The Space Between My Peers

Since this has been a print week and Coutorture has photos available from Oscar’s Resort ‘09 collection, and Dior Cruise ‘09 too, I thought we’d take a look at some prints, Fashion Lab-style.

Compare the use of scale in these first two.  Who is flattered and who is just plain overwhelmed?

In this second set, in addition to scale, we can study line movement and especially direction.  (Also note that the deep, square neckline, which is visually in balance, acts kind of as a solid to separate the print from the face.)

Just for fun, here’s thumbnails of some more pictures.

Which is your favorite look? That last picture is me. 

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As long as we’re talking about solids vs prints …

In my previous post on selecting prints in scale with your facial features, I also recommend harmonizing the amount of “background” to the print with the amount of space around the features. Background space can be adapted by simply combining a small bit of a print with a larger expanse of solid.

Three other considerations in selecting prints:

1. line movement: at its simplest, this is simply asking are the lines in the print curved or straight?
2. line direction: consider also whether the print elements create a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal feel (not all do).
3. line clarity: I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this. Take a look in the mirror. Are the edges of your features clearly defined or do they blend into your face? (I suspect this as the reason I don’t wear lipstick well.)

Remember, there is a great deal of room for creativity in applying any of these principles. In other words, don’t hurt yourself trying to figure out whether your eyes are round or almond-shaped. Try both and wear what you like.  And have fun!

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The main fashion take-away for my 18 year-old from our Italy trip? They didn’t wear many prints. She kept commenting on how much easier coordinating outfits would be if prints weren’t in the picture. (I told her with her idiom she’d be better off learning to mix prints and go for the trendy Dutch style we also saw.)

Do you wonder what place prints should occupy in your wardrobe?

• If you prefer solids, I noticed the Italians mixed textures and details into their ensembles, thereby keeping them from looking boring.
• A simple way to keep from having to mix prints: use them in only one part of the wardrobe, for example tops and blouses. Or suits and jackets. Or skirts and pants (my preference).
• Want to wear multiple prints? Pattern-mixing advice from “The Prince of Chintz”, famous interior designer Mario Buatta, via Sensational Color:

start with a biggest pattern first and then add all the other elements based off of the colors in the largest pattern chosen

This technique is illustrated in detail in a tutorial at Vintage Threads.

Are you a print person or a solid person? As the weather warms up I am drawn to more prints, but solids remain the backbone of my wardrobe.

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 I skipped posting for Teen-style Tuesday in order to spend time with my parents, who were in town to attend the annual Semi-Casual banquet (my older daughter was one of the special honorees this year).  Mom took this picture.

About my outfit:

• Mom bought me the safari style jacket for Christmas. 
• Same pants I wore last year. 
• Same shoes I wore the year before.

At the last minute, in order to more accurately repeat the contrast in my own coloring, thereby creating a more flattering ensemble, I selected the brown gingham check camp shirt. 

It’s also the humor in this outfit.  What’s so funny, you ask?  When I was small, back in the day when brown was the “in” color, my sister and I had gingham dresses.  Mine was brown.  Trouble was, I always thought that brown dress meant I was boring; which faulty thinking became known as the “brown dress syndrome”.  As an adult, though, I realized that my mom always liked brown, therefore choosing to dress me in it could not be bad. 

Wearing brown checks reminds me that I am way over the ”brown dress syndrome”, the whole thing was childish thinking in the first place.  What about you?  Have you uncovered any remnants of childish thinking in your own wardrobe choices? 

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Becky writes:

Rebecca, several of your posts on dressing in colors that are present in your personal coloring have puzzled me. For example, I have very fair that is somewhat yellowish (also dark blonde/light brown hair) and I look horrible in colors that contain too much yellow. It seems to me that I look best in cool colors that balance out the yellow of my skin.

Nobody looks good in yellow outside of Texas, do they?

But seriously, Becky, you bring up a good question. Your experience corresponds with the advice to Choose the Opposite Color that I blogged about awhile back. (I also notice that most of the commenters said the same thing you did, “horrible in yellow”.)

Here’s how eternalvoyageur answered:

Hmmm… I think that we have to pick what we want to highlight in our colouring (either by using these colours or contrasts) and what we prefer to conceal or balance out. read the rest of her answer …

I agree. Don’t emphasize anything you don’t want noticed (undereye circles, acne, birthmarks, etc) by matching it in color.

In one of my very first posts, on selecting jacket colors, I gave the following advice on wearing a color similar to your skin tone next to the face:

• Separate the garment from your face with a swath of contrasting fabric.
• Choose as an accent color: your eye color, white, black, or your lipstick color.

There is, of course, the danger of being washed out by not using enough contrast in your color scheme. To combat that possibility:

• use a darker or lighter version of the eye or hemoglobin color
• use the complementary color
• add a small amount of white, black, or a shiny metallic

Finally, finding flattering colors to wear next to the face can be as simple as identifying your hemoglobin and melanin colors, by-passing the overall skin tint. Hemoglobin is the oranges, reds, and purples present in, for example, the tips of your fingers. By melanin I mean the color of your freckles, that is, the browns in your skin.

In the end, I decided against the monochromatic “safari suit” for this evening’s semi-casual banquet, opting instead for a variation with greater contrast.

