Welcome

In this months newsletter my new Ask an Image Consultant column is getting a bit of a workout with your questions, keep sending them in!  I've also been researching Colour Analysis and it's history,

 

It's Mother's Day on Sunday, and if you haven't already got your Mum a present - how about a Bespoke Image Gift Voucher (it can all be arranged via the phone and email) - she might like a you could get your family to chip in for one of our great packages, or choose a single consultation (prices start from $150AUD) - it's up to you. You could also give her a copy of my new ebook Your Essential Style Guide for only $14.95US.

A Short History of Colour Analysis

Isaac Newton discovered that light is the source of colour. He was the first person to create a colour wheel, by taking the rainbow and joining up the ends in a circle. He also ascribed a colour to a note on the musical scale. 100 years later Johann Wolfgang Goethe studied the psychological effects of colours and was the first to describe blue based colours as 'cool' and yellow based colours as 'warm'.

 

In 1905 Professor Albert Munsell broke down colour into 3 scales - those of value, hue and chroma. The Value is the depth, starting at 1 - black and moving up to 10 which is white. If you have your hair coloured, the dye the hairdresser will use will have a number that corresponds with this scale. The Chroma scale went from bright, true colours (the outside of the traditional colour wheel) to more muted and 'greyed' out colours. And Hue - describes a colour - such as red, yellow, blue etc.

 

Johannes Itten, a Swiss Art theorist who taught at the Bauhaus (during 1919-1922) developed the 12 colour wheel (see left) which describes the primary (red, blue, yellow), secondary (green, orange, violet) and tertiary colours. Itten also noted that the colours his art students chose to paint with usually related to their own personal colouring, as we tend to have a natural affinity to those colours that suit our colouring as they make us feel and look better. He found that he could break down skin types into 4 categories and labeled them after the seasons.

 

One of the early masters of personal colour analysis was Suzanne Caygill, who during the 1940s started colour coding people using many colours and developing swatches for each person (by hand, one colour at a time). Suzanne believed that there are 64 different personality types across the Four Seasons, and selected names to help clients understand their relationship to nature. For example Spring included, Early Spring, Golden Spring, Water Lily Spring, Apple Blossom Spring, Vital Spring and many others. While two Vial Springs could have similarity in style, energy and personality characteristics, their colours could be very different. 

 

Gerrie Pinckney developed the Seasonal system, basing the colours on the colours of the season - so Autumn is the colours of Autumn leaves whilst Spring is bright new colours (like fresh new leaves and flowers) with a warm base. This system was turned into a book by her student Carole Jackson who published Colour Me Beautiful in 1981.  It was an enormous hit, and brought colour analysis to the masses, but was rather limiting in that people are more varied than just 4 colour groups.   Many people had their colours analysed, but didn't feel comfortable with them, usually because these colours weren't an accurate reflection of their colouring as the seasonal system was so limiting.  Over the past 20 years the seasons have been added to with 'flow' concepts that say people can have aspects of more than one season, and currently seasonal systems work on a 12 colour flow concept.

 

After years of using another tonal colour system, a group of the leading Australian Image consultants got together to create a new system that was based on the science of Albert Munsell, as well as their combined 50+years of doing colour consultations and discovering gaps that exist in other colour systems readily available in Australian and New Zealand.  This system has 16 colour groups that are then personalised to each client to ensure that the client receives the very best swatch possible of their most stunning colours.

 

Bespoke Image helped create the Absolute Colour System and ensure it's so easy to use (imagine how easy it would be to get it wrong with 64 different groups), without being limiting and having to 'fit' someone into a colour direction that doesn't quite work for them. 

 

How does it work?

 

Colour Analysis works on the 'buttercup principle', where if you put a buttercup under someone's chin it would reflect a yellow glow and you'd tell them that they like butter.  Our faces reflect the colours of all the clothes we wear, some colours are more flattering than others as they make us look healthy, or bring out the colour of our eyes, whilst others seem to drain us of life and make us look tired, worn and older.   The colours that work for us will make it look like we're illuminated from the inside.  We'll look brigher, younger, vibrant and glowing, and definitely like we've had a great nights sleep - even if we haven't.

