Personal Colour Analysis: Recent Episodes
Inside Out Style
Colour and Style hints and tips, from globally award-winning image consultant Imogen Lamport who shares her encyclopaedic knowledge of all things personal style, answers your style and colour questions and wants to help you get up, get dressed, and get out the door looking and feeling fabulous every single day.
In This Episode 0.08 – The thing that holds me back from working on my style is time! Five years of being a full-time caregiver have just ended and I am trying to put my life back together. By necessity, I fell into lots of bad personal care habits and now I would like to…
In This Episode
There are lots of different AI apps appearing these days that will do a colour analysis or shops using AI to tell you what suits your body and what to buy, but there is so much more to these skills than AI currently can do which is why they don't always work as well as advertised. If You’d Like to Define Your Style and Discover Your Colours If you’re sick of wasting money on clothes that don’t work and you know there is a better way, then join my 7 Steps to Style program and get the right information for you and your style. Subscribe to my Podcast You can now get these videos as podcasts subscribe and never miss an episode
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Send me Your Questions Please email me your questions to be included in my Q&A Lucky Dip!
Q 1: Curious how many crossover colors there are amongst your pallets. Or, about how many are shared between them?
Q2: How does your hair colour affect your palette. For example, if I was to return to my white/grey hair back to my original natural dark strawberry blonde/reddy brown colour, would that make me a different palette. I understand that it would affect my contrast but would it mean that I become a different palette? I know lots of people change palette as they grey, and logically it works the other way around too. Today my hair is blue (just for a moment - won't last) and I'm wondering if that affects it too, and how.
Q3: Does having a summer tan/some color allow you to wear higher contrast or darker colors in your pallet if you have a recommendation of overall light?
Q4: If you don't want to match your shoes to your pants or hair, is it best to choose a color that is a skin enhancer or eye enhancer or something else altogether?
Q5:. For a V-shape - is an inner or outer column best? How different can the values be between top and bottom to still be effective but also meet my body shape goals? (lighter on bottom).
If You’d Like to Define Your Style and Discover Your Colours If you’re sick of wasting money on clothes that don’t work and you know there is a better way, then join my 7 Steps to Style program and get the right information for you and your style. Subscribe to my Podcast You can now get these videos as podcasts subscribe and never miss an episode
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Send me Your Questions Please email me your questions to be included in my Q&A Lucky Dip!
In This Episode How do you choose the right new neutrals as the basis of your wardrobe? how do you move from one colour palette to another? Can you wear your navy with warm colours?
One question I'm frequently asked about is how to transition colour palettes as you age (or if you make a radical hair colour change). Ageing softens out colours - so rather than the bright colours of youth, we gently soften down as your hair, skin and eyes lose pigment.
Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe and I got together to discuss our own experiences and hope that our approaches in changing palettes may help you deal with yours. Sadly the video camera that we recorded it on did not focus on us, and we are so fuzzy that it's unwatchable, so instead, I offer you a "podcast" version to listen to instead. If you'd like to download it to listen when you're driving, doing the housework or walking the dog, you can get it on the Castbox app (look for it in your app store - it's available on both IOS and Android)
This is a common issue for many of us as we age and our hair naturally lightens up, and goes "light black" (as my son would call my grey hair when he was a tiny tot and didn't know the word for grey). Even if you add highlights to blend the grey, that's adding more lightness to your overall appearance, and will also change your contrast levels.
Now if you go the whole hog and totally embrace the grey, you will most likely transition palettes. This can mean that your wardrobe of clothes are in colours are no longer as flattering. Give it Time It will take time to transition your wardrobe, both mentally and emotionally, as well as in the physical process of replacing your clothes.
Your colouring doesn't change overnight and neither does the process of changing your wardrobe. It takes years to move from one palette to another and so it's Ok for your wardrobe to take some time too.
