Colour Your Age
Our society is unfortunately obsessed with looks, so as we age, some of us become quite unhappy about the changes. I seem to not have this worry and actually look forward to finally "growing up" one day :-)
However, it does make sense to wear clothes and colours that flatter changing skin tones as we embrace our new decades. When we are young we can wear anything we like in both colour and style, but as we get older, we do look better if we wear colours and styles that flatter and enhance who we have become.
As we get older, the body chemistry changes and this affects the production of collagen in our skin - it slows down, our skin loses elasticity and becomes thinner, resulting in wrinkling and fine line development. With the reduction of hormones with menopause, skin can become blotchier and dryer.
I do not profess to be a skin care expert ( I use the basics, do not smoke, wear a hat in the sun) so I will not be suggesting any remedies with cosmetic creams - the skin being dead, the ex RN in me wonders how they really work...). Wearing the right colours for you near your face will enhance your natural beauty. And the subtle use of make-up in the right tones for your skin can also work wonders.
This is why it is important to know your base colours - warm, darker, more muted (Autumn) warm, clear, light and bright (Spring), cool, soft, muted (Summer), and cool, bright, clear/icy and deep (Winter).
(For those of you who are familiar with the other colour schemes of light, deep, cool, clear, soft. and warm, they are components of the four season approach - the tonal systems just use one of the dominant colourings that you may have, and clever marketing does the rest by selling these ideas as the most relevant for you).
When we get older, our underlying genetics do not change, so our base colouring remains the same. But we do tend to lose some of our colouring - eyes may get lighter, hair greys, skin may pale, lips are not so coloured (I've noticed this one - I used to have quite rosy lips, now they are paler).
So, we need to adjust our colours to suit.
All this really means is you slide to the lighter end of your colour spectrum - you can still wear the deeper colours as your basics and neutrals, and wear the lighter colours near the face.
And if you do not like a colour in your palette (or it does not like you) - do not wear it. Not all the colours in a colour palette will suit you at all times in your life - and you may also just find that certain colours are not "you".
Play around with scraps of colour next to your face every so often to see what currently looks good with your skin, hair and eye colour.
WINTER
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As you get older, move to the right hand side of the fan for flattering colours for your face. |
For those of you with darker or yellower skin, you may not need to make so many adjustments- take into consideration your greying hair, but darker pigmentation will mean that you can get away with brighter and deeper colours and combine them with some of the icy cool pale colours so that you keep you your lovely high contrast. Once again, play with colour and see what looks good on your NOW.
SUMMER
If you were Summer, you will also notice changes so that you may need to wear lighter, softer and cooler colours from your palette - blush pink, violet, cornflour blue, dusty rose, sky blue, light periwinkle, light teal, sky blue, powder pink, soft violet, bluebell, sea green. In your sixties you may prefer powder pink, icy violet, blue bell, mint and light aqua.
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As you get older, move to the right hand side of the fan for flattering colours for your face. |
AUTUMN
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As you get older, move to the right hand side of the fan for flattering colours for your face. |
SPRING
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As you get older, move to the right hand side of the fan for flattering colours for your face. |
I am glad I kept my original fans - I can no longer get them, and many of the colour fans on the market do not show the different shades of colours. My original fans were useful to show clients how to work with their fans. I am sure that sewers will be able to play with shades of colours quite happily!
For those of you used to the seasonal flow system or the tonal system the principles are the same. In fact, you can probably see that these systems also reflect the seasonal system as well.
I do hope this article has helped you all...
Sarah Liz :-)
thanks so much-this post is super helpful as I work to lighten my wardrobe from a black base.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, Yes, black sort of dominated wardrobes through the 80's and 90's. I've got to seriously de black as well.
DeleteThank you for such an informative post.. I have noticed the aging process of paling.. My lips as you mentioned use to be rosy, and not as much now. Also, my hair as always been really black, but as it grays, the black is becoming dull too. And more coarse.
ReplyDeleteFitting patterns is so much more complex, with the aging process. Bodies change.....yuck..ha
You were an RN, I am a retired Respiratory Therepist..Spent 25 years working in the hospital.
Hi Judy, your reply is a little further down - Rosy's comment came in half way through my posting.
DeleteVery interesting article! I'm trying to figure out what kind of season it's me ... although I would love to be summer ... love the colors displayed on it ... Love to know more about things that look good with my old ... Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt's a pleasure Rosy. Do play with pink and orange - one should look better next to your skin. If pink looks best, then you look best in cool colours. If orange can be worn, warm colours.
DeleteHi Judy, yes, don't bodies change! I'm struggling with working out how to fit the older me as well.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, grey hair is more coarse than coloured hair.
Nice to know we have a medical past in common. I'm still involved on the edges.