Remember the three elements of color? Hue (Warm/Cool), Value (Light/Dark), and Chroma (Clear/Muted). In my last post, I talked about Hue – knowing if you look better in Warm or Cool colors. Did you figure yours out?
The second element of color is Value. We are not debating your intrinsic worth – you are ALWAYS enormously valuable! In color theory, Value means how light or dark a color is. And that’s important to understand when you are choosing your best colors.
My MOST IMPORTANT principle in discerning what makes you look your best: ALWAYS work in HARMONY with your body, your physicality, your coloring, your shape – never in opposition to it. When we apply that principle to Hue, we look at your hair, skin and eye colors to determine whether you are more warm or more cool and then we choose clothing that’s in the same warm or cool category.
When we apply the Harmony Principle to Value, what we see is that you look your best when you match the intensity of your personal coloring in what you wear. I’m sharing 3 photos of me as examples. I’m definitely not looking my best – I’ve had a cold and you can see the effects in my face for sure! But that fact actually contributes to my point: because I have dark hair and dark eyes, I look my best in deeper, darker colors that mimic my physical coloring. They even go so far as to soften some of the effects of the cold. The lighter colors wash me out and just don’t look as flattering – they seem to highlight the dark circles that I’d prefer to hide. (Notice that not only did I change the color I’m wearing but I also changed the color of my lipstick.)
So, if you have light hair, eyes and skin, your best will likely be the lighter colors in your warm or cool palette. If you are in the mid-range, you guessed it – stick with the middle range of colors. And darker hair and eyes – well, you get the idea. Remember that colors that are too light for you will wash you out, while colors that are too dark or bright for you will “wear” you, meaning we’ll see them before we see you.
Now that you understand Value, what’s your best color range?
