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colour Archives - Signature Five - A Personal Styling Service, Zurich

Mar 16 2021
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Common colour questions

Common colour questions answered

By | Colour Consultation

As a Personal Stylist I find myself answering a lot of the same colour questions when I’m working with clients.

And that got me thinking. If most of my clients have these same questions, then it stands to reason that you might have them too!

So, I thought it would be helpful to take a look at the most common ones I’m asked and answer them for you.

Are you ready? Great, let’s get started!

Q: I’ve been told not to wear black, but I love black. Do you have any advice?

A: More often than not, if you’re Caucasian and have had a colour consultation, you’ll be told black is a colour you should stay away from because it can be quite harsh. While this might be true if you’re pale skinned, it doesn’t mean you can’t wear black. If you love black then by all means wear it!

With colour analysis, we find out which colours bring harmony and balance to your physical characteristics. Certain colours will be too strong or harsh, but there are ways you can make a colour more balanced and harmonised, even if it isn’t in your colour palette.

Remember, the number one priority is that a colour should give you confidence regardless whether it’s in your palette or not. As long as you feel good, you’re going to look good.

Here are a few tricks to make black work for you:

  1. Put something close to your face, like a necklace or scarf, in a colour that works well for you. This will immediately make black look better.
  2. Be sure to wear some makeup because black can be a little draining on your face.  It doesn’t need to be a lot, just a little blusher and lipstick will bring more colour to your skin.
  3. If you wear a black top, try to opt for a V-neck or low neckline. This will allow your natural skin tone to reflect against your face.
  4. Wear different textures of black. This creates some fun and makes your outfit a little more interesting.

Q: Which colours are slimming?

A: While many believe black is the most slimming colour, this is not 100% true.

The main thing that will make you look slimmer is well fitted clothes that work for your body shape and create feminine lines. Often people think wearing loose baggy black clothes will give a slimmer appearance. Actually it has the opposite effect.

While darker colours can make us appear slimmer, it doesn’t mean that these are the only options. I always tell my clients first and foremost to wear clothes that fit them well. Then I encourage them to highlight their assets and draw attention there.

If you want to detract attention from certain areas of your body darker colours can help, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be black. Also wearing different shades of the same colour can be slimming.

Q: I love bright colours but I’m too scared to add them to my wardrobe. How do I know what colours to add?

A: Before adding bright colours into your wardrobe, make sure you have your neutrals and core colours covered.

If you’re a novice with wearing colour then add it in a little at a time. You could start with trying different coloured scarves and jewellery and see how you feel.

Next, try a blocked colour you love in a basic item (like a t-shirt) and see how that makes you feel. Then team this up with neutral or core coloured pieces. I advise only adding 2 or 3 accent colours in your wardrobe rather than having a whole array. Too many can start to make combining outfits a little tricky.

If you feel you’d really like a second opinion, my advice would be to get help from a colour expert. You can find one on the Colour Me Beautiful website or, of course, you’re very welcome to get in touch and book a colour consultation with me.

Q: How should I combine colours?

A: There are many ways to combine colours. The best thing to do is experiment and see what you feel comfortable with, because it also depends on your style personality.

Here are a few ways to consider…

Go monochromatic! If you don’t feel confident mixing completely different colours, then start by working with one colour and wearing different shades of it. I talk more about monochromatic dressing in my blog, ‘How to Add More Colour into Your Wardrobe’.

Mix colour with core classic items. For example, you can generally put any colour with a good old pair of jeans. Or a classic white t-shirt worn with bright coloured bottoms also works.

Get familiar with a colour wheel. If you’d like to be more adventurous with wearing colours, then the colour wheel can be a really great tool.

In essence, colours next to each other on the wheel can be combined together, and colours that are opposite work well together too. But just remember, try not to wear more than 3 colours at a time. I personally don’t like to wear more than 2 shades together, but that’s just my personal preference.

I hope this short Q&A has been helpful and has cleared up a few of your colour related questions, and if you have any more please feel free to reach out and ask me.