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Yay! I don’t have to really write this post - an explanation of the color terms white, off-white, cream and beige - which I had planned as a follow-up to my previous attack on the question, because Angie has written one which is very clear and easy to understand. As I understand her explanation: there are extreme whites, (palest gray) off-white, light yellows (creams), and beiges or tints of brown.

A bit of practical, Rebecca-style advice concerning that final category:

Selecting one family of browns to use in your wardrobe will make color-coordinating much easier. Simply put, choose any brown that is present in your coloring and then use all its tints and shades (white added or black added).

Recently, when thrifting with a friend, we got to experience how this works. She had a number of brown-range items in the cart: dark brown shoes, khaki pants, cream pants, tan purse, and mid-brown purse. When laid next to each other, everything blended except the tan purse, which looked green next to the other items. That made it easy to choose what to put back!

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Does God speak to you through your car radio? Strange question, but it’s amazing how often some random program can get me thinking. Like the program I heard on Moody radio (listen here), about the book Making Peace With Your Thighs: Get Off the Scales and Get On with Your Life.

A couple of thoughts:

1. Dressing your body as a shape, rather than a collection of parts, is a practical way of thinking holistically about your body.
2. Men aren’t attracted to stick women, but rather by confidence.
3. The biggest “mood disrupter” among women? Gaining weight!

I will add to that last one, though, for me, the biggest mood disrupter, or the thing that most often puts me in a bad mood, is being left out. How about you?

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Eternal Voyageur writes:

BTW the camel colour made me think of requesting you to do a piece on creams, beiges and off-whites someday. I always struggle to connect name to colour, let alone decide which ones are flattering and which are not.

Here’s the problem: when I started looking up the color names (cream, ecru, beige, ivory, and so on), they all basically had the same definition - pale grayish yellow. That’s helpful! (You could hear the sarcasm in that, couldn’t you?) While I cannot promise is to give you names by which you can be certain you & others will be thinking of the same color, I do have some suggestions on how to select those which are flattering.

First, look for the undertone. While technically an off-white can be a super-light tint of any color, most of them tend to separate into those which are in essence a brown (like coffee with extra cream added) or those which are yellow.

Personally, I find the yellows hard to wear. I recommend them with yellow-blonde hair. For me, I like coffee.

There are also very light taupes, which make a good substitute for white or khaki trousers.

The other thing I would add is, even if you look okay in more than one range of off-whites, to stick to one in your wardrobe, thereby increasing your chances for serendipity. Believe it or not, the bermudas I picked up for a buck this week match the safari jacket my mom gave me for Christmas. What are the chances of that?

I hope this is helpful. Any insights or follow-up questions?

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I own a million pieces of turquoise jewelry, I love the stone. I however never know the type of clothing especially the tops to wear. My hair is ruby midnight with purple under tones. My eyes are dark blue and my skin naturally has a yellow undertone. When I changed my hair to this dark color friends and family said it looked beautiful on me and made my eyes really stand out. I figured this is the best place to ask this question because I read such great advise to the above question. Thank You to all of you who answered (Judi)

(Ruby midnight = rich auburn black)

My best advice is to wear solid tops in deep, intense colors: black, midnight or royal blue, purple. With dark blue eyes, blues - including turquoise - are natural.

I think what I’m suggesting is that the turquoise is naturally going to harmonize with and flatter your eye color, and a top in a dark color, when combined with the dark hair, will frame the face. It’s going to be a dramatic look!

Alternatively, turquoise is appearing in lots of great prints these days. Depending on your personal style idiom, either a funky kind of ethnic look or a more simply elegant backdrop seem natural to me with turquoise jewelry.

A third option with turquoise is to use its complement, which is orange or brown. White is my favorite hot-weather black substitute. And metallics always look elegant with turquoise.

Okay, readers, Judi was asking for your advice. What tops do you suggest with turquoise jewelry?

Just for fun, here’s some pictures of looks that might work:





Incidentally, while in Italy, we saw LOTS of cute metallic sporty shoes.

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Weekend reading:

• The Carnival of Modesty at MIntheGap
• Healthy beauty tips at eternal voyageur
• New commenter kpriss blogs at StyleFrizz
• The Ducklings Respond to the news of the coming twins, at The Duchy of Burgundy Carrots.
• Stylish new blog: The Style Observer

More weekend reading:

• new to the blogroll: My Wardrobe Today
• Fabulously Broke in the City’s massive wardrobe cleanout blog project
• new fashion magazine for teens without all the sexualized content. Thanks Meredith!

On the topic of silhouette, Chantelle sends in this comment:

The Body Shape Bible over complicates for the sake of offering something different i feel. As a stylist I have always believed that there are simply 5 female body forms, the most common being the rectangle. In fact I have created a website which profiles your body shape and provides you specific style advice to suit… it’s an automated personal stylist service and simplifies the entire ‘what body shape am i question’.

I tend to agree about the 5 basic body shapes, although I do still prefer to distinguish between the hourglass and figure eight. But I never would have guessed the rectangle as the most common! Perhaps that explains my persistent attempts over the years to stuff my rounded shape into that linear silhouette. Am I the only one who has always subconsciously considered the pencil the ideal female shape?

Have a lovely weekend!

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