Some information on color

I love yellow, but yellow doesn't love me. Camel is king this season, and if I don't steer clear of it, you won't be able to see me outside of a one block of beige. It is my personal camouflage.  Why does one person look lovely in camel and another person disappear? Why do you feel more appealing in one color v. another?

Colors communicate different things in our culture. According to John Molloy's Dress for Success, to communicate authority and increase our likelihood of promotion in a business setting, one should wear black, grey, navy, and camel. These are the colors of the upper-middle class. Red draws attention. Pink is thought to signal sexual attractiveness. Green expresses creativity. And so on and so forth. What I have noticed over the years is that I am more attracted to a certain palette of vibrant blue tones. In my home, in my art, in my clothing, this is what I feel most attracted to and comfortable in. A simple color matrix can be broken into the following:

• Blue-based vibrant (Winter)
• Blue-based pastel (Summer)
• Yellow-based vibrant (Fall)
• Yellow-based pastel (Spring)

A person's color palette is merely a function of the skin tone. Blue based, olive, and darker complected look better in winter/ summer. Red based or peach skin looks better in fall/spring. You probably already know your color (hint: those you are most attracted to throughout your life, not just this season), but in case you are confused just ask your mother what colors look best on you. If you don't like your mother's opinion, ask your dearest friends. Or pay attention to what colors you are wearing when people complement you. If you have the chance to have someone drape you to see the visual affect of color on your skin, go for it. But you will be paying to confirm what you already know. This may be the third time I've mentioned this book in this blog (and its only two months old) but Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson is the bible of color analysis. Buy it and treasure it.

One last thing on color, you can always go outside your complementary color palette, but you will not look as good. Why wear yellow when you can look so much better in blue (or vice versa, my yellow-based friends)? If you must buy that fun color outside of your range, put it on your feet or in your handbag. I do have a pair of yellow platform sandals that I love to wear with a sailor theme during the summer, but they are as far away from my face as possible. You see I have a tan jacket, but I try to wear a navy or red to punch it up into my range. Preferably, you are a stronger person than me and you can steer completely clear of the mistakes. Alas, I am still style illiterate.

Style Illiterate