Going blue (Post no.3 on colour combinations in dress)

La Gazette du Bon Ton, cover by George Lepape, cape by J. Lanvin, 1923

Mark Rothko

Blue goes well with more blue….different shades together are intense, sensual and powerful.

Horst P. Horst, Babe Paley, 1946

Horst P. Horst is here using tones of blue to give depth and a sense of intrigue to his portrait of one of the most powerful women in New York just after the second World War, Babe Paley, Vogue USA’s feared fashion editor.

But blue works well with a number of colours (see my previous post on blue and red), in some cases muted shades such as green, give a light spring/summer feel to an outfit

Derwent Lees, Girl in black hat, 1912, National Gallery of Victoria , Australia

Electric blue and grey are dynamic and work well for this child’s dress from 1918, but this colour combination would not be out-of-place on today’s catwalk

Bernard Meninsky, Child in blue, 1918, pc

Blue and any acid colour has a stunningly fresh effect, catching our attention every time

Blue and orange:

Beckmann, self-portrait in blue jacket, 1950, St Louis Art museum, USA

Or blue and yellow:

Ethel Spowers, skaters, 1931 (Bonham’s, London, UK)

Mark Rothko

Mme Grès, maxi dress + coat, 1968, Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art , NY, USA

the dress

the back of the dress

Yellow also works splendidly with a greener shade of blue:

Feather tunic, Peru, 7^th – 10^th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, USA

Man’s short sleeved cotton Bazin top with yellow embroidery, west Africa, 21^st century

Jeffrey Campbell shoes, USA, 21^st Century