Colour Me Beautiful

Upgrade your Underwear

There may be grey skies outside, but the big fashion story this season is colour – brighter, jazzier and more startling than ever before. Shop windows are already starting to display yellows, aqua’s, pinks, blues and greens.

 After a winter of downbeat dark shades, the brightness and diversity on the rails is going to give the retail fashion scene a lift.

However, all of that that colour choice might lead to some uncertainty, a little hesitation, perhaps even a desire to run back to the comfort of basic black.

Here are a few basic rules on how to pick the right colours for you:

Yellow  is on all the dress rails at the moment, and is very popular this season. ‘Light’ ladies can wear primrose yellow.  ‘Deep’ ladies can also wear primrose yellow.  ‘Warm’ ladies can wear primrose yellow and daffodil yellow. ‘Cool’ ladies may choose to steer away from yellow.  ‘Clear’ ladies can opt for lemon yellow, and ‘soft’ ladies, who have a warm undertone to their skin, can wear light gold.

There will also be variations of lime and green, which will mix well with the foliage prints that are about to take over the rails.  ‘Deeps’ and ‘warms’ can carry off lime, and ‘lights’ and ‘clears’ can wear apple green.  ‘Cools’ and ‘softs’ look great in teal.

If you’re unsure about which colours add harmony and balance to your own natural colouring, contact me to arrange a colour consultation pjcandjt@live.co.uk

DID YOU KNOW …

When you look better, you feel better, and when you feel better, your immune system works at its optimum, which in turn keeps colds and flu at bay.   

During a credit crunch, you’re more likely to think twice about splurging on the latest designer outfits. More and more people seem to be following the advice of making use of what they already have.

During the Second World War, the government issued a pamphlet entitled ‘Make Do and Mend’.  The guide gave tips on how to save food and mend clothes on the cheap.  Whilst we’re currently not living amidst a war, the same advice can be applied to our current state of recession, as a call for a return to post-war thriftiness may be just what we need.

You may own an old A-Line skirt, which you could unpick and use as a template.  You could pin it to some taped together newspaper and make a reusable pattern, or pin it straight to the fabric you’re going to use to make a new skirt and cut around it.

Consulting an image consultant will help you ascertain what style of skirt suits your shape.  For instance, if you’re what’s classified as a ‘lean column’ an A-Line skirt will look great on you.  If you’re a ‘neat hourglass’ opting for a straight lined skirt may be the better option.  Finding out what your best fabrics and patterns are for you to wear, plus what you should avoid, can only be invaluable advice.

Visiting your local charity shop can be a good place to find interesting fabric.  Even old-fashioned headscarves, old linen tablecloths, duvet covers and vintage curtains can be made into dresses, skirts or bags.  Have a look out for buttons too, as you could replace existing buttons on your garments with some interesting ones found in charity shops.  Adding military buttons can update an outfit instantly.

Visit a haberdashery department, local market or a Hobby craft shop and look for ribbons, lace, sequins, feathers, which you could add to a plain coloured jumper.

Salvage an old summer dress by teaming it with a polo-neck sweater and thick tights.

Look out for tartan belts or bags, as this key trend can update your look for this season.  Perhaps you have an old kilt hanging about that you could turn into a tote bag.

Fix as many of your damaged clothes as you can.  Sew on missing buttons, turn up hems.  Adjust lengths of sleeves, skirts, trousers or dresses – and if you can’t sew, consider enrolling on a sewing course at your local college, or look out for ‘how to sew’ books at charity shops.

So, enjoy what you’ve got, keep it at its peak, and get more creative.  You never know, you may emerge from the Big Squeeze as a more stylish, fashionable individual!

www.imageconsultant.co.uk

Fashion tells you that black is ’sophisticated’, ’slimming’, ’stylish’ and ’sexy’, and because the colour ranges available in the shops are predominately black, that is what people feel they have to buy.  But black is actually the total absence of any colour, despite it being the best selling colour! 

About 70% of all fashion items sold in Britain are black.  When you consider all of the colours available, it makes one wonder why most people seem to shy away from wearing colour, and always seem to wear black.  Psychologically wise, it may imply that you are hiding behind the ‘colour’ black. 

Having a colour analysis will determine if black actually suits you.  You may need to opt for a softer version, such as charcoal, or chocolate brown.

There is no doubt that the colours you wear will have a powerful effect on how you feel, and crucially, how others respond to you.  For instance, wearing red will bring excitement into your day.  It is the colour of stimulation, showing a sense of exhilaration but also suggesting a demanding character.  It is a great colour to wear at the end of the week when your energy level might be flagging. 

Pink is a great colour to wear when you are feeling a little off colour, as it gives a flattering lift to any complexion. 

When wearing green, whether olive or lime, or anything in between, you show creativity and imagination. 

The purple family runs from softest lavender to deepest damson.  It is a great alternative, and a more exciting one, to black and navy.  Beware that its creative signal does not compromise a situation where you want to appear conformist.  Purple is also the colour of spiritualism and meditation.  In its lighter forms, the lilacs and soft violets promote a general sense of relaxation. 

 Blue conveys trust, peace and order – it could be considered safe.  Medium shades of blue, such as cornflower, lapis and sapphire, are all great colours to brighten up your wardrobe throughout the year.  The lighter shades, such as powder blue, eau de nil, bluebell and sky blue, make wonderful colours for special occasions when a feminine look

You’ll know the colour is right for you when your face appears to be lit from underneath, your skin appears smoother, fresher, and younger; lines and blemishes are minimised.  Your eye colour is enhanced, and you notice YOU more than the colour.  So give colour a chance, and ditch the black, which can create the illusion of dark circles around your chin or neck, an uneven colour in your complexion, and it standing out more than you!

