Winter Wear to Work
When Duchesse mentioned cashmere sweaters + wool trousers as her winter go-to formula (a formula I love!), the concept lodged in my mind, in the vicinity of a collection of thoughts about architects, engineers, and other technical professionals. Professions Mella DP describes as follows:
That often means having to demonstrate credibility in the executive conference room and on the plant floor on the same day. Dressing in a way that works for both situations is tricky. It’s easier for the guys - most men can wear chinos and a polo shirt and and sturdy shoes and look decent and functional (if a little dull). Most women in a similar outfit would look like an Applebees hostess.
But most women dressed in a cashmere sweater and wool trousers would look conventional and context-appropriate, Mella DP’s words, my opinion. (Hey, I realize not everyone can wear wool. I figure if you’re reading this, you’re smart enough to figure out a wool alternative that works for you. If that’s something you’d like to discuss, we certainly can.) Perhaps it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, any ensemble worn in a business context should be decipherable by both men and women. Much of what is popular for women is simply not understood by the men they work with.
Since we haven’t had any illustrations around here for a long time:
(Ugh! Now I remember why we haven’t had illustrations for so long! This took me all afternoon!)
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Establishing Credibility Visually
Lately I’ve been reading, researching, and meditating on alot of detail concerning appearance and perception. I admit it, alot of these thoughts initiate from comments to me; comments that show that they are unable to see my interior reality. (Perhaps this feeling that nobody gets me is indicative of a mid-life crisis? lol)
At any rate, while there is alot of information here on the blog already, there is still TONS I haven’t figured out. But I’m feeling ambitious, so I’m delving into researching the connection between certain visual elements and specific perceptions. Leave a comment if you have a clue. And I thought I’d begin with something relevant to career women, because I love them too!
Credibility: attitude toward a source of communication held at a particular time by a message receiver. It consists primarily of expertise, trustworthiness, and good will. (Dynamics of Persuasion)
Another source put it slightly differently: Expertise, Trustworthiness, Similarity, and Physical Attractiveness (I suppose the author of a textbook may find physical attractiveness to be too loaded a topic to address it).
Bernie Burson, Image Consultant, in her sidebar on Psychological Dressing, says:
When you receive your personal color palette, you learn that wearing your eye-related color makes you appear sincere and honest and wearing skin tones makes you seem friendly and approachable.
So, if credibility is a three-legged stool consisting of expertise, trustworthiness, and good will; wearing my recommended simple color palette (based on your own coloring) will get you two legs (and physical attractiveness as a bonus). Not enough. Establishing expertise, I suspect, is done through visual cues specific to the industry. Even if the industry is raising children.
What are the visual cues to expertise in your field?
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To Dye For
In the “lab” this week, I’m dying. In the sense of permanently changing the color of my clothes.
1) I love the fit of these Levis, but I just don’t wear a medium tone except in the summer. They needed to be dark.
Using one bottle of “denim blue”, I simply followed the directions on the box for dying in the washing machine. The color is a bit bright; if there is a “next time”, I will try a different shade.
Now the creative juices are flowing in all sorts of colors! I think I’ll tea-stain some of my white shirts, try kool-aid on a boring blue cashmere sweater …
Have you ever dyed anything?
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Analogous Color Harmonies
Perhaps it was growing up visually in the 1960s, but I have always favored the analogous color harmony. Blue and green, pink and peach, navy and lavender; these are some of my favorites. I love them in homes! While I recognize that monochromatic is a good look for me, it feels boring; when I’m not wearing my typical personal coloring based palette, I gravitate toward colors next to each other on the color wheel.
Last spring, it was navy and grass green. For summer, I combined yellow and coral. As we enter fall, I’m thinking alot about purple, wearing purple and navy to church last week.
What are your favorite color harmonies: monochromatic, analogous, complementary or something more unique? Any new favorite color combos?
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Building a Personal Color Scheme
I’ve been asked a number of times for more detail on building a color strategy based on one’s own personal coloring. Currently my best thoughts are these.
Step 1: choose a frame neutral or two
If you were a man and building a simple, formal business wardrobe from scratch, I’d first advise you to buy a suit in a color which blends with your hair color (Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion
- if you have dark hair, look good in black, and need a business wardrobe - by all means, choose black!
- for me, it’s not quite that simple. The main thing is to choose a flattering color in the right value (light vs dark).
- It’s not necessary to choose a neutral. One young lady I know, with auburn hair and green eyes, uses purple as a wardrobe staple.
Step 2: identify the color range you can choose more freely from
- For many this will be the eye color.
- Alternatively, hemoglobin color is an especially good option for those with brown eyes. This is what I do, using a range from peach to coral pink on the light end to coral as my bright to a burgundy as dark as my eyes.
- With gray eyes and hair, and lips so cool in tone as to be almost purple, I have another friend who could choose a range from lavendar to deeper purple.
Step 3: choose your accent color or neutral
- This could be black or white
- It could be your eye color, if you haven’t already used it.
- Do you have something specific to your idiom that you want to use as an accent, such as a collection of turquoise jewelry?
Beyond these basics, everything is chosen for its ability to blend with your basic skeleton of colors. For additional variety, you could use a different color scheme for each season.
