Your Slimmest Colours
How to choose your slimmest Colours
They say “you can never be too rich or too slim”. I’m not sure about that, but as a professional colour consultant I know there are certain colours that make you look slimmer.
Most mature women I know crave a more slender outline and one that doesn’t make us appear fat and frumpy, but can the colours we wear, help us to achieve that goal?
They most definitely can. So what would be your most slimming colours?
Is Black the most slimming Colour?
If you ask women what is the most slimming colour, the most outstanding answer would be black.
But is black the most slimming colour?
No it isn’t and here are 2 reasons why.
- Black is a non colour that sucks up all the light. There is no reflection from the colour black. This makes the colour appear dark, dull and heavy. It’s a misconception that black is light and slimming.
- Because black absorbs all light, the garment will have no “flow”. Flow means areas of light and shade. It appears to be completely block, again giving an“heavy” appearance.
But the misconception that black is your most slimming colour has gained lots of support. Sadly not everything you read is true.
How can colour make you slimmer?
It ‘s true colour plays a key role in helping us to look slimmer and more together. Especially when we wear our colours from top to toe.
Your colours will make you look lighter and brighter.
This works by allowing light onto the subject. The light that you need to draw to yourself.
Wearing your colours from top to toe gives the illusion of slimness.
Without this colour cohesion an outfit can appear to look messy or sloppy.
Wearing colours from different palettes can cut the body up and also add unwanted weight to you.
Eg. If you wear a top from one colour palette and a pant from a different colour palette, you look mismatched,cut in half and that line across your middle adds "weight".
This can also happen by adding black pants to everything.
Always wear the right colours
If you always wear the right colours from top to toe, you’ll look taller and therefore slimmer.
The right colours for you will also attract the right light to you as well.
How do you choose the right colours?
Now that you realize, wearing your colours can make you look so much slimmer and more co-ordinated and more stylish, how do you go about finding the colours that suit you?
There are an unlimited number of colours. Easily in excess of 16 million. That’s one of the major reasons why people find it difficult to differentiate between the right colours and the wrong colours to wear.
I would always recommend a good colour analysis from someone who has been gaining good reviews for accurate colour analysis work and preferably someone who’s been in the industry for many years.
It’s so easy to get the colours wrong. A colour analysis literally takes less than 30 minutes. Always use the draping method and I prefer the original 4 seasons analysis from the Colour me Beautiful days.
Since then so many changes have occurred with various colour systems that can be quiet confusing.
I do know that if you practice wearing colour all the time, you have a good chance of getting your colours right over time.
Note which colours you get lots of compliments for and also the ones that make you look younger and more vibrant.
For more colour advice contact Your Colours and style.
Five ways to know if you're wearing your Colours.
Getting your Colours right is just so important to your Ultimate Image so read today's blog with 5 ways to tell if you do have them right or not.
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