Wednesday, February 28, 2007

My Colors


I've always, always, always been fascinated by color. A big box of crayons, paper and time is all that is needed to make me happy.

Yesterday I had a gift certificate to use down at Nordies. It's an hour drive from my home to go there, so I don't usually haunt the place. Plus the piano music played on the baby grand on the ground floor drives me insane. I need to concentrate when shopping in an environment where everything seems to have three or more digits in the price (before the "dot" indicating the cents.)

Nordies majors on black and white clothing. The majority of people on the planet look fabulous wearing black and white, so that is a smart marketing move on their part.

Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Canadians (whoops, maybe not all Canadians...) all seem to have dark hair and dark eyes. Perfect for those high contrast colors. Add a splash of deep red, blue, purple or grey and Katie bar the door, Snow White has arrived, looking just grand.

I can not compete with their glorious coloring. I felt a little better after reading that Meryl Streep was described as having porcelain skin as she was photo'd for the Oscars. That sounds so much nicer than pale.
Or even washed out, which is how I am usually described. All that has changed; I too now have a porcelain complexion.

Even though I may navigate around my bland coloring via semantics, black and white and other saturated primary colors still overwhelm my appearance. Pastels make me appear as though I am recovering from a bout of the flu. This was a such a puzzle to me. The only colors I ever felt alive in were lime green, peachy pink and turquoise. You see those colors all the time in department stores. (Not!)

Back in the 1980's there was a big to-do about having your colors done. I turned out to look best in Spring colors. Imagine the flowers in a Springtime photo shoot, and you've nailed it. My mom, my husband and son have coloring that looks great in Summer colors. Imagine the misty blues and pinks, greys and lavenders of a dawn on a lake and you've got it. Other friends are winter, imagine a walk through snow, with bare trees etched in black, and rainbows of colors sparkling up from the snow, and you have the image of those colors. I've met few a Autumns, but imagining a walk in a flaming autumn forest, and you are there.

After trudging the Nordie store I was feeling pretty down. Until I saw the fish above. One of four fish that swim on a lovely lime green silk background on a wonderful scarf that called out to me: "Jill, I'm over here! It's US! We belong to each other!"

I was ecstatic! I wanted to wrap the scarf around myself and dance. ( Thankfully the piano player was taking a break!)

Bernie's face lit up when I showed him my find that evening. "It's perfect. It's you!"

Signature colors just feel great. The scarf goes with so many things in my closet, and rescues me from the "I'm being buried" feeling that comes when I wear serious business colors like black and navy.

What are your signature colors? The ones that make you feel great, and that other's always think of you when they see?
I'll bet you lime green isn't one of them (Kate, you are excluded from this comment.)

6 comments:

Demara said...

Yup you and I are the same in this aspect! I have a lime green shirt (I only wear to bed though, although it is from Bible College, and did wear it there too.) I believe I'm a Spring as well...do you know if there's a test for that? I vaguely remember doing it before but my color schemes and seasonal shades from the test escape me now. I would enjoy redoing the test...online, perhaps, for free if it is at all possible.

Anonymous said...

to yokooso: I had my colours done at Merle Norman a while ago (well maybe 15 years ago)
to Jill: I like the whole colour thing too. I have an aunt that would be the same as you. I am a bright summer so white is one of my best colours.

Lovella ♥ said...

oops, my morning comment didn't take. I'll give it another whirl. I'm a winter girl. I had my colours done in the 80's by a professional colour gal. I must confess I wear a lot of black and white. I do love the jewel tones. I wear red with blue undertones and the outfit for T and B's wedding was eggplant. I must confess I feel rather regal in those colours. I do love your scarf and I had a happy imagination moment when I saw the smile on Bernies face when you held it up to your face for his approval. I absolutely love your surf heart what a delight. I have alot of problems getting my pictures to fit in the sidebar, it is a template issue.

Becky said...

I must confess, I have never been "drapped". I think that was the term of the '80's. If you rifle through my closet, apparently, I tend to choose summer colours. At least that's what my in-the-know friends say. I love summer! How wrong can that be? As far as wearing black, I wear it as a slimming feature, but I know it does zip for my facial colour. I too like the term porcelan rather than pale.
Absolutely love the scarf. It would be worth hanging, or displaying somewhere!

Kate said...

I found almost nothing but black and white when I was doing a mad shopping spree in Houston recently. Seems to be shaping up to be my travel wardrobe with dashes of color thrown in. That being said, I am really a Spring too tho' I am attracted to fall colors when buying fabrics - oranges, browns, umpteen shades of greens. Who knows? I know I can't wear black anywhere near my face tho' salt & pepper isn't too bad. What I fell for in Houston was a pair of (don't laugh!) b&W polka dot platform shoes which I'll probably not wear with my b&w polka dot palazzo pants but plain black or white ones. Also, fell for a pre-owned Rena Rowan green check jacket which formed the basis of my 'business attire' outfit to wear to the Judge's dinner (so boring!). Guess the outfit worked because everyone thought I was an attorney - NOT!

Sorry we missed each other but will see you soon in die Schweiz!
K Q:-)

Kate said...

I found almost nothing but black and white when I was doing a mad shopping spree in Houston recently. Seems to be shaping up to be my travel wardrobe with dashes of color thrown in. That being said, I am really a Spring too tho' I am attracted to fall colors when buying fabrics - oranges, browns, umpteen shades of greens. Who knows? I know I can't wear black anywhere near my face tho' salt & pepper isn't too bad. What I fell for in Houston was a pair of (don't laugh!) b&W polka dot platform shoes which I'll probably not wear with my b&w polka dot palazzo pants but plain black or white ones. Also, fell for a pre-owned Rena Rowan green check jacket which formed the basis of my 'business attire' outfit to wear to the Judge's dinner (so boring!). Guess the outfit worked because everyone thought I was an attorney - NOT!

Sorry we missed each other but will see you soon in die Schweiz!
K Q:-)