Dopamine Dressing Is All Over TikTok—Here’s How to Embrace Color This Spring

Bright colors are making a triumphant comeback just in time for Spring 2022. As we slowly emerge from the pandemic, bringing color into your wardrobe is the perfect way of celebrating the start of warmer and longer days. Pantone picked out a varied selection of hues for the season, ranging from hot pink to bright yellow and pastel green. “Colors for Spring 2022 bring together our competing desires for comforting familiarity and joyful adventure through a range of soothing and timeless colors and joyous hues that celebrate playfulness,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. 

“As we enter this new landscape, one where fashion rules no longer apply, hues for Spring 2022 allow us to mix and marry as we please, encouraging the exploration of new chromatic realities, opening the door for personalized style and spontaneous color statements.”

On TikTok, finding ways of combining unexpected colors has been popular among fashion fans. The #colorcombo hashtag counts over 270 million views, with fashion lovers of all genders driving the social media trend. Something as simple as matching colors you didn’t think would work together can be a great way of complementing your style.

Ahead, we break down the best color combinations found on the app. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about monochrome outfits, how to pair trendy colors such as green and pink, and how to style clothes in colors you may already own.

Get Inspired by Color Theory

Fashion is an artform and, similarly to painting, applying color theory to how you style your clothes will help make any outfit pop. Combining primary colors (blue, red, yellow) is an effective way of adopting the color blocking trend (more on that below!). You can also never go wrong when matching complementary colors. Yellow and purple, red and green, orange and blue or green and magenta make for perfect pairs.

Go Monochrome With Different Shades

Going for a monochrome outfit can instantly elevate your personal style. Single color fashion has gone viral partly because it makes any outfit look put together—even when you’re going for a casual look. When it comes to color, you don’t need every item to match perfectly. Pairing different shades of the same color will help you achieve the monochrome look with pieces already in your closet. Think beige, cream, and light gray together, or lavender, baby pink, and magenta. 

Try the Three Color Rule

Originated in the 1960s, the color blocking trend has gone through the fashion cycle these past few years. The trend briefly came back in 2011 before taking over the runways once again in Spring 2022. If coordinating bright colors together can seem daunting, keep it simple by adopting the 3 color rule. As indicated by its name, the 3 color rule is about incorporating a maximum of three colors into one outfit to ensure it all matches. For example, pair a navy top, green dress pants, and matching yellow accessories.

Get in on Gen Z Green

Varied shades of green were everywhere last Summer. From matcha-colored dresses to forest-green pants and lime-color accessories, the color is back for the Spring and Summer seasons. Beige, white or purple make for the perfect match with the green-color items you may already own.

Embrace Pantone Purple

If we had to single out one color that has been spotted all over the Spring 2022 catwalks, it would be purple. From lavender to electric purple hues, you can decide to go all out or wear the color in more subdued tones to match your personal style. Yellow and green match surprisingly well with purple. Embracing Pantone's color of the year (a blue-purple periwinkle, dubbed "very peri") is a great way to add a fashionable edge to any outfit. 

Try a Sophisticated Brown

Incorporating browns in your outfit is a great way of adopting the '90s trend. You can choose to keep things minimal by pairing the color with white or dark green or try wearing brown with bright pink for an original and cutting-edge outfit.

Think Pink

If there is a bright color that never goes out of style, it has to be pink. Long associated with pre-conceived notions of femininity, the color will freshen up any outfit (and elevate your mood) no matter your gender. Pairing pink with beige or khaki colors is a great way of transitioning your wardrobe from the winter into warmer days.

Go With Earth Tones

Above, we mentioned a slew of bright colors. But, if you want to keep things simple or don’t want to overthink which colors to associate, wearing earth tones offers a great alternative. Beige, army green, and burnt orange are certain to always match and never go out of style.