More on Color Blocking- Blue

I have such a huge collection of pictures on my computer.  They are mostly pictures of people wearing their clothes.  They are all awesome.  I have decided to share them with you, so that you can see the cream of the crop without having to harvest it yourself.  I will cite the location of the picture on the internet just underneath each picture, just in case you would like to go harvesting yourself.  Of course, all of my favorite sites are listed under "My Blog List" on the right hand side of this blog, but nevertheless.  Have fun!

The Sartorialist

Carolines Mode, Stockholm Street Style

The Sartorialist

LOOK BOOK

What I love about blue is the cool intensity of it.  It calms my eyes, and makes me feel peaceful.  There are a lot of sites on the Internet about the meaning of (or emotional response to) colors, and they may all be a crock, but it's interesting to think about anyway.  According to About.com's "The Meaning of Color":

Cool colors tend to have a calming effect. At one end of the spectrum they are cold, impersonal, antiseptic colors. At the other end the cool colors are comforting and nurturing. Blue, green, and the neutrals white, gray, and silver are examples of cool colors.

Siggraph.org says that dark blue suggests "stable, calming, trustworthy, mature" attributes, and that light blue suggests "youthful, masculine, cool" ones.  I would have to say that the young man in the pale blue shirt does look a bit more masculine than the one in the bright blue shorts, but this has to do with many different things, such as the style of dress of both men, the stature of each, the framing of the shots, etc. 

Three out of four of these subjects have paired their cool dominant colors with a more subdued, warmer tone.  Beige shoes, a striking mustard-yellow necklace, a tan bag.  Even the awesome hair of the first subject works as an accessory!  The last subject has kept his contrasting colors cool, but they are still more subdued than the dominant blue of his shorts and to a lesser degree, his striped shirt.  The stripes in his shirt suggest a more youthful, urban look than the previous three, who seem to be going for a more classic feel.  

Something hilarious about a lot of fashion photography, or fashion in general, is how seriously everyone seems to be taking themselves.  Apparently smiling ruins the mystique of the look (I can only venture to guess).  The last guy in my row of blue pictures seems like kind of a douche.  He's probably not.  I think it's the combination of the happy little outfit and his super serious face.  But as I was thinking about the word "douche," another lovable example came to mind:

And there it is.