An eye for line, colour and shape? Do you have it? - YouLookFab Forum

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An eye for line, colour and shape? Do you have it?

Helena

Veteran

Hi all! Just curious about something ... reading Jussie's recent thread and Suz' thread about style personality matching/mismatching, I am struck by how certain forum members have an excellent ability to see line, colour and shape, and translate this into flattery/harmony, as well as generalized rules to apply to their style.

In my case, I don't have this. Sure over the years I've figured out a few things - cool colours work better than warm and some contrast is good, super-high rises don't flatter me, etc. But generally speaking, I still don't have a great eye for, say, holding up a piece of clothing and determining whether the colour is flattering, or knowing what shape of a dress might work. Sometimes I will see a photo and see that something definitely didn't work - but ask me to articulate why and I can only make clumsy observations; for example, a dress I wore to a wedding several years ago made me look like a clunky linebacker. Don't ask me why; I don't know! I'm guessing it was too "soft" (Kibbe) but that's as refined as I get.

In fact that darn Kibbe test is a great example - are my limbs long? What shape is my face? I have no idea lol

Anyways, not even sure where I'm going with this ... just something I noticed. What do you think? Did you train your eye, or do you have a natural affinity for it? Are some people just less capable of this (in the same way, for example, some people are more of less coordinated for certain sports, let's say)? Is it information overload? Is this related to the fact that I have no sense of direction and limited spatial sense?? Is this a totally useless thread?!?!? I want to know your thoughts!

General

50 replies

Latest reply was from Sal

April

Veteran

I'm with you, Helena, which is why I came to YLF in the first place.

I would say I've learned a lot (gad, been here nearly 14 years, I hope so!) but still don't do this as effortlessly as, say, Angie, or even my son.

Runcarla

Veteran

You are not alone Helena. Harmony or aesthetics does not come easily to me. I need recipes or formulas and am an experiental learner (learn from mistakes!) This is true with gardening, home decor, and personal style/fashion.

My experience working with a landscape architect at my last house, and an interior designer for the house I live in now saved time and money. Books and YouTube’s are useful, but working side by side with a professional (one who ‘gets’ you) is the best. It’s not all about giving up the reigns, though. It’s co-operative and a learning experience. (And wouldn’t we all just love being a personal client of Angie’s!)

There are things that I do very well, and for which I got paid in the world of work. I still get sought out for those skills. They aren’t things that I would call artistic, however!

The best money I ever spent has been on learning experiences. Besides the endeavours noted above, taking piano lessons and hiring a personal trainer.

Sisi

Veteran

Haha, Helena, you are fun! I do not have great eye. I think it is a talent, an instinctive ability - as you say, it's like in sports. Some have it, some have it not. Oh well! I have YLF for that.

Roberta

Veteran

In my opinion, very few people have a natural eye for color and style and design. Those few are artists! The rest of us have to study. I feel like I got more than one graduate degree in fashion by reading dozens of books, memorizing the color wheel, looking at hundreds and hundreds of magazine illustrations, following websites like YLF and personal blogs, etc. Or perhaps you worked in the field, and added knowledge to your own interests and intuition. But when I started, I only knew that I didn't know what I was doing, if you get my drift.

In my sixties, I think I know my body and what works on it, but I am still regularly surprised by garments, like that Cos vest, that I never thought would work on me, and yet I really like them. I am still very much a student!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I think that — like so many things — it’s a combination of natural ability and a trained eye. I’ve always had good visual instincts and spacial skills (my sister and I are really really good at knowing how much stuff can be packed in a box or how much sauce can fit in a Tupperware container). But I’m also trained in various fields of design so my eye is always working!

anchie

Veteran

I have exact same problem as you. I could never tell what season I am, what shape is my face or do any other self assessment. That is why I love rules and formulas. I honestly can’t answer this Kibbe test and envy those who can.
And I also have poor sense of direction I also don’t notice details unless someone pointed them to me. That is why I often post K/R because I can’t tell for myself if something is ok or not. And I am so grateful when someone points to me when something is wrong - like too tight or too long, or pulling or anything like that - because I don’t notice it myself. Also when for example some outfit is discussed in a thread, and different people comment on different things, I have to go back to the photo couple of times to check what they are talking about and only then I see it.
I can safely say I am not a visual type. I would be a terrible witness.

Helena

Veteran

Ahhh thank you so much all! I knew you'd be able to make something useful out of my random musings!

Anchie ... I am EXACTLY like you ... I can see things *after* the issue been pointed out, but not usually before ... or I can pick out that a colour looks bad on me if I see it in my Google photos against a bunch of other photos, but not in the moment.