It will take you time to adjust mentally and emotionally to your new palette. If you've been wearing the same palette for a decade or longer, it can be really tricky to make a sudden change, to see yourself in a new light, to adjust to this example that you are actually ageing (if this is the reason for the change). It can be a true jolt, a reminder that you don't stay the same your whole life. I know that I am sometimes shocked about looking older, I don't think of myself as old, and yet I'm truly in middle-age. So having a physical reminder of this can be something that takes a lot of time to adjust to.
It's not just a physical thing, there are a lot of psychological aspects that go along with transition. You may be struggling with these aspects and it's important to be kind to yourself. The Best Wardrobes are Built Over Time Making a wholesale change to your wardrobe is difficult, both to find a whole new wardrobe of clothes at one time in the stores, in styles and colours, that fit your style recipe.
Perfect doesn't exist but great is definitely possible - let go of the idea of perfect and accept that perfect may not happen. As long as it's an 8 or more out of 10, then that's perfectly good enough (though your expectations of good enough may also change over time).
Make it as good as you can, without searching for perfect, otherwise, you may end up naked! Tips for Transitioning Colour Palettes 1. Check Your Neutrals Go through your wardrobe - have you already got a bunch of neutrals that are in both palettes? You may be like Jill, where the majority of her neutrals are very similar in both palettes so she already had a good basis for her new palette.
You may be like me - who's old best neutral (black) is now no longer any good, and so I've had to replace my black with white and light grey, but I got to keep a lot of my colours as my intensity didn't change, just my hair (when I went from brunette to blonde).
Start replacing items using your new best neutrals - these are the workhorses of most wardrobes! Make them great ones and they'll carry you through. 2. Add in Pieces in Your New Colours Don't wear a full outfit of your old colours if it feels too radical, instead, start introducing your new colours into outfits, the first element I added into my wardrobe in my softer palette (that I'm currently transitioning to) was a scarf.
Bring in the new colours here and there and gradually over time you'll replace your old palette with the new.
Interweave the new colours in with the old. 3. Let Go of the Least Right A transition can be a great time to let go of what you never really loved anyway. There may be some pieces that you've kept but don't really wear but feel bad about getting rid of because of the "sunk cost", so a change in palette is a great excuse to just let them go without guilt.
Let go of the least right first - this makes it mentally and emotionally much easier. I know when I first got my colours, it made it easy for me to get rid of the too-warm reds, the yellow jumper (what was I thinking) and the camels and tans that I knew never made me feel great. I'd got verification that they were just wrong. 4. Concentrate on Contrast and Signatures Work with your contrast levels - if your value or colour contrast has changed with your changing colours, start wearing your old wardrobe just in new contrast combinations. Colours that aren't quite right never look as wrong when the contrast is great.
Work at creating outfits in your new ideal value - if this is the element that has changed (such as when I went from dark brunette to light blonde - my ideal value flipped and suddenly all my clothes were too dark, I had to learn to lighten up, which is why I first added new good light neutrals in my ideal value, rather than anything else).
Wear your signature colours - replicate your hair colour, eye colour and lip colour in an outfit and you'll always be wearing an outfit that has harmony with you. As you replace items, look for your new signature colours as you'll always look your very best when wearing them (provided of course that you love the styles and shapes too!). If you're not sure of your colour palette you can get this as part of my 7 Steps to Style Program. 5. Don't Bin it, Dye it! So you've gotten rid of the clothes that never felt good on in your wardrobe purge. But how about those items you've loved, those favourites that fit your style recipe and work for your shape. These are the hardest to let go.
I say don't let go! Instead, overdye your colours - dyeing is a great way to keep those favourites in your wardrobe working for you with your new palette. Need to soften down your colours and take away the brightness? This is super easy (get all the details here) and will give your clothes a whole new lease on life.
