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Do you really know what colour suits you?

(39 Posts)
rosesarered Thu 09-Jan-14 11:50:48

Mostly I find that I buy clothes in the right colour for me, but now and then make a mistake [we all have clothes lurking in the back of the wardrobe that are either fashion or colour mistakes] I read recently that you should hold the garment up to your face[in the shop] just below the chin,and look in the mirror to tell if you have picked a good colour for yourself. It doesn't matter about hair colour, it's the skin tone [which fades as we age.]

glammanana Thu 09-Jan-14 12:05:08

Most of my clothes are black but I have a vast amount of brightly coloured scarves which ring the changes,I did the scarf test a few years ago and worked out the colours that suit me and it seems that cerise/red/deep oranges go well for me.I change the tone of my moisturiser/foundation according to the time of year along with my eyeliner/lipsticks lighter shades in summer and darker in winter and it seems to suit me fine.

kittylester Thu 09-Jan-14 14:41:15

I too have loads of black clothes with scarves, beads and cardigans to 'lift them'. I would love to have my colours done but live in fear of finding that the pinks and purples that I have are all wrong. shock

LyndaW Thu 09-Jan-14 14:48:40

Agreed. My accessories are what change my outfits. I'm sure it would have been worth it to get 'my colours done' about 20 years ago but not sure if there's much point now. No doubt I'd end up having to throw out half my wardrobe! I think a good hairdo helps 'make' most outfits anyway. Would rather spend time and money on that.

MrsJamJam Thu 09-Jan-14 15:26:25

I had mycolours 'done' many years ago. All the things in my wardrobe that I loved were the 'right' colours, all those amazingly cheap sale buys that I never seemed to wear were the wrong colours. It was a real eye opener and a good excuse to purge a lot of mistakes. I think I have avoided making as many disasters since then.

Nonu Thu 09-Jan-14 15:41:34

just musing, do they still DO colours ?
smile

Ana Thu 09-Jan-14 15:47:09

Colour me Beautiful still seems to be going strong, Nonu.

FlicketyB Thu 09-Jan-14 16:07:51

I never wear black. It makes me look as if I am attending my own funeral, likewise green and purple and, often blue. Look best in rich autumn colour, browns and yellows and jewel bright colours like cherry, scarlet and fuchsia

Soutra Thu 09-Jan-14 17:25:22

I once had my colours "done" which was a pleasant experience but told me little I didn't know already. However I was told in no uncertain terms that the 3 colours I should NOT wear next to my face are grey, black and "sludge" - guess what colours I am drawn to in shops and wear a lot of?
I am trying to make a real effort to wear more bright colours this winter and lots of scarves. I love coloured gloves (red leather mostly but also a very posh pair of royal blue leather with red, orange and bright blue gussets between the fingers) and when it gets cold enough to get the boots out, they are red too.
I think you can tell what suits you or rather what doesn't as those are the clothes that sit in the wardrobe unworn.

janerowena Thu 09-Jan-14 17:30:30

I can't wear black unless I have a scarf to take it away from my face, and the same goes for pure white, but I can wear any grey, navy or dark brown or cream. I am quite fair and used to be a strawberry blonde. However I did once go to a market, about fifteen years ago, in a new charcoal wool coat (also with bright scarf) and a woman rushed over to me from her stall and said 'You must never wear grey! All your friends won't like you on the days when you wear grey!' so I have worn it just as much, but wait for someone to tell me that they don't like me in it. It still hasn't happened.

I think different colours suit me on different days. I love grey-blues and soft aquas, all pinks and purples and mauves, soft and lime greens but not emerald, bright reds and clear pale blues. Not orange or yellow or bright greens, but my mother, who is dark, kept on trying to dress me in them when I was young and then would look at me in a puzzled fashion, she just couldn't understand why the colours she loved looked so wrong on me.

Nonu Thu 09-Jan-14 17:35:50

ANA , Thanks however whether they will be here in the "sticks" is a different matter !

Galen Thu 09-Jan-14 17:41:41

I think I'm summer. Tend to wear blues a lot but not pink.