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Fashion Lab: Color Value Placement
Next week I’m going to be talking about how to develop a personal color palette. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about what I consider the Great Northwest casual uniform: black top, army green pants, slip-on shoes. Or some variant thereof. And how, while I’m not so crazy about the ubiquitous black top, it is a good formula for some. Especially those who are curvier on top.
Which leads me to the general principle of wearing lighter colors where you are smaller and darker colors where you are larger. Let’s play with that using Gap cords, currently $15 off.
(I threw that last set in just for fun, but I’d love to know if you have any thoughts on neutral vs bright also.)
Speaking of cords (or perhaps I should say “speaking of body image“), I normally avoid them simply because they always made me feel fat, but when Spokane Discount had a deal where any pair of brown pants in size 6, 8, or 10 was so cheap it was almost free, I bought a pair of dark brown, trouser style, corduroy Dockers. For $3.
Application principle: aside from monochromatic outfits, I am focusing on darker bottoms with lighter tops. How do you employ color value placement?
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Identifying Your Values
Color values, that is. What you value is clearly important in terms of what you wear, but not the topic of this blog post.
Value = the relative lightness or darkness of a color
In my watercolor class, we talk alot about value. In fact, our instructor hammers us about getting the values right, while allowing just about any approximation of hue. If one of us were to decide we wanted to make a certain shape lighter or darker than it is in the reference photo, the entire picture would have to adjust right along with it, keeping the relationships between color values the same. But enough about that.
This handy-dandy gray scale and value finder was required equipment for my summer drawing class and will be exceedingly useful when I start up painting class again this fall. Not only that, but I learned alot already just reading the back of it.
- Raising or lightening the value of a hue: Lightening pigment hues with white changes the absorption reflection levels of white light, raising the value of the original hue, and placing the lightened hue into a new category of a chromatic white neutral which reflects only 3 to 5% of the original hue, or a tint of the original hue. This depends on the amount of white added.
- Lowering or deepening the value of a hue: Deepening a hue with black, gray or a complementary color (colors directly opposite on The Color Wheel), lowers the value level, darkening the hue and reducing the intensity of the original color. Deepening with black now places the hue into a new category of a chromatic black neutral, which reflects only 3 to 5% of the original hue, or a shade of the original hue, depending on the amount of black added. Deepening with gray or a complement creates a tone, which subdues or dulls the original color.
Considering the fact that my skin is and always has been somewhere in the neighborhood of value 8 or 9 (10 is pure white), my current hair color similar, and my eyes value 2 or 3; it occurs to me that it is impossible that anything in my coloring could be a bright or intense hue. After all, the thing says that nothing in my coloring has over about a 5 % saturation, right? Thus, I hypothesize that the brighter colors are more wearable by people who have something in their coloring which is more in the medium color value range (and this something would be less muted). My guess is that values 1 & 10 rather count as intense, as well.
Anyway, this inexpensive tool, which can be purchased here through Amazon or at your local art supply store, is going to live on my dresser for the next month or so, as I continue playing with value in my clothes and working to assemble harmonious outfits.
Discuss! 
- Can you put a number to the values in your personal coloring?
- Do your preferences reflect your coloring in terms of value and/or brightness (chroma)?
- Do you think an outfit needs a certain minimum amount of contrast in order to be interesting?
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Why Do You Wear Black?
To give myself a break, I’m re-running controversial posts all week.
When I was a young person, back in the 70s, I don’t think I owned a single item in black. Black was matronly. My how times have changed! Walk by any high school in America and you are likely to see more black almost than denim. It’s not so different among us moms, we just are more likely to mix it up a little.
So why do people favor black?
Some possible reasons:
- It’s easy.
- A desire to blend in with the crowd.
- It’s sophisticated, glamorous, or sexy.
- Makes a young person look older.
- Drama. Black emphasizes by contrast bright or pale colors.
- Probably the most controversial reason: to appear unhappy.
Do you think black is appropriate for a young person?
And why do you wear black?
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If You Still Don’t Know Your Season
If you still don’t know your season, check out Pretty Your World - the info there should walk you through being able to figure it out yourself.
IMO, the reason for the decline in popularity of the 4 season system is that so many people couldn’t be pegged. I have been identified variously as Winter (I once had very dark hair to contrast with my very fair skin), Summer, and Autumn. My reality is Soft Autumn.
I assume most people have an idea what colors look good on them. The simple color palette concept I advocate is a way to pare down, to simplify, to facilitate mix and match.
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How to Wear Any Color
This technique is adapted from the classic Always In Style, by Doris Pooser.
(I actually own the 1985 Color Me Beautiful version and haven’t read the revised, which looks like it contains a couple of intriguing additions: wardrobe planning and hairstyles. Notably, Doris Pooser worked extensively with color analysis in Japan and includes seasonal color identification charts for those of African and Asian descent.)
As illustrated in my previous post How a Blonde Can Wear All Black, one can create a harmonious and pleasing appearance even when wearing an unflattering color. To do so effectively, the color must be worn … in combination with a color … that will emphasize your most dominant color characteristic . (Doris Pooser)
In my studied opinion, this still represents a compromise. What could be more artistically pleasing than a wardrobe based on your own personal coloring ? But at times we have no choice. What circumstances compel you to wear less flattering colors? How do you make it work?
In my own idiom, soft is the dominant color characteristic. Combining an intense hue with its pastel counterpart works for me.
