Throwing Shade

For our customers who have been with us for a while, one thing is quite clear about a Viscera closet- we are all about neutrals. Now while we are proud to say that getting dressed in the morning is no mind-boggling task for us neutral lovers, we know what you’re thinking. “Don’t you want a little variety sometimes?” The answer we have to that is simple, there is already a variety in the different shades of black and tones of grey for us to choose from. And the best part- almost every single one of them goes together.

To take you a little deeper into why we are nerding out about different shades of grey, I got some help from some experts on color theory. (Check out their article here) There are hundreds of greys and blacks that add dimension to our simple color palette. We can attribute that to shade tint and tone. Shade is what we call the level of black in a hue. Tint is a hue with different levels of white added to it. And tone is used to describe the level of grey added to a hue, which lowers the intensity of the color. Think back to an elementary school watercolor paint swatch. If you take the black paint and add a little bit of the white, it does not make the black color grey right away, that would take a lot of white paint. Rather, adding a little bit of white to the black paint makes a lighter tone of black. 

The next time you are outside during a sunny day, take a closer look at the shadow you are casting. As you may notice, the shadow isn’t 100% the same color or “shade” throughout. The shadow you are casting creates different shades of whatever color the pavement is depending on how close you are to the sun and pavement. 

Thinking about shade and tone within our closets can be a great way to add drama and dimension to one of your go-to outfits. Find a grey that feels warm to you and try pairing it with a cooler grey for some monochrome contrast. Not only can you mix and match tones and shades, but fashion allows us to experiment with different textures too!

So next time you find yourself second guessing your simple closet, remember that varying tint, shade and tone can help your closet be both stress-free and dynamic.