Mishap Thu 09-Jan-14 17:45:47

White and pale pink/lilac are my two favourite colours. Never black (unless concert dress). I have very dark hair and a sallow skin and I look seriously ill without some white near my face.

Stansgran Thu 09-Jan-14 17:48:50

Soutra I think we have the same gloves. I have plum ,orange and pale blue suede ones as well as the multi coloured ones which my grandson preferred as he didn't like holding hands but would hold onto a certain colour. It's worth remembering that skin colour changes.. I have a friend who had her colours done about 40years ago and she is still wearing those colours, bright greens and reds which now drain her face.

dustyangel Thu 09-Jan-14 18:09:53

I had my colours done many years ago too. It all made sense at the time and I could instinctively pick out the colours that suited me best. It's all a bit different now though and at 70 I definitely need softer colours.

I still buy a foundation from Colour me Beautiful on line.

Soutra Thu 09-Jan-14 18:31:57

Stansgran - "Mywalit"?? Mine were a present from DD for having the boys for the weekend when she and SIL went to Florence for a wedding!! I notice she has bought herself one of their bags (serious ££££ in my book!)

NannaAnna Thu 09-Jan-14 19:08:02

I had my colours done a few years ago with 'House of Colours'.
As others have said above, I found that I tended to already wear 'my' colours on the whole.
I was told 2 things:
1) Anyone can wear any colour - it's the tone that matters.
2) Almost no-one should wear black or white. Only 'Winter' types can carry it off.
Shame my new job requires an all-black uniform hmm I'm wearing bright necklaces to offset it!
I am a 'Blue Spring' apparently!

oznan Thu 09-Jan-14 19:08:04

I also had my colours done years ago,most of them were what I wore anyway,even black!As I've got older(59),the best tip I've been given is to swap black for French navy,it is less harsh against skin and still looks chic

rosesarered Thu 09-Jan-14 20:55:33

It seems as if a lot of you had your colours 'done'. I haven't but mostly I seem to pick what's right, never black [shudder, even with scarf I look like corpse] never white , but a fairly pale palette of colours on the whole, but red, especially cherry red suits me.I like pale grey, and navy too.Never ever beige that killer of a colour! blues and turquoises mixed together look good too, and happily there has been a lot of those colours around lately.I look yukky in purple, khaki, sludge or any murky colours as I am fair skinned.Find it hard to get clothes I like in Winter, but plenty in Summer.I try and avoid looking at racks of sale stuff as it distracts me and I have never bought anything good from them .Don't have the chutzpah to buy red boots like you Soutra but I do like scarves of all kinds and always have even when I was young and scarves were not in fashion really, didn't have much money and a scarf in that Season's colour could lift an outfit.

POGS Fri 10-Jan-14 00:15:06

I love black and mauves' heathers' burnt orange suit me well too.

Am I alone in a beautiful flower pattern on me looks like an orchard. I simply cannot take it being an obese elf. smile

kittylester Fri 10-Jan-14 09:32:52

Me too Pogs grin

Anyway, surely we are all of an age when we should have graduated to beige. grin

Actually, I am beige so need to wear something that isn't. smile

rosesarered Fri 10-Jan-14 09:52:20

NEVER beige! It's an awful colour on anyone.Patterns are a whole different ball game aren't they? Standing in the shop musing as to which pattern you can get away with?I am obese elf too POGS but as I quite like a patterned bit of clothing now and again usually buy patterned Summer dresses, as I seem to get away with the all over look as opposed to the top or skirt.Awful patterns around though, all the birds animals etc or gigantic flowers like something from Victorian wallpaper.

Iam64 Fri 10-Jan-14 10:13:34

I don't like the word beige, it sounds so, well beige, but I love pale fawns, light browns - does that mean beige…..

rosesarered Fri 10-Jan-14 10:24:27

Iam64 consider yourself 'outed' as a closet beige fan! grin

Iam64 Fri 10-Jan-14 12:30:20

I checked my (closet) jumper shelf - dark blue, black, bright purple, grey, red, and 2 beige, one with pearl buttons and the other with a very nice neck line. If I described the 2 light ones as camel, would that be a more positive choice. I have long yearned for one of those expensive camel coats, that seem to see women through years of cold winters. Not beige then, camel