The phenomenal seasonal color analysis system originated in the 1920s through home economics university classes. In the 1970s books began to appear about how to identify the most flattering colors to wear, and in 1980 Carole Jackson released Color Me Beautiful. Her seasonal color analysis method set off a firestorm of excitement about personal color. Interest in personal color analysis has since settled down, but it has never faded away. Wonderful, older and newer books on seasonal analysis are still available at Barnes & Noble and Borders book stores.
People can become very passionate about color, and if they've invested time, energy and money into exploring the 12-palette seasonal color analysis method, they can become strongly opinionated, so we might as well jump into the deep end of the subject.
First of all, let me say I don't view seasonal color analysis as the definitive solution... A recent quote by Anna Villaruel of The Chic Fashionista reported one of the flaws, "because ethnic women have less variation in hair and eye color, the Carole Jackson system often leaves out Latinos, Asians, Africans and Mediterraneans," In walking her readers through seasonal analysis, Anna begins by stating, "Seasonal color analysis can be a little bit tricky to understand..."
I found that to be an understatement. In fact, I find the process to be impossible. There can be no certain conclusion. Words that came to mind as I read through the analysis process were "ambiguity," "opinion," "subjectivity," "complexity," "imprecision," "uncertainty," "guessing," "frustration," "undefined terms" and "maze." (Yes, some of these words are redundant, but they came to mind, nonetheless.) I believe that reasonable people could very easily arrive at different conclusions about an individual's proper category placement with the seasonal approach to personal color analysis.
Look at some of Anna's phrases which are designed to guide a person in deciding whether she/he is a Light, Clear or Warm Spring: "if you're a Spring you probably have..." "warm in complexion, but...brighter with light to medium color intensity" "light blond, medium brown, golden or reddish highlights" "golden or peachy undertones" "your colors are hard to find because they can never be muted or too dark" "you should choose colors that are 'alive' with a hint of gold--meaning balance between muted and dark" "if you get tanned you can wear the lime green and sometimes some of the Autumn colors" "the same thing happens if you dye your hair darker" "lighter or darker eye color" And to help identify Clear Springs, look for skin tone that is "bronze, deep warm brown, brown-black, light peach or porcelain."
A gorgeous color fan of "accurate quality color swatches" is available for purchase once a person has identified their proper seasonal category. My question is, accurate by what standard?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
48.Complementary Color Scheme, W3 Palette Colors
Color harmony need not be a mystery. With color quantification computer technology
and the simple system of palette organization provided by MyBestColors.com, you
can know for yourself what colors create a true harmony. This frees you up to
enjoy color, focus on style, and shop with renewed confidence. [The colors below are from a First Edition palette.]
Friday, July 29, 2011
47. It's All About Contrast
A customer wrote, "Originally when I was color-typed I was given the Winter season (Color Me A Season Snowfrost Winter to be exact). Those shades have worked for me very well over the years. Are the colors in the C2 [First Edition] color chart vibrant enough? If not, I may have to consider ordering another chart. When I checked my skin tone with the L'Oreal foundation, the C2 matched my skin perfectly. I saw the C2 color sampling on your blog and it left me with concerns the shades might be too dull for me."
MyBestColors.com: ...the C2 (and all MyBestColors.com) color palettes have a great variety of colors ranging from soft to strong. The recent blog entries just happen to be working with softer selections. Be assured that if your skin tone closely matches the C2 skin tone, your palette of 620 [380, 2012] colors will be very beautiful on you.
As the color palettes progress from those for lighter skin tones toward those for darker ones, (C1, C2, C3...C8) the nature of the color collection changes. The colors progress toward more dark color options, and towards stronger possible contrasts between colors. Each palette is absolutely unique.
For a moment, I want you to ignore the 3 color swatches (upper left) with an asterisk. Notice how much lighter the overall effect of the color palette is, and how much less contrast is present within that page of colors than in the color selection at the upper right for a dark skin toned person. On the upper right page you will notice that there are more dark colors, a greater range from light to dark, and a greater range from dull to bright. Subsequently, there is more HVC (hue, value, chroma) contrast available between the colors on that page.
People with a dark skin tone have naturally high color contrast between their skin color and the white of their teeth and eyes. These people come into focus when they are also wearing a high contrast range of color on their person.
People with a light skin tone usually have a naturally low color contrast between their skin color and their hair, eyebrow color, or eye color. These people need to wear colors that have a similar contrast range in order to bring them into focus. However, some people with a light skin tone also have very dark hair, eyebrow, or eye color. In this case, they would allow the color swatches marked with an asterisk into their palette.
Please avail yourself of the earlier blog entries dating back to 2010 for more complete explanations of this brilliant new personal color analysis system.
MyBestColors.com: ...the C2 (and all MyBestColors.com) color palettes have a great variety of colors ranging from soft to strong. The recent blog entries just happen to be working with softer selections. Be assured that if your skin tone closely matches the C2 skin tone, your palette of 620 [380, 2012] colors will be very beautiful on you.
As the color palettes progress from those for lighter skin tones toward those for darker ones, (C1, C2, C3...C8) the nature of the color collection changes. The colors progress toward more dark color options, and towards stronger possible contrasts between colors. Each palette is absolutely unique.
For a moment, I want you to ignore the 3 color swatches (upper left) with an asterisk. Notice how much lighter the overall effect of the color palette is, and how much less contrast is present within that page of colors than in the color selection at the upper right for a dark skin toned person. On the upper right page you will notice that there are more dark colors, a greater range from light to dark, and a greater range from dull to bright. Subsequently, there is more HVC (hue, value, chroma) contrast available between the colors on that page.
People with a dark skin tone have naturally high color contrast between their skin color and the white of their teeth and eyes. These people come into focus when they are also wearing a high contrast range of color on their person.
People with a light skin tone usually have a naturally low color contrast between their skin color and their hair, eyebrow color, or eye color. These people need to wear colors that have a similar contrast range in order to bring them into focus. However, some people with a light skin tone also have very dark hair, eyebrow, or eye color. In this case, they would allow the color swatches marked with an asterisk into their palette.
Please avail yourself of the earlier blog entries dating back to 2010 for more complete explanations of this brilliant new personal color analysis system.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
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