If you’d like to book a colour consultation and move into Spring knowing your perfect shades, get in touch – I’d love to support you.

Dec 16 2020
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Add more colour

How to add more colour into your wardrobe

By | Colour Consultation

Quite often at this time of year we instinctively opt for a darker colour palette or earthy tones with our clothes.

But here’s a fun fact for you, wearing colour influences your emotions and can make you happier (I talk more about this in my blog ‘Colour is Your Superpower‘)! According to Dove research, 79% of women shy away from bright colours because of a lack of body confidence – a statistic that makes me feel really sad to be honest!

More than anything I want women to learn to embrace their beautiful bodies, feel happy and confident in their skin and find ways to introduce more vibrancy into their wardrobes so their personalities can shine brightly.

Introducing colour to your wardrobe

So, how can you introduce more colour into your wardrobe in a way that helps you to build your confidence?

Let’s take a look at some options…

  1. If you shy away from colour but would love to add a dash of it to your look, a great way is with your accessories. Adding a vibrant shade of shoe or boot, handbag or even some jewellery, makes a beautiful statement against darker clothing.
  2. Scarves are a fantastic option for adding tone, print and texture to an outfit. There are so many different lengths, thicknesses and fabrics to choose from and a variety of interesting ways to wear this versatile accessory.
  3. If you know a certain silhouette works for your body shape, why not buy that style in a shade that compliments you. For example, if you have a dress that fits you perfectly and makes you feel great, buy it in one or two different colours that you know work for you.
  4. Experimenting with patterns or prints can be an easy way to introduce colour into your wardrobe. It’s not about going completely OTT and wearing patterns and/or prints from head to toe (unless you want to of course!). You can bring them in with a beautiful shirt, dress or scarf. The most important thing is finding a pattern that makes you feel good.
  5. Your beauty routine is another avenue for adding colour, with a splash on lips and nails – it’s easy and effective and makes a stylish and feminine impact.

Combining colour

If you’re feeling a little more confident and are ready to take things a step further, look at ways you can combine colours.

Here are a few different ways to do this:

Monochrome

A misconception about monochrome dressing is that it just means wearing black or white. But actually, a monochromatic look is all about picking one colour and then wearing different shades or tints of it in separate pieces to create an overall look. This way of using colours can be very chic and also slimming.

The great thing about a monochromatic look is that it will work with virtually any colour. When it’s done well, this look can be just as show stopping as a patterned dress or statement piece.

Mixing colours

When it comes to mixing colours, the best way to understand which ones complement each other is to look at a colour wheel. You then select colours that are opposite each other on the wheel.

This is known as colour blocking, which can be a really fun and vibrant way to express your style personality. It’s also a very flattering way to wear colour because darker blocks can hide areas you aren’t so happy with, while the vibrant colours can attract attention to areas you want to show off.

If you’re wearing a print or a pattern, you can use the colours as inspiration for introducing another colour. For example, if you’re wearing a patterned blouse, take a colour from the blouse and match your skirt in that colour.

Always remember, the golden rule when it comes to mixing colour is don’t mix more than 3 at a time.

I hope this has given you some inspiration and confidence to start having fun with using colour.

If you really find it hard to put colours together, why not get in touch and book a colour consultation for next year – I’d love to help you look and feel vibrant and confident.

Nov 27 2020
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Pink Colour Shirt

Colour is Your Superpower

By | Colour Consultation

When I first started Signature Five, I had no intention of also being a colour consultant. My mission was to help professional women find their Signature Style, love their clothes and feel confident in what they wear.

I also wanted to help women simplify their choices in the morning by wearing clothes that not only flatter them, but allow them to simply and easily create stylish combinations.

With a background as a fashion buyer, putting colours together came quite naturally to me. Rather than using a colour concept with my clients, I followed my instinct with what I felt suited them. Having worked for global brands, I understood how colour reflects on different skin tones. For example, with a warm undertone to the skin warmer colours work better, and with a cool undertone it’s cooler ones.

