Perhaps the easiest way to demonstrate how color can create contrast is to look at variances in a single color.
Pairing a navy blue, which is a dark value version of blue, and a sky blue, which is a light value version of blue, creates a strong contrast.
This degree of contrast might be visually attractive for people with high contrast in their personal coloring, but it could very well be too strong for those with less contrast.
A workable attractive variation to create a softer contrast would be to graduate the blue in several stages between the navy and sky blue colors.
Complementary colors, when placed side-by-side, create vivid contrasts.
The separating line between them actually seems to vibrate with energy.
When the two opposite colors are equal in intensity, they create what is called maximal vividness.
Complementary colors are those that are positioned opposite from each other on a color wheel.
Examples would be red and green, violet and yellow green, aqua and red-orange, and blue and orange.
This type of color combining creates a lot of drama, so it's appropriate for exaggerated effects, possibly for costumes.
A little complementary color goes a long way.
Not only do opposite colors create a strong contrast, but extreme differences in the values (the lightness and darkness), or in the intensities (the brightness or dullness), of colors can also create a strong contrast.
Let's look at how color values can effect people with different personal coloring.
The same medium dark green will create a strong contrast on a blonde with a light skin tone.
However, on a very dark person, the medium dark green will create much less of a contrast.
A fourth way to use color to create contrast involves variations in the amount of space that color covers.
So, a light colored person with dark eyebrows needs to wear just a little dark color to create the necessary contrast in overall appearance--perhaps by having dark buttons, or a dark belt.
If a light person wants to wear more dark color, it's best to wear it away from the face.
Slacks, shoes or a skirt would be a good way for this person to wear a dark color without it overwhelming them.
A dark person, on the other hand could wear a lot of dark color with just a little light color to create the strong contrast they need.
Or, similarly, they can wear a lot of a light color, with just a little of the dark color for the strong contrast.