I hope we never get lost together ... we may never be found hahah!

Irina

Veteran

I think it is helpful to learn at least basics - from books, trained professionals, films. I'm always interested in how things work and what they mean. I don't like to follow formulas but to break rules you need to know them. I believe in an individual prospective on things. Yes, I do know my colors/seasons but I wear what I believe looks good on me and what I like. So, black and not brown as suggested for my Soft Autumn coloring.
I think that I differentiate between a "prescribed flattery" according to rules and my own "individual flattery", IYKWIM. I honestly don't know if it means I know what works for me or just have an illusion that I do.
In any case, I'm OK with it.

Jules

Veteran

Like runcarla I've had to learn it, and in the same spheres (clothing, house, garden). I have always been more of a written word person than visual. But the advantage I find to having learned it my way is that I can (sometimes) explain ideas to others who think like me, whereas some more intuitive people may not be able to explain their thinking verbally.

Peri

Veteran

As a teacher I've had to think hard about learning styles and I can say with certainty that I am not a visual person, let alone a visual learner. I barely register what I'm seeing as I go through a day. Examples:

I have to meet someone several times before I can remember what they look like.
I can't describe a room I just left.
I'm constantly saying things like "when did you get your braces off" and getting the answer "3 months ago".

I could go on and on. So yes, some people are very visual and some people are very not visual and most people are somewhere in between. Like anything, we can work hard to improve our weaker style, but may never be as good as the people who can just see things so clearly.

For me, I can, just sitting here right now, recall the exact sound a baby goat made several years ago when I squeezed it too hard (not on purpose, it was just so cute!) and the exact crunch of walking through dry leaves in the Fall. Good thing...I'm a piano teacher. Auditory all the way. But no to the line, color, shape...that "language" is not mine. Only the line, color, and shape of sound.

cat2

Veteran

We are all so different! I never get lost, but I also have no sense of spatial relations, and could not figure out a furniture floor plan without cutting out little couches to go on a floor-sized grid. I figured out what works for my shape by trial and error, but used online resources to clarify my style and color preferences. I found The Curated Closet really helpful, as well as some random style quizzes, and some old InStyle articles suggesting color combinations. Now I can shop with confidence, but it took some concerted effort. Kibbe was also not for me, looking at pictures of the narrow acceptable range of body types for Hollywood actresses did not shed any light at all on how I should be dressing my unrepresented in his Hollywood archetypes pear frame. I check here and elsewhere for inspiration on how to remix what I have and to give me a heads up on when to go shopping because something that will work for me is trending. And to commiserate and find other resources when retail is giving us nothing but years of gladiator sandals.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Peri, that’s so interesting!

I don’t necessarily think we humans are either/or when it comes to this stuff either. I have a really good auditory memory for things like knowing that two different songs are in the same key or have the same bassline (again, years of lots of listening, learning audio production and working in radio contributed). I’m also good at being able to match colors even if they’re not in front of me, working from memory.

At the same time, I can be really bad at putting names to faces.

ChristelJ

Veteran

Such an interesting thread! I relate to so much here.

As a visual artist, I have lots of experience and training with color, shape etc. I feel like I can determine subtle variations in color and shape in art, decor, nature, even garments in stores, in photos or on other people. The thing is, I often have NO IDEA if something looks "good" on me or not. As an intuitive person who does not like to analyze, I end up wearing what makes me feel good, or what I like on the hanger, but can be clueless about what I am projecting to others. Therefore I am easily influenced by what other people say about my outfits, even though I know there is an element of the subjective there.

YLF helps me learn more every day about those mysterious elements like fit, proportion, texture, and personal style goals.

rachylou

Veteran

Well, this is interesting to think about! I have decent spatial perception. I can parallel park in a tight space. I can cram a lot more on a warehouse shelf than my co-workers and do it neatly. But I cannot for the life of me hit any kind of ball with any kind of stick - golf ball, tennis ball, baseball, whatever!

