Carter, so *that's* where my brain went this week...shared with yours!
Hi again Susan --
As another pale-skinned, brown-eyed brunette one of the things I'd encourage you to explore before buying is where you seem to fit on three spectrums:
* warm to cool
* light to dark
* bright to muted
Personally, one of the reasons I avoided color-color for years is that people tired of looking at me in black [guilty] would gift me with BRIGHTEST of the jewel tones.
Once I realized cool-toned colors that aren't too icy, too bright, too deep (dark), or too light looked pretty good on me, embracing more than black or charcoal got easier.
** This site has a lot of fairly-easy-to-digest info on contrast and value: http://www.worqx.com/color/shade_tint.htm **
If you're interested, just drape yourself in whatever you have around the house (towels, etc) and hold up stuff just to your face when you're out an about at stores. [Generally unfortunate lighted notwithstanding.] Is it "Glow or...No?"
COLORS FOR PRINTS AND PATTERNS
As a recovering (but lately more like back-sliding!) black textile-a-holic, prints and patterns that mix neutrals with color-color are one of the key things that ease/d me into wearing non-neutrals.
And prints that include darker and lighter tones are a great way to cope with lovely transitional times (winter into spring, summer into fall). Emphasize the darker tones when it's colder out, and the lighter ones when it's warmer.
[I can go weeks on end happily wearing monochromatic or tonal solids, but when I start to get that "OMG I want to burn my closet to the ground" feeling it's generally time to throw on a printed scarf if nothing else.]
My Semi-Serious “10 Feet” Test for Assessing Prints You Want to Wear Near Your Face
Note: To increase your odds of success, try a print that echoes your eye, hair, and/or lip color.
- Stand at least 10 feet from the mirror with the print held up to face. If print is on a bolt of fabric, drape yourself lavishly. Optional: Ignore employees’ withering stares.
- Does your head look like it’s floating on top of the fabric? Put it back.
- Is your head completely unnecessary because the fabric totally dominates you? Put it back.
As I said on another thread, you might find MaiTai's scarf-centric blog worth a look for how she uses neutral palettes with color that suits her personal coloring. Substitute "luxury scarf" for other elements (lower-priced options, printed tops or jackets) if need be.
***
Sorry, getting long. If this is the kind of stuff that's helpful, let me know. I can link to some er, non-traditional blog posts on how I and a few friends built color-based capsules.
