Color Obsession

Look around you. Ever feel like you are in a rut with color? Do you feel yourself gravitating towards the same types of equestrian equipment? Is everything in your tack box starting to look the same? While every equestrian has his or her recognizable taste and style, every once in a while, it is great to branch out. Finding new color inspiration, for example, can be as easy as looking at nature: purple and yellow flowers with green foliage can give you an exciting new palette, for instance. Sometimes, glancing at a fellow competitors' wardrobe or, at the colors in your horse's coat can also be a helpful way to view color. (Many of our horse browband designs have been inspired by horses.) Reading magazines, looking at sale advertisements, or shopping your favorite tack stores can also be a great source of inspiration while also helping identify key trends and styles in the ever-changing equestrian world.

Whether you are new to horse riding or a more advanced equestrian, you know that shopping for tack is fun. Our choices for the pieces we select are part inspiration, part skill, and part creativity. You also know how endless the possibilities are when it comes to color! More often than not, the difficult part can be finding inspiration or overcoming creative block. Even professional riders, who have years of experience, sometimes struggle with creating new and exciting wearable works of art. Our Inspiration Center is filled with tools to teach, motivate and inspire you, but we also want to share some advice and tricks of the trade when it comes to finding inspiration and igniting a spark of creativity.

 

Choosing A Color Scheme: Tips & Ideas

One of the most challenging aspects of creating a beautiful equestrian ensemble for you and your horse is choosing a color scheme that “works.” Whether you are going for a bold look, subtle, adventurous, spring-inspired, or modern, it can be difficult to choose colors that convey the feeling you are trying to express and that work well together. We have all seen a gorgeous browband or saddle pad that would have been spectacular if the colors had not been a little “different.”

So how do you go about deciding on a color palette? The easiest way is to take whatever your focal point is, and coordinate around it. For instance, if you are designing one of our Beasties™ custom bling browbands around your horse's beautiful coat coloring, then look at what colors are present in the mane, tail, hairs, and dapples themselves and use those colors in your design. Or, perhaps your horse has a unique feature like one blue eye. You can use that as your inspiration to create a stunning browband that will enhance that unique feature - make it stand out more! Even if your focal is a solid color, use that solid color as your starting point and build around it.

Another great way of arriving at a color scheme is to take a piece of fabric, scarf, shirt, belt, or stock pin where you like the colors and use those colors for your ensemble.

Finally, don't laugh, but you can always utilize the paint store and pick up some paint chips. You can then use these to develop your color schemes. You might also find the free booklets offered at paint stores helpful too. These usually have “designer” schemes pre-arranged and you can pick out the one that appeals to you.