My Personal Colors
A reader asks:
So… what are your personal colors? Do you narrow it down to 3 or 4? Do you add a funky trendy piece in a new color every once in a while?
A good question. I’ve talked around it, mentioning my signature color and the fact that I build my color scheme on my own personal coloring and lots of other color stuff, but I don’t know that I’ve ever just come right out and told you what colors I wear. So here it is:
- I swing wide through the coral pinks, wearing everything from peach to true pink and from an icy pale tint to an almost brown burgundy. Coral is my summer bright.
- Brown is an easy basic. I have begun to stay with shade of either rosy brown or balanced brown (now that my hair is silver, my coloring is overall a bit cooler than when I was younger). Included in this color category are the very light tints of brown, like the safari jacket pictured here.
- Gray. I LOVE a particular shade of pewter which is challenging to find, and charcoal heather is a winter staple.
- Primarily used individually as accents in my wardrobe, I’m learning to work more with black and white together.
That’s pretty much it. And jeans, of course, three quarters of the year. These colors form the back-bone of my wardrobe and are the ones I would systematically plan and shop for.
Sure, I venture into other colors from time to time, especially when thrifting. A funky, trendy piece in a new color? Hmmm, maybe not the best. How about a funky, trendy piece in a basic color? Or a funky, trendy color in a tee-shirt?
Very similar to my own colours, but I have blues instead of pinks. In fact it was reading your blog that gave me “permission” to focus on a personal palette and it has been great! My question is… what colour shoes do you wear with grey? I gave up wearing navy because it is so darn hard to find shoes that go. I have a lot of brown shoes and wear mostly denim, brown, blue and some olive green accessories. I have black and grey for dressier occasions (but would like to wear grey more often) and a few pairs of black shoes. Are there other shoe choices?
Your method of coming up with a personal color scheme has been one important influence on my thinking about color, as I’ve narrowed from trying to “incorporate more color” to sticking to a simpler palette.
Eye color + (black or white) looks flattering on a lot of people (I do black shirts with teal stripes, when it’s not so hot here).
I’m a huge fan of corals. And denim. And black and white and gray and brown. Hey, I’d love to get your opinion on a post of mine. Trying to figure out why I don’t like this skirt I just bought. It’s not really my typical look, but I thought I could pull it off. Until I tried it on, and now I’m not so sure. Should I venture out, or stay in my comfort zone? (I’m much more prone to wear pencil skirts.)
All colors are okay with me actually except, I don’t know why but I seem not to like the color violet.
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