In part two of Our Lives in Colour, we meet our lovely Autumn, Amanda Devaure-Croft, above, who tells her colour analysis story, and I get to grips with being a Sprinter Winter (!).
In last week's post we met members of the Facebook Kettlewell Colour Club, Regan, Sian and Cheray. They demonstrated with their colourful and very flattering outfits the impact that wearing the right colours can have.
It was also apparent how much colour analysis has moved on from its beginnings in the 1980s. While those being analysed are usually labelled as a particular season, they also find out which spectrum of that season's colours suit them best, and in some cases, what styles to wear for their shape and personality.
Meet Amanda - our vibrant Autumn
Amanda is 41 and comes from Herts in England. She had to give up work two years ago because of chronic health issues, but she used to be a policy analyst and campaigner in the charity sector.
She first tried to analyse her own colours but realised it's hard to see ourselves objectively. She said: "We come to our own image with so many stories about ourselves, memories, judgments and assumptions that we don’t bring when we look at someone else. But the online system I studied taught me a huge amount about colour theory that has helped me apply the results of my in-person analysis really successfully."
Her in-person analysis happened in March 2020 when she met Lindsay Edwards from Colour Me Beautiful, Amanda is a warm, bright and deep in the CMB system, also equivalent to a Vibrant Autumn/Autumn Leaf.
She was relieved to get her 'diagnosis.' "I’d been going round and round in circles trying to decide if I was cool or warm and struggling with different parts of each palette. I thought that because blues really suit me that I must be cool, but have learned that every colour has cool and warm versions.
"Equally, being warm doesn’t mean that all warm colours look equally good on me. I found the ‘warm’colours I was struggling with were either not really warm at all, or were too light, too deep or not rich enough. Discovering my best neutrals are rich browns and khakis was definitely a surprise and has led to quite an overhaul of my wardrobe!"
Amanda agrees that wearing the right colours is transformative. She said: "I had a video call with my Mum the other day and she remarked on how well I looked. That was very much down to the colours I was wearing! She was so happy to see me looking well, as she’s seen me during some very low times.
"No longer working had changed the clothes I was wearing and I missed some of my smarter clothes. The feeling I get when I wear my best colours has meant I no longer want to settle when it comes to style as well.
"After my colour consultation with Lindsay Edwards I did her wardrobe reset challenge and have begun to develop a much more definite style. I wear clothes that I would previously have judged too ‘special’ or ‘dressy’ to wear around the house, because I am starting to feel more like I deserve to look and feel good for myself."
Amanda's Wardrobe and Makeup
Lindsay recommended online colour specialist retailer
Kettlewell Colours to Amanda but she wasn't keen to start with, thinking it was for older women. "I'm pleased to say I was wrong. Kettlewell has such a vibrant range of colours that are hard to find on the high street and which bring real flair to my wardrobe."
She has eight tops, one jacket, two scarves and a velvet skirt just bought in the sale. (I have three of those!).
Amanda has modified her makeup now that she knows her best colours. "I've switched to a peachier toned blusher and brown mascara, but the biggest change is lipstick. I’ve learned that lipstick makes a huge difference to balancing out my look. I also need much bolder lip colours that I typically wore. From rarely wearing lipstick I now feel naked without it!"
My own journey to Sprinter Winter
When I first had my colours "done" in the 1980s, CMB told me I was a spring who could wear some of the winter colours. This made sense to me because I loved the spring peaches and salmons, poppy red and green, and also winter's black, white and fuchsia. A few years later at a women's development course, House of Colour struggled to place me but eventually said I was a summer, and also a "gamine" in terms of style.
The latter made sense because I love quirky little touches - my shoes and boots! - sailor suits, Peter Pan collars, coloured and patterned tights. But the summer assessment didn't really work because most of the shades are too muted for me.
A couple of years ago
Pamela Graham gave me a very comprehensive online analysis and said I was a Bright (clear) Light, which again means a combination of spring and winter. The brightest and clearest colours of those two seasons work best for me and give me contrast.
The Kettlewell site has some great blog posts about understanding tonal nuances, and I understand now that I'm a "sprinter winter," you guessed it, a combination of spring and winter. The cooler shades suit me better than the peaches and salmons of my early twenties, because then I had naturally dark hair and my skin tone was more olive then (or was it just too much fake tan?!).
I've always worn and enjoyed my spring colours, and in particular
green. I am a devotee of
pink, as regular readers will know, and also
lilac.
Blue has always eluded me. I don't like navy blue, and cobalt has always seemed a bit too full-on. But I recently bought a Chinese Blue infinity scarf from Kettlewell, and I love it. A blue that actually suits me!
As bright winter colours are quite full-on, you don't want to layer them up too much, so I used shades of white with my scarf (white being a winter colour). In an ideal world I would have a contrasting bag and maybe a blue belt, but I've only recently started this new odyssey.
Shades of bright pink have always been popular with me - see my
Kettlewell faux fur gilet here -plus more pink
here and
here. It wasn't a surprise that the winter shade fuchsia would suit me. When I wear the right colours, my eyes, which sometimes appear a muddy grey, become jewel bright. Just wearing a fuchsia lipstick - Lisa Eldridge's Velvet Carnival - makes my face come alive.
I've recently bought this silky scoop top from Kettlewell in fuchsia looks dramatic worn with black and white.
I'm looking forward to the new season at Kettlewell as I'm keen to discover some of my "new" Sprinter colours, in particular light emerald, lime, silver, dove grey, ice lavender and acid yellow.
I hope the two posts on colour have inspired you to try some new shades and to experience the mood lifting qualities that bright colours bring.
Let me know in the comments if you have your eye on any particular colours for spring. I'm feeling attracted to yellow so I'm eagerly awaiting an acid yellow top from Kettlewell.
Sharing this post with #OnMondaysWeLinkUp at Glass of Glam, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #LinkupOnTheEdge at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings, Thursday Moda at Elegance and Mommyhood, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, Style with a Smile at Stylesplash, Style Six at Coast to Coast, TFF at Doused in Pink, Fancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion Style, #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb, Lizzie in Lace and Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaire, Beauty by Miss L, Rena at Fine Whatever, Fabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi
Now it's time for #WowOnWednesday, where bloggers find new readers, and readers find new blogs to read!
Last week's favourite posts
Michelle's post "
Being fifty and fab: January" was very popular. Michelle, from Fifty and Fab, gave a round-up of what she's been reading, wearing and doing.
Isn't it fun what color can do for you! Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteLove that blue scarf Gail ��
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