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How to wear your neutrals

How to wear your neutrals

How to wear your neutrals

What is a neutral colour?

I would describe a neutral colour as one that is quite benign. One that's not screaming for attention, and one that's a base for all of your other amazing colours. 

Not everyone feels good in a pink and green outfit for example but they may enjoy wearing perhaps a green top with a neutral like grey.

It's good to start your wardrobe with your neutrals then add your colour in next. 

But are all neutrals created equal? Definitely not. Many stylists are firm about having a base of dark cool neutrals like black, pure white, greys and navy’s with a splash of brown thrown in. But those neutrals are only found in the Winter Palette. Black doesn't go with everything, as we've been led to believe. And Winter neutrals don't go with Summer, Spring or Autumn neutrals. 

As a colour consultant of 20 years, I have found these ideas to be quiet damaging as a whole to the fashion industry. Using black as a style staple is not useful to your Image picture.

Here's an example of working with a warm Autumn neutral and Black a cool dominant neutral to create a mismatched look. 

YOU NEED TO FIND YOUR COLOURS AND THEN WORK WITH THE NEUTRALS IN YOUR PALETTE ONLY

For a stylish, complete, co-ordinated wardrobe that suits you down to the ground, you need to work with YOUR neutrals only.

The reason being, neutrals from another palette will not look good on you, and also will not go with the other shades or neutrals in your palette.

THE NEUTRAL COLOUR PALETTES.

Some stylists categorize people as neutrals. But I like to call only colours neutral not people.

Every colour is either a Cool Deep or dominant colour,(Winter) a cool muted colour,(Summer) a deep warm colour (Autumn) or a warm bright colour (Spring)

That's it.  Every colour on the planet will slot into one of four palettes only. And you will be one of the four palettes as well. No sub colours or flow people in my opinion. Some colours "flow"but not people.

THE COLOUR SWATCH BOOKS FOR THE FOUR SEASONS

Get your colours right. There is Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. What season are you and there is no need for any sub seasons.

You will have thousands of colours to choose from that will all look amazing on you. 

So what are the four types of neutrals I’m speaking of?

Warm Deep or Autumn neutrals are lovely deep olive greens, rich creams, clays, golden browns, deep apricots, muddied burgundies and pumpkins to name a few as well as rich warm khakis and golds.

The bright Spring neutrals on the other hand are still warm but much lighter than their deep counterparts, so colours like light soft caramels, light creams, warm light browns, tans, peaches and apricots are part of the Spring neutrals. 

Moving into the cooler palettes we have the boldness and clarity of the deep Winter colours, black, pure white, all greys, silvers, dark navys and deep deep browns.

Forget burgundy as some may include in the Winter palette.  I reserve that for the muted cool neutrals of Summer. The denim which is a winter denim is dark navy blue.

 

 

Summer neutrals are cool and soft and muted. Ones like off whites, soft grey, cool taupes, cool beiges, light cool khakis, burgundy and maroons create a nice base and don’t forget your dusty navy’s. Please don’t forget light denim teams best with these colours.

With all this in mind you can see there is a plethora of colours, considered to be neutral.

So once you know your colours, you can stick to the neutrals within your season for best results. Ask your consultant how to incorporate these into your wardrobe. 

It’s always best to get professional advice about your colours and be sure the colours actually “fit”with you.

If your not happy with your results after a colour analysis, my advice would be to get a 2nd and sometimes even a 3rd opinion until you get your colours right. 

I have had so many clients over the years who have had their colours done incorrectly. 

There is a mindfield of systems now so I hope you find a solution that’s right for you.

HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT COLOURS?

Here are a few checkpoints.

You'll  look younger and more attractive in your colours

Your hair colour will compliment your colours

3.       Your make up will blend into your skin and not sit on top

4.       You will have 100’s and 100’s of colours to choose from

5.       You will feel at peace in your colours

6.       All the clothes in your wardrobe will coordinate

7.       You will have heaps of outfits even if you have a small wardrobe (capsule)

8.       You’ll always get compliments about what your wearing

9.       You'll find it easier to accessorize and mix and match

        You’ll look very stylish all the time. 

       For more information contact Your Colours and Style Sydney

 

Comments

Thank you for a very interesting post Ros. Even though I have the Summer swatches, it’s sometimes good to be reminded of the variations of colours, which helps to get back on track. I find the hardest colour to find is the dusty navy – there seems to be lots of the very dark version of this colour always around but not so much of the Summer navy. I will have to look harder.
Thanks again
Peita

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5 Top Colours for your Winter Wardrobe

5 Top Colours for your Winter Wardrobe

Your 5 top staple colours for Winter

THE 5 DEADLY COLOURS KILLING YOUR WARDROBE

Last blog I spoke about the 5 deadly colours that are killing your wardrobe.

Well it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t tell you, at least 5 top colours to replace the ones you ousted.

These colours are not only to replace the one’s you’ve lost but they actually are what I call your neutral basics.

MANY STYLISTS WILL BUILD YOUR WARDOBE BASED ON BLACK

Many stylist will build your wardrobe from top to toe, using colours like black, white, grey and navy.

Some may consider these colours to be your staples but at your colours and style, as a colour consultant for over 20 years I have a different approach to colour, that works so well not only for all people but the difference will be noted more by the mature.

5 TOP STAPLE COLOURS

So here are the 5 top staple colours to build your wardrobe , I am recommending for you.

In fact you can just about create a really nice capsule wardrobe with these colours alone.

