You may have noticed that lately I’ve been basing garment purchases on colors that I’ve fallen in love with and letting style take a back seat. Of course, once I get home and study myself wearing the new garment, style climbs back into the driver’s seat. This isn’t a problem that only busty women have, but it’s certainly one we can relate to: finding a garment that fits us in a flattering style and color.
Fit is always my first priority, but after that, I tend to choose flattering style over flattering color. This has led to such a boring color palette in my closet that it’s no wonder I was vulnerable to a gorgeous terracotta and rich purple.
The rich purple reminded me of a list of colors that 90% of the population can wear well. They are called Universal Colors, and usually there is one or two in each season’s trend colors:
- soft white (close to ivory)
- warm pink
- watermelon red (the darkest part of a slice of watermelon)
- bright burgundy
- medium grey
- medium turquoise
- teal
- periwinkle blue
- medium violet
- medium denim
(Thank you to Carol Davidson, my Introduction to Image Consulting instructor, for sharing these.)
During my image consulting class, I matched this list with paint chip cards from Home Depot with mixed success. Understanding colors is an ongoing process for me (I’m still trying to figure out if last week’s purple qualifies as a “medium violet”), and if it’s the same for you, I hope that you can use this list as a tool during the upcoming seasons.
It’s hard to believe, but right now clothing manufacturers are deciding the colors that you will see on the racks in Fall/Winter 2013/14. I met my friend Liz for dinner last night (she creates active wear for tall women) just after she attended a color seminar at the Texworld fabric trade show. It was fun–and totally confusing–to pore over the theme and color cards she’d received. It was also overwhelming. I wish I could tell you more about them, but the only one I remember is a neon peachy/nude.
Here’s hoping that with each new season, you’re able to find something that checks off all three boxes for you: fit, style AND color.
You aren’t thinking about adding colors to your shirts by any chance, are you? 😉
I’m horrid at colors. Although, I have found that to my surprise my favorite lingerie set in terms of coloration against my skin in my white Portia with the light pink ribbons. Pastels seem to work well for me, something I never quite figured out before. However, it seems to be quite tricky to actually find any in practice, most places tend to carry more jewel-toned colors lately.
So nice of you to take the time to comment when I know how crazy busy you are. I’m definitely thinking about adding colors, beginning w/ a French blue. I’m waiting for my first production sample to arrive any day.
That’s interesting about not being able to find pastels because now that I think of it, I don’t notice them anywhere either!