I’ve had a decent amount of education in aesthetics. Art, graphic design, optics, philosophy. So I can duplicate clothing styles… but I don’t think I can shop for OTHER people. I love interior decorating magazines and so forth, but please please … my plan is to stop at saying yes to some pendant lamps for the bakery’s main retail shop. I absolutely do NOT want to tackle display decorations or the interior refresh (and it’s honestly time for one). I have opinions, I have theories, but not that many.

rachylou

Veteran

Throwing this out there… I saw something on the internet - a graphic about people being asked to visualise an apple. The replies were so interesting in how many people saw nothing v an outline v a 3-d image. I will say that I’m the sort that can imagine the taste of an apple looking at the tree… and I think that may be unusual because of something that someone once said to me…

Anonymous

I've been told I have my grandpa's eye- he was an artist by trade, but I've also done A Lot of personal study too. I'm very into visual harmony, and am constantly tweaking things to get as close to perfect as possible.

slim cat

Veteran

"Live and learn" - would be my thing I guess. The forum and blog have been enormous help in figuring certain things out, so are books, TV shows and magazines. I always loved the idea of body shape and best proportions for such but that went out of window some time ago - lol.
The eye adjust and we try new things/shapes/colors with some degree of success. It's a process .

Runcarla

Veteran

So…DH just asked me if the sweater I was wearing was new. Well, I’ve worn it 14 times since I got it 4 months ago - including yesterday!

Helena

Veteran

Thank you everyone for chiming in - wonderful thread!

Carla, I nearly did a spit-take when I read that lol ... my DH is the same ... "oh you look great in that sweater, I've never seen it before!"

"thx, I bought it in 2014" lol!!

BTW - on the Kibbe sideline - for fun, I tried again, found a version that had some really good explanations about what everything means, and I came out as a natural, with a strong minority of classic. This seems sensible? Proof of concept that different people can figure out the same stuff, but by different means. Funny that I used to always come out as a Dramatic Classic, but I've come to realize that although I am fairly compact in size, I do have some width through the shoulders and torso. So I am refining my understanding of it all, I guess.

Of course there IS no Kibbe category for a Natural with Classic in second place; I guess that just means Natural in his system ... but that's fine since I'm not going to change anything based on it I think my classic casual style is probably close enough anyway. At least that's what I'm going with!

But fun and interesting (and great way to procrastinate too!)

Lesley

Veteran

What an interesting question, and lots of interesting ways of thinking about it here! I agree that some people *have* it and the rest of us have to study, although we obviously find the studying fun, because here we are!

I naturally have a good eye for color, but what does this mean exactly? It's so subjective. I tell myself I have a good eye for color because I am very good at choosing colors I love for things and those colors harmonize to my eye, but quite often they are colors that other people might not like putting together themselves (case in point: just finishing painting the lower half of my dining room a dark teal while I wait for leafy green wallpaper for the upper half, and moving on to paint my living room pink, next. In a city where neutrally-decorated homes are ubiquitous). So other people might *not* agree that I have a good eye for color!

Shape is tough! Just because I can look at a silhouette and have ideas for what makes it work or not, does not mean that my own silhouettes are always flawless! I live in the reality of my body size and shape and what is actually available for me in stores. Compromise and practicality sometimes rule the day and it means my silhouette might not be optimal on a given day, but c'est la vie.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Interesting thread, Helena -- thanks for starting. And Carla, I, too, almost spit out the coffee at your husband's comment. I got a similar one from Mr. Suz the other day!

I've always responded to colour and design and have always been interested in it, in a strictly amateur kind of way. I drew and painted as a kid, enjoyed art class (until someone told me I wasn't much good at it, LOL), but regularly renew my dabbling there, like taking photos, etc. But I've also benefitted from instruction and analysis...so it's not an either-or thing. What can I call it? Educated intuition, I guess.

I mean, when I had my colours "done" the woman only told me what I already knew.

I do think some of this may be inborn...and some is acquired through practice and instruction.

I can hear what Peri hears, too. And taste the apple in the tree, like Rachy. And smell the rose (or the way I wish it would smell -- some of them are so pallid these days!) when I see it.

Here's an interesting article on the different ways we think: https://www.newyorker.com/maga.....es-of-thin

pirouette

I am like you Helena I have no idea about colour or design but I know what I like and what I don’t like but have no idea why ! But as others have said I can see what’s wrong when someone points it out. That’s why I like this forum Angie explains fashion very clearly.

judy

Veteran

For me, it is instinctual. I know what I like and what I don't like. I have always had a confidence to go out on a limb with wearing something I didn't even see anyone wearing, or maybe that one person, and oh I like that, not just the way it looks but it's a "feeling" thing. I don't dress to please others or flatter my body necessarily, though.

But my confidence was shaped through adversity. In grade school I had older sisters who teased me by saying "You're wearing THAT?" and when I'd ask them what was wrong with it, they'd just laugh. So pleasing others was impossible and this sparked well, being in another lane I suppose. Wear what you want, there is no pleasing them. And guess who has more fun with her clothes now??

