Originally posted in February 2006. Wow! That was a LONG time ago.
In applying artistic principles to one’s visual appearance, it is beneficial to understand the properties of color. They are:
- Hue: the dimension of color that defines its place on the color wheel. In other words, what we perceive as different “colors” (red, violet, blue, and so on).
- Value: the lightness or darkness of a color.
- Saturation (aka “chroma”): how intense or muted the color appears.
The Inter-Society Color Council at the National Bureau of Standards provides a system for standardization of color designations based on Munsell color notation. Most of us don’t need to be that specific.
As a practical first step to applying these principles, determine your dominant color characteristic. Ask yourself, what is most noticeable about my coloring? A very fair-skinned blonde might be noticed first for the lightness of her personal coloring, thereby making value her most obvious color characteristic. The warm (orange) coloring of a red-head may dominate, while someone else may be most obviously muted or intense.
More later on using color to create harmony and contrast. Questions?
I’ve noticed a trend in my wardrobe recently toward colors with a lot of yellow in them. The greens I am wearing are yellow-green; I am wearing more orange too. I never wear straight yellow. But I have noticed a lot of yellow in my kid’s eyes (esp. Athena’s) and wonder if perhaps I have a lot of yellow too. Even my hip green eyeglasses are backed with a yellowy tortoishell. I have developed an aversion to ashy greens.
The other color I wear alot is garnet, which looks great with all the greens.
Comment?
Unlikely that your most noticeable color characteristic is yellow, that would be rare indeed. Your preference for yellowish hues may have to do with your highlighted hair, color trends, or something else.
Garnet. Definitely a keeper. That color looks good on most brown-eyed people.
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Welcome back!
I find that my preference for level of contrast varies with the seasons too. In winter, I loved deep jewel tones, and they love me back with my dark eyes and mid to dark hair. But I’m more drawn to soft colors this spring. Although I suspect that I look better in the stronger colors that match my own mid to high level of contrast.