You Can Wear Every Colour
You can wear every colour - or can you?
I must admit to being absolutely incredulous at some of the appalling advice that is handed out to women when it comes to colour, such as:
“You can wear any colour at all. Just change your make-up to match what you’re wearing.” What a load of old garbage.
And it just reminds me of my dim and distant past when I used to read that mighty tome, Jackie magazine. I know they tried really hard to be useful but when I read…
“Match your eye shadow to your dress,”
…I remember at the grand old age of 13 wondering exactly how that would work with an orange frock! Some people seem to open their mouths and say some really ridiculous things without engaging their brain first. Can you just imagine yourself wearing orange eyeshadow? Good grief and glory - I bet we’d each and every one of us look as though someone had smacked us in both eyes if we did.
The way I see it, if you have to alter your make-up to match every clothes colour under the sun, then you’d need an extremely large suitcase full of make-up in every colour under the sun to be able to cater for every eventuality. Life is just too short to faff around with utter silliness like that. Why compromise? Why not find out what you look absolutely fabulous in and then wear nothing less than the best - all the time?
If your make-up suits you, and your jewellery suits you, and your hair colour suits you, and your clothes suit you, then everything will go together easily.
Once you know your own colour direction you will understand that everyone can wear every colour - but it’s the shade, the tone or the tint that makes the difference between looking healthy and ill:
- Springs need warm lively tints, i.e. aqua blue
- Summers need cool muted tones, i.e. dusty blue
- Autumns need warm rich shades, i.e. teal blue
- Winters need cool jewel colours, i.e. royal blue
Once you know how to use a colour swatch wallet properly, then you can buy make-up, jewellery, hair colour and clothes all by just using the wallet - because if things look good with the wallet, then they will automatically look good on you.
One lovely couple from West Virginia in the US understood this without me even mentioning it. They had had their colours done with my online colour analysis service (nolonger available - too busy!); K was a Summer and her husband an Autumn. They then placed an order for 2 Summer wallets and 2 Autumn wallets. I emailed them to check if this was just a typing error - I couldn’t see why they would want two of each.
K’s reply was, “We have received your analyses and have had so much fun reading them. We are extremely pleased with your work and have mentioned you to our family and friends! This order is correct. I ordered 2 of each booklet as I am keeping one of each for myself and giving one of each to my mother so she will know what colors to buy us when she shops for birthdays and holidays. Thanks again for all of your hard work!! We are going shopping!”
How NOT to use a colour swatch wallet
The number of times that I hear this plaintiff cry drives me mad; “Well, my consultant told me that I was only to wear this particular shade of pink,” they declare, pointing madly to one of the swatches in their wallet. In moments of sheer desperation, I have been known to retort, “And if the consultant told you to jump off the nearest cliff, you’d probably do that as well, would you?”
I prefer it, of course, if I can remember that I’m supposed to be a lady and stick to, “If you ever manage to match exactly the shade in your wallet, let me know! My guess is that the only way you will ever do that is if you order three yards of fabric from the wallet manufacturer! You are never going to match it, so don’t even try!”
How TO use a colour swatch wallet
It isn’t about matching shades at all - ever.
It’s about having a baseline from which to work. The colour swatches are your baseline:
- If a lipstick looks good alongside the swatches in your wallet, then odds on that it will look good on you too
- If that amazing piece of jewellery just lives and breathes with the colours in your wallet, then my guess is that it will look good on you too
- If the hair colour you are considering looks at home alongside the colours in your wallet, then I would suggest that you give it a whirl
- If the top you are thinking of buying looks comfortable along with the colours in your wallet, I’m betting that it will look pretty good on you!
And if I catch you saying,
“Well, my consultant told me that I was only to …. “,
I shall personally come round and box your ears; nobody has the right to tell you what to do (unless you let them). And don’t listen to a word I say, either - without weighing it for yourself first.
You can find out more about how to use a wallet (there’s even a video of me showing you how).
Then you can buy your mother or mother-in-law a wallet, too, so that when they go shopping for make-up, jewellery and clothes for you, they will know immediately that they are looking at the right colours for YOU; their shopping becomes easier and less stressful, and you end up with a gift that suits you! (Yes, I know, this is just too much to even contemplate; if this should ever happen to you personally, a large gin will stop you keeling over from the shock!)
Visit our online colour fabric swatch catalogue to buy your seasonal and / or tonal swatch.
Fashion Trends
Check out our online archive of fashion trends for both ladies fashion and mens’ fashion . Please remember not to buy things just because they’re a) in the shops and / or b) in fashion - use your common sense first and look to see if they:
- suit your colouring
- follow your body shape and scale
- complement your style personality
- are appropriate for the occasion
- feel comfortable
- make you look and feel fantastic
Interested in Fashion Trends?
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