Personal Style 101 - Identifying Your Colors

This post on identifying your color is part IV of the Personal Style 101 series.

One of the essential elements of determining your personal style and to dressing in a way that flatters you, is knowing how to use color to your advantage. Wearing the right color can make you look alive and vibrant. Wearing the wrong color can make you look washed out and sick. Unfortunately, it is not a matter of which colors you prefer, but rather which colors compliment your eye color, skin tone and hair color.

The Basics of Colors:

When it comes to color there are basically two families - the warm colors and the cool colors OR the yellow family and the blue family.

Warm tones are those that are yellow-based. This doesn’t mean we are just looking at different shades of yellow, but rather colors that have a yellow undertone to them. For the most part, reds, oranges, yellows, and browns are all warm colors. If you are looking for neutrals to work as a base, try taupe, browns, and creamy whites.

In contrast, cool tones are those that are blue-based, meaning they each have a blue undertone to them. Generally speaking, blues, purples, blacks, and whites are all cool colors. If you are looking for neutrals to work as your outfit base, try gray, navy, pristine white and black.

While some colors are pretty cut and dry, others are a little more challenging to figure out. To give you some examples - Green is a combination of yellow and blue, but some greens belong to the warm family while others belong to the cool family. Lime green, for instance, is more yellow than blue so it is a warm tone. Emerald green has more blue to it, so it belongs to the cool family. Mint green is a warm tone. Forest green is a cool tone, etc…

Red and pinks can be similarly seated in both the cool and warm tones. A ruby red is a cool color, while an orange-red is a warm color. A magenta is cool, while a peach is warm.

It’s all about training your eye to notice the colors and the undertones.

Determining Your Color Family:

Deciding your color family might seem daunting but it isn’t too complicated. When I give fashion presentations, I always encourage women to think of the last outfit they wore that they were complimented on. Usually, that means that’s your color family. For instance, every time I wear cobalt people comment that I look good or that I slept well. In contrast when I wear tan people often ask if I’m not feeling well.

But to give you a more concrete way to determine your best color family:

You are better off in warm tones if you have…

Eyes: Brown, olive green, hazel, light/golden brown, soft hazel, or green.
Hair: golden brown, red, auburn, strawberry blonde, golden blonde, medium to deep auburn, dark brown deep chestnut or black
Skin: Bronze, golden brown, beige, ivory, warm beige, deep warm brown, brown-black, peach, or porcelain. (May have freckles.)

You are better off in cool tones if you have…

Eyes: Blue, gray, green, slate, violet.
Hair: Light to medium ash blonde, light to medium ash brown, mousy brown, black, dark brown, medium brown. (with no red tones.)
Skin: Pale beige, porcelain, ivory, pink beige, black, medium beige, cool brown, olive. (with no red tones.)

Not to make this more complicated, but each color family also has lighter colors and darker colors. While you can wear all colors in your family, you will either look better in the lighter or darker tones. Basically, if you have pale skin you will end up looking better in the lighter, more pastel-like colors in your family.

If you have heard anything about colors before, often they are assigned a season. Fall and Spring are part of the warm family, with the spring being the pastel version of the deeper fall shades. Summer and Winter are part of the cool family, with winter being the deeper, jewel tones and summer the pale variety.

What to do once you know your color…

The key to knowing your colors is then to fill your closet with things that in that color family. This helps your personal style in a couple ways.

Everything your closet will be able yo mix and match easier. When things are all in the same color family it is a lot easier to pull outfits together or even pack for vacation.
The clothing you own will flatter you. If every color in your closet fits your skin tone and hair color, you can be sure that these are shades that will makes you look bright and healthy.

But I Want To Wear Colors in the Other Family!

While knowing your color family and buying clothes in that family is a good place to start, this doesn’t mean you can never again wear a color that doesn’t go with your skintone. If you want to wear something from the opposite family, try doing that away from your face, so that you won’t look washed out and tired. I like to bring these colors into my shoes and skirts. Another option could be wearing a top that isn’t your color but off-setting it with a scarf that is in your family and that flatters your face.

Thoughts on color and it’s role in developing your personal style??