Complimentary colour - Yay or Nay? - YouLookFab Forum

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Complimentary colour - Yay or Nay?

Star

Veteran

Hi Ladies

I recently thrifted this fab quality man's knit for a steal. I nearly did not buy it because I thought the colour would not work with my silver hair. Today, to me, it looks like it does. What do you think? I do blend with my couch throw very well :). Freezing here so the turtleneck is up over my chin... Happy Holidays!!

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Dressing

27 replies

Latest reply was from Star

Sisi

Veteran

Well, on my screen that shade of orange-ish red looks good on you! Hehe, funny match with the couch. You could add a lipstick in a similar color (says the Fan of Lipstick )

Star

Veteran

Thanks Sisi! Yes to the lipstick! I am also a fan and wear it daily when I pop out. Just have not popped out today yet. I do have a brick-ish brown colour that will make the world of difference.

Dee

Veteran

Yes I agree with Sisi, I think it works well on you. Haha, matching the couch, too funny

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I like it, Star! I think the black and white stripe really make it work with your coloring. Nice contrast and a beautiful rust color. I also love this color but don’t wear next to my face very much for flattery reasons — but if I pair it with blues or grey/black/white it works really well!

Star

Veteran

Dee My curtains are the same colour as well
Janet Thanks. I think you are definitely on to something about the stripe making it work better. Now that I think of it Suz always wears patterns with white included for this reason.

RobinF

Veteran

I think it works great. That contrast with the stripes is perfect on you.

Joy

Veteran

Looks fine. I have the same color couch and dishes.

April

Veteran

I think the silver hair zings back at the black and white striping, so brava.

Val

Red and gray are a great combination in my book. This red seems to work well with your skin tone, as far as I can tell from the photo.

Roberta

Veteran

I think it's great on you, and I also would have nabbed it.

Star

Veteran

Thank you all. April I definitely need contrast. You know actually this top is not red, it is a very unusual dark clay color and the stripe is a white/cream with taupe. Besides the contrasting stripe the colour is quite deep which I did not realise in-store, which is good. So YAY! A winner for the princely sum of 2 Euros. It is almost like new too, no stretching or pilling, and is a thick pure cotton knit. I do agree Val that red and grey is a winning combination. Computer/Phone screens are all so different. I don't know how you guys manage to determine true colours when you are shopping on-line. I mostly shop B&M thrift stores.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I love it on you! Think it looks fab with your hair.

ophelia

Veteran

I think a lot of what we hear about colors that do & don’t work w/ gray/silver/etc are generalizations. That red looks good on you & on most women I have seen w/ silver or white. On me, I look sunburned or worse, my nose alone looks red, lol. Yet I (think I)?can wear brown & beige-due to subtropic sun, my skin has a warm tone that works w/ those colors (proof to me that yes, skin tone can change) & my hair still has a lot of brown much to my surprise.

I absolutely agree w/ Suz on choosing prints w/ some white or gray & in fact when she mentioned it I realized I had been doing it w/out realizing it but now I do it intentionally. (My closet is drowning in prints & I try to resist them now, but when I do, they must have gray or white.)

That hue appears to draw out both silver & dark tones in your hair!

Sal

Veteran

It suits you - I like the brick red- it’s a bit different but still very wearable. Great find.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I like it on you! I'd call it brick red, like Sal, and it's hilarious that it matches your couch.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

This is so perfect for you! The white stripe echoes your smile and hair, the black emphasizes your dark eyes, eyelashes and brows, and the red picks up the roses in your cheeks.

And the stripe size and placement suits you really well. I’m trying to dissect the why of it: I think it’s because it repeats the horizontal lines of your smile and brows (your brows are fabulous, btw), without overpowering your facial features. I see you, before I see your sweater, but the sweater is bringing some drama and emphasis.

I’m think going to go examine the patterns in my own closet now.

Star

Veteran

Thank you so much everyone for the comments. I do love this knit. What I also I learned from this exercise is that certain stripes suit me more than I realise.

Star

Veteran

Mary Beth There seems to be so much more to wearing patterns than one would expect. I love your analysis. (Although my eyes are light blue/gray irl). The stripe that looks black is taupe and now think maybe that is working with my eyes! I fill in my sparse brows every morning whether I am leaving home or not. I look quite ghostly if I don't. I am glad you like them. Also I realised fairly recently I need a white stripe on a darker/deeper background (not the other way round). I think the contrast taupe color on the edge of the stripe also helps. Basically I need contrast to feel myself. Maybe because my natural hair was very dark brown... Anyway lots of food for thought so thanks!

Star

Veteran

Sal and Suz it is a brick colour - not quite red though, more brick clay - haha, being a bit pernickety I am!

Star

Veteran

Ophelia you are so right about generalizations and it is so NOT cut and dried! General theory says I should look fab in pastels and I do not. Many silver-heads do not want contrast where I seriously need it. Saturated is better for me. For me it varies within a color if it works for me or not. And it is not only the cool/warm aspect. This is all new-ish to me because as a dark brunette with cool skin and eyes I wore almost any color happily, with a few exceptions, and now it is glaringly obvious when some colors are better than others. Dark purple is totally my friend. Oatmeal not so much.

Star

Veteran

Thanks for chiming in Roberta, April, JenniNZ and RobinF! Appreciate your thoughts.

Star

Veteran

Joy I have the same color curtains too!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I think it looks great on you. The black echos your dark brows, the white your hair and the reddish color just looks good.

Star

Veteran

Thanks Jaime!

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

Looks great on you! I believe this is why seasonal colour analysts/ personal stylists say that our season does not change even when we go grey - sure, we may shift to a different sub-season (the lack of contrast etc you mentioned as we age) but usually the overarching category does not change...

...though @ophelia does bring up the point that there are always exceptions to any 'rule'! Have you always lived in a subtropical country, Ophelia? I noticed when I lived in Brazil that my skin would tan much more 'golden' compared to Hong Kong's sun (where I go more 'yellow') & the UK's (what sun? Haha )

ophelia

Veteran

Wow Zaeobi, that is amazing. So the sun literally has different effects on skin depending on where a person is! I find this fascinating. I was raised in a temperate climate, although much sunnier & drier than London! I did tan a lot—back then we wore “suntan oil” & laid out in the sun trying to get a tan—& I’d say there I got more brown than yellow now that I think about it? But then again, I now wear (sometimes useless) sunblock & don’t lay out. But the yellow/olive overtone seems permanent now.
One time I saw an illustration on how deep sun damage goes & was shocked. I guess that’s what changed my skintone. When I first moved here, I worked & played outside, so even w/ sunblock would get tan.
I always read your posts w/ interest as I know you have to go out & about/work in a similar climate to mine (probably hotter where you are!). Usually by the time I get to work I’ve sweated off all my foundation, lol. I’ve become a huge fan of 100 % cotton clothing! Plus w/ hot flashes I’ve become pretty heat intolerant. I look forward to getting out of here one day

Star

Veteran

Zaoebi/Ophelia reading your comments regarding different tans in different locations with interest. I have experience living in the Southern and Northern hemisphere. When living in the Southern hemisphere I always had a gold-ish skin tone through summer and winter (although I knew I am more on the cool toned side). Now with the longer winters in the Northern hemisphere I completely lose the golden tone and go very pale. So I think it is more the prolonged length of time of the sun exposure that affects skin colour. However it is also a fact that the ozone layer in the Southern hemisphere is more depleted and thus you burn more quickly. Any thoughts on this? And Zaoebi yes I think our original cool or warm tone remains even when we go grey.