 

I've had my colouring analysed, do I need to do it again?

 

As we age our colouring changes - if you look back at photos of yourself as a child your hair was probably lighter and brighter, then as we age it and it goes grey our skin and eye colours fade along with the hair.  Often those who had a face covered in freckles in their youth, by late middle-age find the freckles gone.  So the colours that looked great on you at 20 won't work as well for you at 40 and will probably overwhelm you completely at 60.  It's important to reassess your colours every 10-15 years.

 

So what are the benefits?

 

A colour analysis can take years off your age, and help you to expand your wardrobe options.  Because all the colours in each colour direction work so well together, your ability to mix-and-match clothes becomes so easy as the colours of your clothes naturally work together.  Colour Analysis is particularly important for men, as they don't have the luxury of wearing a face covered in makeup to help minimise the damage an unflattering colour is doing to their skin tone.

 

If you want to start looking more healthy, vibrant, efficient, powerful and alive, arrange your colour analysis today.

Ask an Image Consultant - Readers Questions

Q: With all the smocks & tights that are about this season, what does the 50 yr old woman wear - besides the corporate suit look?

- Jen

A: For many of us who have hips and thighs, it's great to know that wide leg (or sometimes referred to as 'boyfriend') trousers are back. Team a pair with a turtleneck jumper or top and a long-line cardigan. There are still plenty of semi-fitted tops around, and the trench coat is another key piece this winter. The 'swing' jacket is also around and works well with a pair of straight leg trousers. Don't be defined by your age, but by your attitude. Some stores that cater to the 40+ woman (and her body shape) include Perri Cutten, Anthea Crawford, David Lawrence, Veronika Maine, Sportscraft and Feathers. Remember, if you wear voluminous clothes on one half of your body, the other half needs to be fitted and a slimmer cut otherwise you'll look bulky.

 

Q: I am expecting a baby in October and am just beginning to show signs of the pregnancy. Can you tell me what sorts of stylish casual pieces I should put together. I what they like to call a SAHM (stay at home mum). - Libby

A: I found that buying a pair of great maternity jeans - from somewhere like Just4Mums (the sort that sit under your bump and you can tighten and gradually loosen over the pregnancy), plus a pair of plain trousers (such as a dark neutral such charcoal in a foldover style which can work through your entire pregnancy) for when you want to look a bit more dressed up, worked well.

 

This season as there are so many smocks available in regular stores you'll find more than the ususual number of options available to you in tops. Knit tops are great as they have some stretch so last longer. It's imporant to figure out a colour scheme that works for you and buy all your maternity pieces in these colours so that you can mix and match your wardrobe - you could try a mix like brown, blue, soft-white and red or burgundy pieces.

 

To add variety and interest use jewellery. You won't grow out of necklaces so invest in a mix of interesting and unusual pieces that you'll love forever and use these to spice up your outfits and create a more interesting appearance. You may be interested to know that the resale value of maternity clothes is often good on auction sites such as ebay, so even if you only wear the clothes for a short time you can recoup some of your investment. Size wise look for the same size as you wear regularly in maternity sizing.

 

Q: I am 41 and am having difficulty woking out my style now. Some fashions may be too young for me and I don't want to appear frumpy in my clothes either. How can I still look modern, stylish and feel comfortable with my body shape. I'm just not sure what I should wear. - Theresa

 

A: Without seeing you it's very hard to judge what will suit you exactly, but it's important to figure out what works for you. If you don't really like patterns, even thought they're in fashion, don't buy them as they'll sit in your wardrobe unworn. As we age it's imperative that we go through our wardrobe and get rid of clothes that we don't wear anymore, or that are from previous fashion eras - as this can be ageing.

 

Look at what's out there in the shops - or browse the internet to find out what the current sillhouettes are like. As we age we should generally avoid the extreme fashion trends, but take note of what's happening fashion wise in a general sense. Updating your shoes each season can bring some of the current trends into your wardrobe and give you a more modern appearance without replacing the entire wardrobe. Look at the overall silhouettes, the tapered trousers of the 90s are not the same as the skinny trouser of today. Notice details such as trouser length which varies from year to year and can make you look more in fashion (or less).

 

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