Earlier this week, I made a last minute decision to compete in this weekend’s FOTF competition.

I wasn’t too keen at first (hence last minute decision to enter) because being the Surf Life Saving Race Day, it had a red and yellow theme. I’m used to choosing my own colours!

The Red & Yellow Challenge

To me, that combo is McDonalds. It was hard to get past the blinking Big Mac image which persisted in my mind.

But, I accepted the challenge. On one condition.

I only had one and a half days off work to pull an outfit together, and with Christmas around the corner, my bank account is frighteningly low.

So, I decided to only allow myself to enter if I could come up with an outfit that was already, in some form or another, hanging in my closet.

Moschino’s Fall 2014 Collection.

Experimenting with Colour Combinations

Now, red and yellow aren’t two colours I usually wear together. Besides the McDonalds connection, they can clash very badly if you aren’t careful. I’ve rarely seen a successful red and yellow combo.

Before coming up with my perfect outfit I always try on multiple choices, possibly thousands. Some are so disastrous I’m embarrassed to even admit I tried them. And I always delete any photo evidence.

The point of doing this though, is to give you a starting point. You might decide you love a skirt or a top, and then you just keep trying on bits and pieces until something works.

Things I Learned about Colours that Clash

For my red and yellow challenge, after about 50 changes and a bedroom strewn with clothing from wall to wall, I settled on a Cue yellow peplum top and a floral print pencil midi skirt.

I re-used a leather belt, shoes and accessories I’d worn previously to race days.

But during the process, I learnt something new. Red and yellow work surprisingly well if you incorporate a pattern and bring in another colour such as black or white.

Black and white also work amazingly well with red and yellow!

Another tip, is that the tones and shades of the colours can make a huge difference to the overall effect.

Sometimes having them in deeper shades can drastically improve an outfit, but it is all about trial and error. You have to keep trying things on to see exactly how it looks.

Incorporating Red and Yellow into my Hat

I have my go-to hat I purchased over two years ago from The Hat Box in Brisbane by milliner Kylie Heagney.

I have worn this hat with different embellishments and placed 5 times in it!! Have a read of this post on embellishing your millinery to create something new.

I spent the better part of 5 hours painting flowers (okay so I have to admit I purchased one thing… I bought one red flower and some yellow flowers for my hat and it cost me $10 so I let it slide), wiring them, curling my quills, I also removed the existing mesh petals from my hat and re used them.

I was very pleased with the result and how well it tied into my outfit!

Accessories – Shoes, Clutch, Necklace and Gloves

I had shoes I purchased from Kmart and wore to Melbourne Cup the previous month, my clutch was something I had premade to go with above said hat with black sequin matching fabric I purchased and covered the bag with.

My necklaces were from my favourite Adorne and Lovisa and leather gloves from MYER.

The Result?

I took out first place in the Millinery Section!

I didn’t place in fashions but I was super happy to have come up with an outfit from my existing wardrobe, to have pulled off a red and yellow outfit, and to receive an award for a hat I had embellished myself!!

My prize for Best Millinery included:

$100 voucher for the Hat Store at Robina Town Centre
1 night’s accommodation for two people in a superior room at Jupiters Hotel & Casino
$250 Gift Voucher from Harbour Town Outlet Shopping Centre
$150 Esteem Medi Spa Voucher

Who has worn red and yellow together before? Post your photos in the comments, I’d love to see different ways everyone has made it work!