Fall Style Continues..Choosing your Colours

There is a lot of confusion about colours out there...

Years ago, it was all about getting your colours "done" - were you a Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter?  I had friends who would host parties and we would have some random lady tell us what to wear!

And then it become more complex - were you a clear, deep, warm, cool, light or clear Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter? Oh dear!  If you want to take a look in depth, visit this website or take a look at The Power of Style by Bobbi Thomas.



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I found this almost impossible to do when there was so much information.  Perhaps I have some kind of learning disability to learn this kind of stuff?  My daughter sat down, looked at me, looked at the chart and said: "Well it is obvious that you are a clear spring".  I was glad it was obvious to her, as it was less so to me..

From the Chic Fashionista Website:

Clear Spring (eg. Heather Graham)

Eyes: Turquoise blue, green, topaz (brownish)

Hair: Medium to dark golden brown, or even black-brown. Or a very bright, golden and deep blonde hair

Skin: Bronze, deep warm brown, brown-black, light ivory, light peach, porcelain

Your coloring is high contrast and full of saturation. If you have dark hair you can be mistaken for a Winter but the apparent warmth in your coloring tells you otherwise. But you may still flow into the Clear Winter palette. Learn more about what it means to be a Clear coloring and what colors to wear.
Examples of celebs with Clear Spring color palette: Heather Graham, Emilie de Ravin, Brittany Snow
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After the early discussions around colour (which I have recently dug up via the Bobbie Thomas book and the web, the next big colour analysis stuff I ran across in life was Trinny and Susannah's What You Wear Can Change Your Life - remember them and that book? 

Don't get too close - they will grab your boobs!

I bought it in 2005.  Trinny and Susannah abandoned the seasonal colour lingo and simply used: cool and bright, warm, and mid-tones.  Then they had pages and pages of colours and which ones were right for you and which colours went together.  It was at that point I felt that the fashion industry was perhaps out to confuse us, though I know - colour theory is critical to being pleasing to the eye.

You can see their colour charts on this website.

There was apparently a lot of debate about their colour ideas as evidenced in this Colour Me Beautiful discussion.

Around 2011 I discovered Joe and Jesse's book, Life in Colour.

Those sweet men had also abandoned seasons for Sun, Moon, Earth or Star. You can read more about this on their website or buy the book.

According to their book, I would be a moon:

MOON

Moons have blue-gray eyes without any gold, brown, or green flecks, or dark gray, brown, taupe with a black line around the iris. Your skin is pale and translucent with blue and pink undertones. You usually burn first when you tan, and your skin turns red, not bronze. Moons hair color ranges from dark ash brown to ash blonde, or an almost pinkish red. Your best colors are royal blue, ripe strawberry, and your worst colors are mustard yellow and bright orange.

One helpful thing is that at the back of the book there are detachable colour charts for your type so you can ideally buy your optimal colour type.

Of course, in the end, these are just guides.

Really, we can often find tricks to make any colours work for us if we are willing to use scarves and makeup and jewelry. 

Having said that, the ideal thing is to build a wardrobe that is mostly composed of the colours that make you feel lovely and pair them with neutrals for your optimal wardrobe.  We've all experienced buying or trying on that outfit in a colour that we just love, only to realize that it is a colour that completely washes us out. 

I will say: the three books I mention above all have their merits.  For me, the clear spring colour palette is the most true.  However, Bobbie's book is fun and interesting/informative, as is the Life in Colour book.  I find Trinny and Susannah absolutists and a bit wearing by times, but there is some good information there as well. 

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One thing we must discuss before we leave colour is changing hair colour.

For me, that has meant going from a brunette with natural red highlights to a red head.  This colour change suddenly allowed me to wear a couple of colours I never had been able to before. 

I know that this is also the case for women who allow their hair to or naturally grey or white.  I think there is always the need to "check in" with your colours to see if they are still working for you.

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And finally, the heart wants what it wants.  A colour may look good on you and you dislike it.  Or it may look wretched on you, but you want it - hello fatigue jacket from H&M - you are in NONE of my colour charts.  Wear it anyway.  Perhaps add a scarf in one of your colours or just say "screw it" and sally forth as if you own the world.  Cause you do own the world! 

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Hope this has been helpful for some - I know it has been for me! 

Tomorrow: Wendy's Fall/Winter Stay-at-home-and-get-discovered-as-the-next-great-writer style!

Have a great day out there and stay safe!