Staple colour no 1. Off white

Have you noticed some whites are too stark, some are too dull, but the off white tones (there are too many to count) are just right?

So imagine off white jeans, off white pants, off white jackets, coats and cardigans, off white shoes and boots, off white T shirts and sneakers. Off white is always a beautiful and chic option. You can never go wrong.

Staple colour no 2. Light denim

Have you ever considered dark denim to be just a little strong? And when a colour is too strong for you, it’s just plain wrong?

Light denim always looks more stylish and attractive and teams so well with all your other colours.

Light blue jeans, chambray shirts, denim jackets. Denim is always in fashion and can offer casual as well as classic looks.

Staple Colour no 3. Taupe

What is taupe? It’s sort of a very light brown. There are lighter and darker shades of taupe as well as warm taupes. Taupe is a very classy colour and just like all of your other neutrals can mix with all your neutrals. For a look that says “calm” try taupe for a welcome change.

Staple Colour No 4. Dusty Blue

Dusty Blue is lighter and softer than the strong dark royal blues, regal blues, navy blues, ink blues, electric blues, teal blues etc.

You will find this colour more soothing to the eye and just gorgeous and always classic and fashionable. Shop around it’s worth waiting for the right find to add to your wardrobe and don’t just settle for the wrong blues it’s not worth the compromise.

Staple Colour No 5 Burgundy

Burgundy has always been a rich and royal option to any wardrobe. Although it’s a very strong and somewhat heavy colour, it still gives the appearance of softness and is less harsh than black and the deeper dominant colours.

You will always get compliments when you choose to wear Burgundies, Berrys, Plums and similar tones.

So there you have 5 winners for your wardrobe. Remember there are many many versions of those 5 colours I’ve just listed , so consider the scope of shades that come in just those 5 colours. For example imagine a top to toe monochromatic look in various taupes.

For more information about your colours or how to get your colours done

Contact Your Colours and style Sydney

 

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4 of the deadliest Colours in your wardrobe

4 of the deadliest Colours in your wardrobe

The 4 Colours that are destroying your wardrobe

Get these 4 colours out of your wardrobe now if you’re interested in looking your best and having a functional and stylish wardrobe. 

It's these 4 colours that are setting your style up to fail especially as you age. 

A powerful style secret

As a professional colour consultant for over 20 years, I've witnessed over and over again, what is destroying fashion for women, especially mature women. 

Have you noticed the older you get, certain colours are aging you as well as making you look drab and dull? 

I’m going to share with you a very powerful secret that will save your wardrobe, your style and even your purse.

For years we have been consumed with the idea of finding out what colours suit us, but despite all the fuss, many have been deceived about the colours that suit them. 

Many stylists are avoiding colour rules and are putting style before colour. This is quiet the wrong way around as colour is 80% of your style equation. 

What are the 4 deadliest colours for mature women to avoid?

Deadly colour no 1.

Black

Coco Chanel did us no favours when she immortalized the LBD ( Little Black dress.)

Once that became fashion law, women all over the world adopted black as their most chic option. 

Trouble is black is the number one deadly colour in your wardrobe.

3 reasons why black is the deadliest colour in your wardrobe.

Black is a non colour.

Black absorbs all light and  has the reputation of bringing death to everything around it.

Have you noticed how dull you look when wearing black?

Have you noticed the shadow and lines on your face and neck become more prominent when you wear black?

What mood does black create? How do you feel at a funeral when everyone is in black? 

It's certainly a sad colour. 

There’s a definite heaviness in the air.

2     Black restricts your colour choices.

The misconception about black is it goes with everything. Hence we wear black pants, black coats, black bags, black shoes etc.

Black becomes the base we build our wardrobe around,

Black has a habit of reproducing itself because black doesn’t go with everything, so many people wear black from top to toe.

You may have a wardrobe full of clothes, but have nothing to wear, because black is your base colour.

Most of your outfits look drab because black is your base.

You go out to buy more clothes because your current wardrobe feels drab only to come home with more black. You try to mix black with other colours and get confused when the outfit looks uncoordinated.

    Black doesn't go with everything

As mentioned black does not go with everything.

It not only does not go with everything it stops you from choosing other multiple colours that do go with everything and do go with you.

If you don’t believe it, google any famous person and note, not only how often they wear black, but also how little colour they wear as well.

This is such a shame because most people do not utilize all their colour and unless you’ve had a proper colour analysis and have learned about all the colours that suit you, you too will be that person as well.

Deadly colour no 2.

Dark navy.

Almost all women I’ve seen over the years, fall into this deadly trap.

They know black is too dull and dark and aging so they substitute black with navy.

But they substitute black with a navy that goes with black and experience the same problems they do if they wear black.

They look dull and uninteresting in dark navy, They need to learn about the right navy's that look amazing on them instead.

Deadly Colour no 3

Dark grey

Add a bit of white to black and you get a light black, which is dark grey.

The problem with light black or dark greys' is these colours are still heavy and strong. You can find out what greys are best for you which are much more flattering. 

Deadly Colour no 4.

Dark denim

We know that denim comes in all shades from ink navy, to faded denim to bright denim blues.

The colours of denim are so varied, they can go with all and every season. The dark denim or ink blue denim is again a type of blue that goes with black also and is too strong. 

Be sure you find out the sort of denims you can wear for your wardrobe that go with all your colours and the colour denims that are flattering to you.

If you have more questions contact your colours and style.

 

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5 things a colour analysis is not

5 things a colour analysis is not

Five things a colour analysis is not

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