The power of colour

I finally decided to train with Colour Me Beautiful, even though I initially felt it was slightly outdated and from a different era. However, I quickly realised that colour really can be a woman’s superpower!

As part of the training we all had our colour analysis done. I was surprised to see how different colours looked on me. Certain shades balanced and harmonized my skin tone and made it look more even, whereas other ones created shadows on my face.

“Colour really can be a woman’s superpower”

Another interesting aspect was the way certain colours made me feel. With red against my skin I naturally felt more confident and sexier, and the same with navy and neutrals. These are definitely my go-to colours. On the flip side I  saw how another of my favourites, light grey, didn’t really work so well for my skin tone.

I’m sure you’ve also experienced this when you’ve tried on certain colours and seen the effect they have on your skin tone; they either drain us or make us glow. We usually have an inkling as to which colours work best for us, yet sometimes we still wear ones that highlight certain things we might want to cover such as wrinkles and dark circles.

Colour characteristics

Colour Me Beautiful is based on the Munsell Colour System. I won’t go into all the history, but in brief, it was developed by an American artist, Albert Munsell, in 1988 and is now the most used and widely accepted colour measurement system. The system is based on three characteristics: Hue, Value and Chroma.

During your colour analysis I find your dominant characteristics and then your secondary and tertiary. By the end you have 42 swatches that best fit your characteristics. It’s nice to know its 42, but I do feel that having all these colours in your wardrobe can be slightly overwhelming. It can also end up making you look like a walking rainbow, and we definitely don’t want that!

“There are no rules to say you can’t wear certain colours”

So, I like to keep it simple and practical. With my clients I split their pallet into neutrals that best suit them, then their core colours, plus 2-3 accent colours. This simplification makes it easier to add additional colour to their wardrobe. The neutrals are brought into their foundation pieces and then we build from there.

What I want you to understand though is that there are no rules to say you can’t wear certain colours. Anyone can wear any colour they want. The most important thing is that you feel confident and comfortable wearing it. Colours are a wonderful thing that are there to be embraced, enjoyed, and used to help you stand out because you know you look and feel great.

Wearing the right colours can…

  1. Make you look younger
  2. Give you a natural glow
  3. Help you feel confident
  4. Make you stand out and get noticed and
  5. If you’re a business owner it can help make your brand stand out.

Colours make a difference

It’s amazing the many ways that colour can make a difference and influence our lives and environment.

It can elevate your style

One of the easiest and fastest ways to transform a plain outfit into something more exciting, is to simply add a little bit of colour. It also creates versatility. Once you know what silhouettes suit you, you can add colour to create more options in your wardrobe.

Colour influences

Colour can be used as a tool to express who you are and to influence others. It not only invokes feelings in you as the wearer but also in others when they look at you! You can make a statement about yourself by using colour. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or work in corporate, colour can be used to give you a distinctive personal brand.

Draw attention to your assets

By cleverly wearing colour on parts of your body that you like, you can instantly draw attention there and away from areas that you’d prefer to disguise!

Colour creates emotions

Colour not only affects your physical appearance, but also your emotional state too. Wearing the right colours can help to create a happier, more empowered mood, but wearing colours that drag you down can also have the opposite effect.

It’s your superpower

In the workplace, you can use colour to your advantage. It can help you stand out from a sea of blues, blacks, and greys, and can also give you the edge at interviews. As more of us are continuing to work from home and spend time on video conferencing calls, colour is a great tool to help you be more visible on screen.

It can also affect how others perceive you. For example, wearing navy and black can convey authority or simply make the wearer seem less approachable .

Overall, knowing what colours work for you can help you have a clearer and more decisive wardrobe. It can also take the frustration out of shopping when there is so much choice out there.

I will end here with one of my favourite quotes…

“The best colour in the whole world is one that looks best on you” ~ Coco Chanel

If you feel a little in the dark about which colours suit you best book a ‘Refresh Your Style & Colour’ call. I have two spots left and I’d love to work with you.