What tips can you share that have helped you transition palettes? Please do share in the comments! More Tips on Transitioning Palettes and What You Need to Know https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2016/10/everything-you-need-to-know-to-overdye-your-clothes-at-home-and-get-a-brilliant-result.html
https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2017/03/overdyeing-white-beige-navy-orange.html
https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2018/03/adapt-your-style-as-your-rules-change.html
https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2016/08/8-ways-to-update-your-wardrobe.html If You’d Like to Define Your Style and Discover Your Colours If you’re sick of wasting money on clothes that don’t work and you know there is a better way, then join my 7 Steps to Style program and get the right information for you and your style. Subscribe to my Podcast You can now get these videos as podcasts subscribe and never miss an episode
Apple Podcasts Google Play
Stitcher
Send me Your Questions Please email me your questions to be included in my Q&A Lucky Dip!
In this Episode How do you choose your best neutrals? Start with Your Hair Choosing neutrals that are contained in your hair colour is the easiest way to select flattering ones that will work well with you.
Which neutrals to choose? Try Hair Enhancers Choose a hair enhancer - this is a colour that is very similar to your hair colour.
So if you have black or very dark brown hair, black, may be a good neutral, but if you have a mid-brown or lighter coloured hair - then black is not so great for you. Try brown instead, one that is similar in value (darkness) to your hair.
Got red hair? Think cognac or a burnished brown.
Got blonde hair? Then you're looking for a beige or white that most closely matches your hair.
Got grey hair? Then, of course, there will be greys that are your hair enhancers.
Try Hair Intensifiers Another option is to choose an intensifier colour to your hair. This is a colour that intensifies your hair colour - makes it look bolder.
Brown hair is intensified by navy blue.
Red hair is intensified by your deep dark khaki greens.
Neither grey or blonde have intensifiers just because of where they are on the colour wheel (or off it).
Still, not to worry, there are other places you can select great neutrals to flatter you from! Work with Your Eyes Just as you looked for both enhancers and intensifiers for hair neutrals - you can do exactly the same thing for finding your best eye-enhancing or intensifying neutrals.
Brown eyes - browns of course, but look closely - maybe yours have some other neutrals in them as well that you can play with. Enhancers for brown - try navy or sometimes a dark green.
Blue eyes - navy is your go-to neutral - it will always make your eyes pop. Enhancers for blue can be greys or browns.
Green eyes - whatever shade of green they are, look for dark or muted versions of your eye colours - from the warm khaki greens to the deep forest greens depending on your eyes. Your enhancers are deep dark burgundy shades.
Hazel - your eyes have multiple neutralish colours in them - so go for whichever beige, browns and greens make them pop. Simple as That It's not too complex when you think about it in these terms!
Which neutrals will you build your wardrobe around? More Tips on Choosing Neutrals https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2016/09/your-guide-to-wearing-neutrals.html
https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2013/05/reader-question-what-are-neutrals.html
https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2009/05/finding-your-neutrals.html Subscribe to my Podcast You can now get these videos as podcasts subscribe and never miss an episode
Apple Podcasts Google Play Stitcher Send Me Your Colour and Style Questions Please do email me your colour and style questions to answer on upcoming videos!
https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2020/06/why-dont-i-wear-all-the-colours-in-my-palette.html Subscribe to my Podcast You can now get these videos as podcasts subscribe and never miss an episode
Apple Podcasts Google Play Stitcher Send Me Your Colour and Style Questions Please do email me your colour and style questions to answer on upcoming videos!
Have you had a colour analysis and found that the colours that flatter you were not the ones you love? That maybe you have a different undertone, or they are more muted than you have always worn?
Here I'm sharing tips on how to approach a new palette, and why you may have had a different result than you thought. And how you can start playing with your new palette in a way that works for you.
Read the accompanying blog post here. Subscribe to my Podcast You can now get these videos as podcasts subscribe and never miss an episode
Apple Podcasts Google Play Stitcher Send Me Your Colour and Style Questions Please do email me your colour and style questions to answer on upcoming videos!