One of my consultations is 'The Impact of Colour'; and while it does contain many of the traditional methods of colour analysis, I do firmly believe that everything relating to style has to relate to your personality and lifestyle, and that every aspect of style should be easy, so mine does have a more flexible approach.
Colour can really affect our mood and how others see us.
Advantages of wearing the right colour
Wearing the right colours will enhance our natural looks; the result is;
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It gives a healthier, younger and more natural look
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It adds definition to the face shape and provides a slimmer bodyline
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It brightens the eyes, and gives our skin a glowing/dewy appearance
Colour is the essence of successful dressing
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It affects how we feel and how people respond to us
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It gives us confidence
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It creates a positive first impression
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It’s the first thing others remember about us
Colour has amazing properties - would you have thought of these colours like this?
- Black and Grey: Deep dark colours which give the illusion of looking sleek; seen as an authoritarian colour but also seen as ‘the safe option’, so is sometimes seen as a lack of imagination by those who only wear black.
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White: Virginal, crisp, clean colour, and a sign of purity.
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Brown: Earthy, with nature, and seen as an ‘at ease’ or ‘relaxed’ colour.
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Blue: A conservative/safe colour.
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Pink: Compassionate, gentle, feminine.
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Purple: Welcoming to others, warm, creative, sensitive.
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Green: As this is the colour of our many elements of nature, it is seen as a calm colour for a free spirit.
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Red: Whatever tone of red you wear will show others that you are confident with yourself and ‘who you are’. It is not a calming colour; it is more of a colour of excitement. Red is seen to have sex-appeal due to the fact that those who wear it give the impression of confidence, excitement and fun, therefore, making it attractive to the opposite sex.
Basically, colour is all about the undertone it runs with, and your skin also runs with an undertone. For you to look great, the undertones need to match. The undertone is either blue (winter and summer colours ) or yellow (autumn or spring colours). Colour has no relevance to your eye or hair colour; it is all about your skin.
Some ladies who have their colours done love the fact they have a structured set of colours, and this works really well for those individuals; but for other ladies, it throws them into turmoil as they go from wearing many different colours to being told they can now only wear a specific selection of colours. Which lady are you?
What I want to tell you is: please do be flexible with your colours, and here are my tips in how you can do this:
1. If you can't wear black (blue undertone) then add in a piece of either gold jewellery or maybe a scarf or jacket with a yellow undertone.
2. Use one of your colours as the main colour in either a print or block-coloured garment. You can add in a colour that is not yours as your main colour to bring the other colour alive.
3. Colour has no relevance on your lower body, so don't worry what you wear colour-wise here. Err on the side of caution with a lighter colour, as it will make an area appear larger.
4. As long as you have one of your colours somewhere near your face, then other colours will work too.
I know how difficult it must be to find only the selection of colours that are in your swatch, as there are so many colours in our spectrum, so try the below tips when you try on any garment with colour; whether it be in your existing wardrobe or in a changing room:
1. Skin tone on face needs to be light, bright and even
2. Skin tone will show no spots or blemishes
3. It will show a defined jawline
4. It should define the bridge of the nose
5. It will show no shadowing under the chin
6. It will give no dark shadows under the eyes
7. If your skin appears grey and flat in tone, it can make you look older, and none of us want that, do we? Pop that item back.
8. Certain colours will appear to make your head draw into your neck, which will add pounds to your face. Pop that item back, too.
Remember it's all about the undertones matching. When these undertones match, boy will you know it. Your face will come alive and you will walk out the door knowing you both look great and feel great, too.