·         Did you know that most women only wear 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time?

·         That’s where Colour Me Beautiful comes in.  By having your colours done, I can show you combinations of colours to make your wardrobe more versatile – based upon your own personal colour palette.

·         Plus, why certain shades complement your natural colouring more than others, and an assessment of the colours that suit you best, therefore saving you money in the long run.

·         Armed with this knowledge, you will have the confidence to build a wardrobe that is practical, professional and as glamorous as you need it to be.

·         Wearing the right colours will make you look younger and healthier.  It will increase your self-esteem and make you feel more confident.

COLOUR ANALYSIS

·         So, how is this done?  Well, the main influence behind CMB’s approach to colour is based upon the work of Alfred Munsell, who was an artist during the early 1900’s.

·         He invented a system of colour identification called the System of Colour Notation

·         Basically, he came up with 3 characteristics when describing a colour

1.      The Hue (Undertone)

2.      The Value (Depth)

3.      The Chroma (Clarity)

 Colour Me Beautiful works with Munsell’s colour system whenever we describe a person’s ‘dominant’ colour characteristic.

·         The aim of Colour Analysis is to show you how to create harmony and balance between your own colouring and the colours you wear.

·         In order to determine your “dominant” colour characteristic, I look at your physical characteristics (Your hair colour, skin tone and eye colour) and then work out what your dominant palette is.

DOMINANTS

·         So, what are the “dominants”?  There are 6 to choose from:

LIGHT – DEEP

WARM – COOL

CLEAR – SOFT

         I want you all to close your eyes – take yourselves to your wardrobe – open the wardrobe doors – start to take out everything you don’t wear and those items you realise are not a flattering colour on you.

·         When you have reached £80 worth of clothes that you are taking out of the wardrobe – open your eyes.  That didn’t take long!

·         £80 is all it costs to get your colours right in the future – the cost of a Colour Analysis!

Did anyone see the Trinny & Susannah episode on colour?  If so, were you not a little confused by their colour system?  Judging by some comments on the itv forum, quite a few people were.  According to Trinny & Susannah, there are only three ‘dominants’ which they called ‘Warm’ ‘Mid’ and ‘Cool’

Here are some comments from the itv forum:

“I don’t think these colour “types” are accurate and they don’t cover everyone.  I have mid blonde hair which really picks up the sun in the summer (it was white until I reached my teens and then gradually darkened.)  My eyes are dark brown with dark rims round them and my eyebrows and lashes are quite dark, too. Skin tone is medium, quite sallow and I tan easily.  I definitely think I look better in cool and clear coloursand particularly look good when I wear colours that contrast near my face, but when I had my colours done ages ago they put me in Brown Summer.  I think I look horrible in brown unless it is a really dark brownand ghastly in beige or grey but these were both in my palette.  I just think it was wrong!  Muddy colours make me look even more sallow.  Anyway – just wondering if I would be mid-tones or clear or what?   And can I really not wear black!  Confused!!! “

“I’m confused about colours too, I have a gaelic complexion (dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin rosy cheeks) I don’t know what they mean about cool clear colours! I need a chart or something. I feel ever so silly not knowing what cool colours look like, i thought they were pastals! but that is mid tone I rarely wear black mainly because it makes me look washed out. I’ve just been wearing the wrong colours, i go for bright colours rather than the cool T &S suggested.”

“The colour charts don’t include my colouring either.  Dark brown hair (almost black), blue eyes.  Complexion isn’t really pale/fair but isn’t as dark as olive either.”

As you can see, there seems to be confusion over the system.

The Colour Me Beautiful system, however, is far more straight forward, and is based on the Munsell system, which is the most widely accepted system of colour measurement; it is used by both the US National Bureau of Standards and the British Standards Institution.

The Munsell system has three characteristics when describing a colour, namely the undertone, the depth and the clarity.

The beauty of Munsell’s system is that it can be used to describe a person’s colouring as well as to specify the colours they should wear, the aim being to create harmony and balance between the two.

So, according to Colour Me Beautiful, there are in fact SIX dominant types, namely Light, Deep, Warm, Cool, Clear and Soft (For further explanation, please scroll down to the first post on this blog, which describes the ‘dominants’)

If we took the colour red, for instance – everyone can wear it, but in differents shades to suit their own individual colouring.  A ‘Light’ person, a la Claudia Schiffer, could wear a geranium red, a ‘Deep’ person, like Catherine Zeta Jones, a scarlet red, a ‘Warm’ person, such as Julianne Moore, an orange red, a ‘Cool’ person, such as Judi Dench, a blue-red, a ‘Clear’ person, like Courtney Cox, a ruby red and a ‘Soft’ person, such as Kate Moss, a claret red.

For more than 25 years, Colour Me Beautiful has been the world’s leading colour and image consultancy, and millions of women have benefitted from having their colours done.  Wearing the right colours will make you look younger and healthier, plus, teamed with your own colour swatch wallet to go shopping with, your wardrobe will end up containing clothes in colours that will work for you all year round.

If anyone wants to watch the Trinny & Susannah episode on colours, please go to: www.itv.com/undress