PeaceBang got the Lands End catalog the other day and was pleasantly surprised to see them offering a color palette that is richer and more interesting and sophisticated than their usual preppy basics (which PB finds mostly a fast lane to Frumpsville).
Color matters so much. I have DESPAIRED to see so many men and women in what I thought were great outfits ruined by cheap or ugly colored fabrics. In PeaceBang’s not-at-all-humble opinion, people don’t spend nearly as much time and attention on noting the quality of the color of their garments as they do worrying about whether or not “that color” works on them.
Let me tell you something about “that color,” peanuts. “That color” isn’t even the color you think it is. You chose a rich robin’s egg blue because some guru told you 30 years ago that you were a winter or a spring or whatever, and that “that” blue would be perfect to bring out your eyes.
WHAT?
Today, with completely different skin tone, hair color (out of a box) and life, you’re still beelining for “that” color every time you get to a clothes rack. The lighting is bad in the store, you haven’t at all considered the time of year (is the light strong or dim where you’ll be wearing this garment? Is your skin ruddy this time of year, or ashy, or particularly pale? Have you ever heard of such a thing as MAKE-UP, which can enhance your features so that your color possibilities are far more varied than your Color Guru wanted you to believe?), and you’re operating like Pavlov’s dog instead of like the independent-minded human being you actually are.
Choose fabulous colors that make a statement and make you feel alive. Then use them strategically so that they work for you and you don’t get lost in them. For women, this means playing around with make-up. For men, this means not overdoing it so that the color overwhelms you. Accents of fantastic color are best, but your neutrals don’t have to be boring, either!
Neutrals garments can be olive, a wide spectrum of blues, oxblood, coffee brown, russet brown, black, charcoal grey, herringbone, moss green …think outside the boring box! Choose a few new Crayolas to color your wardrobe with.
Color conveys energy. It matters. Take it seriously but don’t limit yourself according to what some Glamour article told you 25 years ago. That’s nonsense. The simple fact is, if you’re wearing pastels you’re communicating soft baby-ness. So what if you’re a Spring, or whatever? Do you really want to communicate “nursery” when you walk through the door? Of course not! Not unless you’re a big, gruff guy who wants to evoke those associations intentionally in order to soften his image a bit.
Stop practicing Color Voodoo.
Mwah!
I am unabashedly obsessed with mustard, and pre-emptively celebrating Fall by wearing things like these fabulous shoes:
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?isProduct=true&color=072&navAction=jump&parentid=W_SHOES_HEELSWEDGES&id=17037151
Now, I’m a pasty gal with blondish hair and mustard can easily wash me out. But the pop of a mustard scarf or necklace and great mustard shoes adds so much fun to my outfit I can’t help it. And I think feeling happy in the clothes you’re wearing does a whole lot to make them look good on ya!
If anyone loves mustard or orange, this would be the year to buy it. There is a kind of committee that picks the colors of the year, and this year orange was one of them. These are very specific picks, down to Pantone codes.
I am actually in the process of re-evaluating my colors since discovering that I can, indeed, wear purple. Who knew?
Color analysis can be very helpful for people who are putting together a wardrobe. Once you know you look fabulous in all shades of green, but look like death in yellow or gray (for example) you can save yourself a lot of time and money avoiding garments that won’t work. You can walk right on by the gray suit without a pause and head towards to olive one and wear it with confidence. Your friend may love gray and encourage you to buy it, but you know you don’t have to waste your time with it. A little bit of structure makes wardrobe creation less daunting.
My rule is that if I have to wear more makeup to make a color look good on me, it’s not the one for me. There are planty of other gorgeous colors out there that will help me shine.
I love pastels as accents with all the black I wear, to keep me from looking like a ghoul as I age (in skin and in naturally graying hair). Seems visually to help me get by with wearing less makeup, too, than I’d need if I were trying to balance out accents of bright delicious colors I also love.
Maybe I could add that I’m a ghostly pale white person, with very dark (but silvering) hair and black eyebrows.
I used to wear pastels because I thought they made me look “softer”… until a loving and honest friend pointed out that they completely washed out my complexion. This comment made me take a second look at my wardrobe and admit – she was right. Thank goodness someone finally had the nerve to tell me. It was slightly amusing after, when I started wearing more bold colours and jewel tones, how many people complimented me on my clothing choices. I have been oving the bright, bold colours that have been favoured in fashion lately and am excited to read that purple is a big choice for fall – it’s one of my favourites 🙂