This is reminding me of the Sixty Minutes interview with the record producer Rick Rubin. His book is The Creative Act: A Way of Being. I feel we can all learn this. It's kind of about permission and trust, experience and knowledge. And I suspect if you don't feel creative with clothing, there is some place in your life where this creativity is already at play for you, though perhaps unappreciated...? Though the same principles can be transferred...and voila, wisdom! It's a process, not an end goal, as he says, a way of being. And it's fun.

Dee

Veteran

For me its all instinct for the most part, but I’ve learned a heck of lot from YLF and other fashion sites.

I am also painter and have studied art so I am constantly focused on the composition of things, I just can’t help myself. I need to understand why something is visually pleasing to me.

Hate to say it, but there might be some useful stuff with Kibbe and having your colours done. They offer a bit of guidance if you can figure out where you fall within their frameworks.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I think I am with judy 2 comments above me, initially anyway. I think when I was young I instinctively knew what I liked, the first time I consciously remember that I was 13 and saw a dress in a store window that I begged Mum for. She bought it for me and I was so happy. I also got some way-out things in my late teens like the 50c winklepickers at the church fair. So I was a happy magpie for a long time and only lost my fashion way in my 30s ( no time, 3 young kids, less money) and then late 40s ( menopausal body changes and loss of confidence in how to dress).
But I have also loved to learn about all the schemes of what suits us- lapped up “Colour Me Beautiful” (Carole Jackson) in the early 80s but found I was already buying and wearing and getting compliments on the “Spring” colour scheme I thought I was. Later I lapped up the Trinny and Susannah “Body Shape Bible” and more recently the Kibbe stuff I first heard of here on the YLF forum.
I have also learned so much through Angie’s blog and this forum but as you likely all know do not chase trends much- only perhaps if they are trends or colours I already love.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Sorry Helena your links to the threads don’t work for me. I have found and re-read Suz’s thread but which thread of Jussie’s is it? Name of the thread?
ETA: just found it “Soft summer and waist surrendering”. Hadn’t read enough of it before.

LJP

Veteran

Late to this but haven’t had a chance to be here today ! Although I don’t think I’m some fashion genius , I do like to think I have a natural affinity for design , colour , spatial arrangement etc. I also feel like I’ve had a LOT of both informal and formal training in design , fashion illustration , construction , colour theory , etc. and my small little brain is jammed full of fashion information , lol. I sometimes neee to be reminded to use all of it when dressing myself , but most of the time I think I know what I’m doing . I’m that person who notices EVERYTHING about people I meet . Down to the stitch on the back of your new coat that is still holding the vent closed and how well groomed your nails are , lol.

LJP

Veteran

Also loving Carla’s husband’s comment .

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Just reading through these responses, I am learning there are many ways a person can have an eye for line, color, and shape! I laughed at Janet's mention of how much sauce can fit in a Tupperware. My DH and I have a joke about his finding a "suitably large container" for leftovers, because he tends to overestimate the amount, and I pride myself on getting a good fit--haha! I think I do have a good eye for color, shape, and line, developed over the years because I have been very interested in clothing and fashion ever since I can remember. I didn't do particularly well in art classes, and no one ever suggested I go into fine arts. But I can often remember exactly what I was wearing on a particular occasion, and not just from photos. In my sewing hobby, I have a good sense of what fabrics will work--and how they will work--with certain patterns. For a long time I took this skill for granted, until I realized some of my sewing friends have trouble figuring out what to make with certain fabrics. That doesn't mean I always know how something is going to turn out, though, or whether I'll like how it looks on me.

Often I find it difficult to identify what colors, shapes, and lines look good on me. It's much easier to discern on other people.

Like many commenters here, I had trouble with the Kibbe quizzes, trying to figure out what shapes this or that part of me is. It was crazy-making! I spent several months in his online forum, on Facebook, going through exercises he offered for free, to figure out what your lines are, with the idea of dressing in a way that complements the lines that are in your person. He also has a set of exercises for color. I didn't get to a definitive answer on either line or color, but I think I got close. There was a line-drawing exercise where you draw a silhouette of yourself, as if a fabric is draped over you (hard to explain and even harder to understand his explanation), and I kept re-doing it because I just couldn't accept that my silhouette looked like what I was drawing. I think my drawings were accurate, but my mental image of myself was off. That was kind of eye-opening.

Now I am trying to focus on wearing what I feel complements my looks as they are, rather than as what I think or wish I looked like. It might not look any different to someone else, but the approach does feel a little different to me.

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