What are Your Colors?

For many years I've carried a small plastic photo sleeve in my purse.  It contains "my" colors and wallet size photos I've saved over the years to help me remember a hairstyle or color.  I know this post is really going to date me, because knowing your "colors" has gone out of fashion these days.  But in the 80's it was popular, partially due to the book "Color Me Beautiful" by Carole Jackson.  Ms. Jackson taught how to determine which season you were:  spring, summer, autumn, or winter.  Those who were summer or winter had blue undertones to their skin and could best wear cool colors.  The intensity of the cool colors they could wear would depend if they were a summer or winter. Warm colors were spring or autumn, and belonged to people who had yellow or warm undertones to their skin.  Most make-up artists disregarded the color selection approach to fashion, saying that it didn't matter what colors you wore because your make-up could be altered to create beautiful skin.  This was an argument that didn't make much sense to me because most of us don't have a make-up artist at our beck and call.  Neither do we want to have to correct our skin tones by make-up for a casual day at home or about town.  Wearing "your" colors does an amazing job of enhancing your skin tones and creating a total look that unifies how you look without depending upon foundation, blush, and added glow.  When wearing "your" colors, you'll find that people complement you over and over again for looking beautiful.  Instead of complimenting your dress or blouse, you'll find they are complimenting you because of your total look. There have been knock-off approaches to color analysis.  Some approaches to color theory divide colors into twelve seasons.  Essentially, all use the same principles of cool and warm, but may apply it in a little different manner.  Color analysis can be a helpful tool for everyone, not just adult women.  Growing daughters who are eager, but yet too young to put their fingers in the make up pot for appropriate wearing can find that wearing the the colors best suited to their skin tones can enhance their natural beauty without make up.  Teaching them proper skin care (from nutrition to moisturizing) coupled with wearing their colors can do amazing things to an early teen's self esteem.  Men can benefit from color analysis as well.  My husband had his colors analyzed in years past, and it has been very helpful when choosing the suits, shirts, and ties that look best on him.  Although many men may think it unnecessary and insignificant, I'd like to say that it costs no more to purchase a navy suit than it does a taupe one, or a gray one than a black one.  But, the color of the suit really can make a difference with the man.  Sometimes people will wear a favorite color or get stuck in a rut when it comes to colors they wear.  Fashion dictates that some years one color is "in" and the next it is "out".  It's easy to get caught up in what a designer somewhere dictates, but if you have a plan and stick to it, you'll find that dressing and coordinating your wardrobe is so much easier when you keep your colors in mind.  When color analysis first became popular, parties were held where an analyst would determine the colors of each person in attendance.  By color draping the individual could observe the transformation that took place when they were wearing the colors best for their skin tones.  I recall one co-worker who always looked stunning in black suits and dresses was horrified to discover that her only wardrobe color was totally incorrect for her.  I don't think anyone could ever change her mind, but imagine how much lovelier she could have been in colors that enhanced her skin tones rather than fighting with them.  


Have you had your colors done?  What do you think?  Are you pro or con regarding this fashion art?  My the way, my color season is "summer".  What is yours?