% glad to be of help to you!(Junior likes ties, whaddaya know...
)(Book) Image Matters for Men - your colors
% glad to be of help to you!(Junior likes ties, whaddaya know...
)While I find her treatment rather prescriptive, I do thin that her basic premise is spot on. An individual's coloration interacts with that of their clothing and therefore certain people look better(or worse) in certain colors/tones. It's not rocket science and I've seen (and made use of) that fact myself. White and dark charcoal make me look pale and rather more "intense" than browns and greens. Pink makes me look ill.
It's obvious that certain colors "clash" which is why we don't randomly assemble an outfit. Why should one's skin tone/ hair color be magically excluded?
It's obvious that certain colors "clash" which is why we don't randomly assemble an outfit. Why should one's skin tone/ hair color be magically excluded?
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arkirshner
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 10:53 pm
- Location: Toledo Ohio USA
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Over 20 years ago a friend of mine who was in the woman's clothing business told me she had gone to a seminar given by Carole Jackson, the author of Color Me Beautiful, where she learned how to dress her customers in colors that best flattered each customer's face. I expressed interest and she offered to "do my colors". The process was in some respect similar to an eye exam in which you are successively given two lens combinations to look through and asked through which could you see clearer. I was seated in a chair before a mirror and she successively draped different colored cloth under my face to determine which made me look better. For example I looked better when my face was framed by navy cloth when compared to camel cloth, the camel simply left my face looking washed out. There was no mystery as to why , my skin has an olive undertone, the yellow component in my olive undertone skin blended in with the yellow component of the camel cloth, while the yellow component in my complexion stood out in stark contrast next to the navy cloth.
After a series of comparisons it became obvious that I looked my best in vivid dark colors or pure white. The navy and dark greys commonly found in suiting framed my complexion to its best advantage. On the other hand brown, camel, olive, and earth tones left me looking washed out. Pure white was my best shirt color. Soft white, oyster white, and ivory left me washed out.
The same process with sportswear colors found I looked good in vivid red, or vivid red with a little blue added. while red with yellow added did not look nearly as good. Moreover tints of red, peach and pink did not work. I just do not look good in pastels.
My son has a different complexion. He looks his best in the camel jacket and pastels I cannot wear. On the other hand a navy jacket drains the color from his face. While I can wear oxford or charcoal grey to advantage, his best are light to medium warm greys. While I wear pure white shirts, he looks his best in ivory.
What I learned then has proven invaluable as I no longer spend money on, or wear, those colors that are "bad" for me. Occasionally I
wear a shirt in a less than optimal shade of blue, but it is done so knowingly and because it is helpful to the ensemble as a whole eg. with seersucker suit or white linen jacket.
This is not about being dressed by women. No doubt Ms. Jackson's book, ( Color for Men was just a sequel with nothing really new), simply took what artists have known for centuries, that is, when different colors are placed next to color A , some will cause color A to stand out, others will cause color A to recede, and still others will overpower color A.
For anyone who does not believe there is something to this I challenge you to an experiment. The next time you are contemplating acquiring a new jacket or shirt try sitting or standing in front of a mirror and drape fabrics in front of your face. See if you look better with navy or camel, khaki or ivory, teal blue or powder blue, burgundy or orange, rose brown or golden brown, pure white or ivory, or oyster white, or soft white. If there is no difference then you are right, there is nothing to it. On the other hand, if you see differences use what you see to your advantage. There is no reason to just look good in sub optimal colors when with different colors you can look your best .
After a series of comparisons it became obvious that I looked my best in vivid dark colors or pure white. The navy and dark greys commonly found in suiting framed my complexion to its best advantage. On the other hand brown, camel, olive, and earth tones left me looking washed out. Pure white was my best shirt color. Soft white, oyster white, and ivory left me washed out.
The same process with sportswear colors found I looked good in vivid red, or vivid red with a little blue added. while red with yellow added did not look nearly as good. Moreover tints of red, peach and pink did not work. I just do not look good in pastels.
My son has a different complexion. He looks his best in the camel jacket and pastels I cannot wear. On the other hand a navy jacket drains the color from his face. While I can wear oxford or charcoal grey to advantage, his best are light to medium warm greys. While I wear pure white shirts, he looks his best in ivory.
What I learned then has proven invaluable as I no longer spend money on, or wear, those colors that are "bad" for me. Occasionally I
wear a shirt in a less than optimal shade of blue, but it is done so knowingly and because it is helpful to the ensemble as a whole eg. with seersucker suit or white linen jacket.
This is not about being dressed by women. No doubt Ms. Jackson's book, ( Color for Men was just a sequel with nothing really new), simply took what artists have known for centuries, that is, when different colors are placed next to color A , some will cause color A to stand out, others will cause color A to recede, and still others will overpower color A.
For anyone who does not believe there is something to this I challenge you to an experiment. The next time you are contemplating acquiring a new jacket or shirt try sitting or standing in front of a mirror and drape fabrics in front of your face. See if you look better with navy or camel, khaki or ivory, teal blue or powder blue, burgundy or orange, rose brown or golden brown, pure white or ivory, or oyster white, or soft white. If there is no difference then you are right, there is nothing to it. On the other hand, if you see differences use what you see to your advantage. There is no reason to just look good in sub optimal colors when with different colors you can look your best .
Being closest to the face, the shirt is primary, but I still wouln't discount the overall tonality of the jacket. That said, it does bacome more of an exercise to coordinate an appropriately colored shirt with a jacket from another palette.
arkirshner's post above is instructive.
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