted with lolita, fashion, history and even coordinating.

A post for coordinating, which I always come back to, is from lolita blogger, Ramble Rori, "Coordinating 101: How to Create an Awesome Lolita Fashion Coordinate". The post is very detailed, laid out into clear sections and easy to read. The information is really useful for a beginner but is extensive enough to be inspiring to an experienced lolita.

I tend to stick to the main or secondary
print colours or just coordinate with
black, white or ivory.

In the post, Christine, writer of Ramble Rori, approaches coordinating from a colour perspective from single up to tri-colour coordinating.

I usually coordinate using two colours or match colours and themes from the prints but I want to give myself a challenge today and try coordinating with three colours.

I'm going to be using Paletton to help me to coordinate the outfits in this post. This website is a designer tool that assists in creating custom colour palettes that work well together. What I love about this website is that you can customise the palette and it will adjust itself so that the colours are still in balance.

(I've also used this quirky website called "Name that Colour" when a usual "brown" or "yellow" wouldn't suffice. When you input the hexadecimal code or pick the colour using the colour swatch the website gives you the name of the closest colour.)

The Tri-colour Challenge

What I want to do is create some tri-colour coordinates: first, using a dress with tri-colours already present in the fabric and then attempt to create an outfit with a piece I have in my own wardrobe. If you're also feeling like a Lolita challenge why not try the Tri-colour challenge with me?

First of all, I want to show you a blogger who, I think, is a great example for tri-colour coordinating.

Leii, is a lolita and Japanese fashion enthusiast who blogs under the name of Sinneddonuts. It goes without saying that she has an enviable wardrobe and her ability to put together surprising colour combinations which look as delicious as they are eye-catching, is astounding!

I chose some of the stand-out coordinates where the three colours coordinated were very obvious. Please check out Leii's tumblr or her instagram where she has many more mouth watering outfits uploaded.

Tri-Colour Challenge - Fabric Coordinate

A recent print from Angelic Pretty called Fantasy Theatre has made use of the tri-colour scheme. 

As you can see, it uses the colours yellow, blue and pink to create a really interesting contrast. Using pink as my main colour I have attempted to use these three colours throughout the coordinate and below is what I came up with.

Tri-colour coordinate 1: Fantasy Theatre
Fantasy Theatre Skirt - Angelic Pretty
Dream Shiny Blouse - Angelic Pretty
Maiden in Love Ribbon Knit Cardigan - Angelic Pretty
Antique Ribbon Shoes - BABY, the Stars Shine Bright
Ribbon Heart Bag - BABY, the Stars Shine Bright

Going further with this coordinate, I would add both pink and mint accessories and a deep pink hair barette or brooch, such as the one that comes with the series. Other options I thought of were to change out the bag for a Shyness Bear Bag or a Lyrical Bunny Bag who feature in the print.

Tri-Colour Challenge - from my wardrobe

Chess Chocolate is the most recent dress I purchased. I really love the print, however, the high neck OP style is quite difficult to coordinate. For the colour palette I've used the brown as the base colour and created a tri-colour palette to work with.

The fact that the print, itself, only contains one colour from my chosen palette presents the obstacle of balancing the colours in the three zones. This could usually be overcome by a belt but this is not an option in Chess Chocolate's case because of the waist bow. Other options to put colour into the mid-zone are bags, badges, sashes and outer-wear. 

Tri-Colour Coordinate 2 - Chess Chocolate
Chess Chocolate OP - Angelic Pretty
Doll Coronet Aria Bonnet - BABY, the Stars Shine Bright
Kingdom OTK - Beth
Antique Ribbon Shoes - BABY, the Stars Shine Bright

I really love the mature look of the colours in this coordinate and I'm so happy I could find pieces which mirror the crown and chess themes of the print. I couldn't find a blue or green colour for the mid-zone but, ideally, I would finish off the coordinate with a deep green purse.

So there you have it! I have completed the tri-colour challenge. I'm really glad I took the time to do this as I've had to think outside of what I would usually do for coordinating and it's also given me a good insight into creating balanced coordinates. If you decide you'd like to give it a try link me in the comments so I can see it!

Until next time...

BONUS: Here's a coordinate I was going to use for the blog until I realised that it was actually a two colour coordinate. I chose the popular Kuma Kumya's Sweet Chocolate Print from 2013 and deliberately chose the dark brown colour-way because pink, my go-to colour for sweet lolita coordinates, is absent. In the picture below you can see that the light beige colour is actually a really light brown and the mint colour is a really light "Chill Blue".

I really liked the way this coordinate turned out so I just couldn't delete it from the post. It also shows the what a two colour coordinate looks like compared to a three-colour.

Tri-colour coordinate 2: Kuma Kumya's Sweet Chocolate
Chocolate Cardigan - BABY, the Stars Shine Bright
Stripe patissier blouse - BABY, the Stars Shine Bright
Mermaid in the jewellery box plastic bag - Alice and the Pirates
Kuma kumya mini mini - BABY, the Stars Shine Bright
Mary Jane Croco Shoes - Vivienne Westwood x Mellissa

Why two bags? I couldn't resist adding the mini Kuma Kumya chan into the coordinate. Too cute to pass by. Also I think I may have just added another dress to my wish list.