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The colour you thought you can't wear, but actually can?

Bijou

Veteran

I have previously thought that yellow and gold were colours I could not wear. However, I seem to be acquiring quite a few yellow toned items and been pleasantly surprised that they work on me.

My hair is currently closer to platinum blonde rather than the honey tones that I wore when younger, which may be the reason that something I previously thought was terrible on me now feels fab. Also, my yellow pieces are generally mixed with other colours that are good on me - prints with pinks and reds in two dresses.

This seems to be working in reverse too. I previously liked grey and beige. I can wear them, but they feel flat on me and I need brights to made them feel more like me. Previously I was happy to wear black and grey or black and beige - but now I want more colour. So I am not sure whether this is just a personal preference or if as I am getting older, my colouring has changed.

So is anyone else experiencing something similar - trying a new colour that they thought would be deathly and actually liking it?

In finds are my collection of items with yellow.

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Dressing

30 replies

Latest reply was from Bijou

Anonymous

These yellows are beautiful - and there is nothing prettier than a soft yellow like you show in the two bottom pictures.I can see why you love it ! I've experience a similar "aha" moment with colour lately, and am trying to be careful that I don't go overboard. That's my personality and I have to watch it when shopping

And yes, age may have something to do with it. I'm a lot older than you, but it took me quite a few years to recognize the changes in skin tone vis a vis fading or changing hair colour. It does happen.

Liesbeth

Veteran

How fun for you! I have tried to push myself a bit outside my comfort zone this season, holding up cinnamon pieces near my face... but take the same thing in a shade of blue and it's just soo much better. Never say never but I'm not currently branching out too much colorwise (just wearing color at all is a stretch for me ;))

Lavender&Mint

There is a very specific shade of pumpkin/cinnamon that works on me, even though orange/rust/very warm tones do NOT work with my skin tone.

I love mustard, but it doesn't love me ... so I'm looking to add it through accessories rather than near my face.

nemosmom

Veteran

I had that recently with my attraction to dark slate grey (or as I like to call, "washed black"). I swore off all black when I had my color palette done gosh, like, 20ish years ago? Anyway, the consultant told me I should stay away from black, so I passed on all of it (which was a lot; I was into the rocker look in school) right about the time retail started dumping brown and stocking loads of grey and black

I've started adding it again in the form of jackets and bottoms and loving it's grounding effect on the rest of my colors.

I could see your yellows working beautifully on you! Especially the velvet Cue dress and the light yellow halter. Stunning!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Makes perfect sense. We cannot see colours in isolation. Colours change when you wear them with other colours, which is why I believe that having your colours done is merely a starting point, and to be taken with a pinch of salt. And YES, our complexions change as we age. Must rethink colours.

Bijou, these items look beautiful and I know they look gorgeous.

As for me - well. I'm wearing grey! But with lots of happy red and checks

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I agree that yellow can be tricky when you have yellow hair.l think that platinum blonde s such as you and Angie can wear yellow better than dirty blondes like me.l was colour coded when I was younger but found it quite restrictive now I just wear what I like although I do think that there are colours that suit me better than others.l look like death in black and mustard but turquoise and camel are great.

The Cat

Veteran

Yes, it's interesting to discover what "new" colours we can wear well when our complexion, hair colour and even eye colour (it probably becomes a bit softer and/or lighter) change as we age.

For me it is (various shades of) pale purple. Great with my present colouring. (Much better than blush. ) And goes surprisingly well with most other colours in my wardrobe.

rachylou

Veteran

You know, mumsey just said to me I don’t look good in yellow this week... how can she say this to me when I don’t wear yellow? And didn’t she buy me my first puffy, bright yellow, when I was six?

Sara L.

Veteran

I always thought I looked terrible in mustard but I have a mustard top (long story) and it looks fine on me. I think it's this particular shade of mustard and I still need to be careful with which shade I choose. Beige still makes me look like death so no change there.

Bonnie

Veteran

This has recently happened to me, too. I thought I couldn't wear purple but I decided to order a cardi for fall on a whim. I love it!

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Donegal Long Cardigan Sweater

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Sal

Veteran

Camel for me - I worked out that warm ones are great. Oatmeal or cooler taupe are awful!

I am pretty relaxed about colours and will give most things a go-and I am pleased to see lots more options around.

Pleased yellows are in favour Bijou - such a positive happy colour.

Katerina

Veteran

The yellow pieces you have are beautiful and suit you so well. I can imagine that a change in hair color make a lot of difference.
I have not changed my hair color much during my life - I dye it similar to my natural dark brown. But I think my complexion has changed with age. Some colors which were great on me when I was younger are not as good now, like baby pink. Now I prefer more fuchsia or deeper pinks.
I wear a lot of different colors, also those that are not so good for my coloring, because I just want to wear them. I mix such colors with “my” colors and don’t wear them around my face. A rather new color to me is mint green. I always thought it didn’t work on me, but I got some pieces which are not bad with my colors.

nuancedream

Veteran

Turquoise is a color that I always liked on other people, but rarely on myself. The cooler toned turquoise, coupled with black and/or white, reminds me of a 1980s television news anchor and looks ghastly on me. However, a warmer turquoise that almost looks green I can wear and it plays well with cream and teal.

Cee

Veteran

Purple and I have been mortal enemies since it took my leg in '76.

K. Period.

Veteran

So many....Thanks to Angie I now know that taupe (a.k.a. donkey), toffee, camel, and mustard work shockingly well on me. I was 100% a doubter on each of those, but Angie was 100% right.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Pink! We’ve talked about this before. It took me a while to get over certain hang-ups, but now I like many shades of it on me. I’m still not into sugary-sweet pastels of any color though.

Also, black! There were a few years after “doing my colors” bitd that I didn’t think I could wear it, but then I discovered charcoal & anthracite. I still tend to go a little slowly with black—don’t understand why some people say it’s “easier” than other colors—but I wear it, generally in patterns or offset with something bright.

Yellow has gone the other way for me—used to wear it, now don’t like it on me. I’m not sure if this is me developing a better “eye” or changes in my appearance not working well with it.

rachylou

Veteran

Lol, Cee!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Yes absolutely. I used to think I look best in lighter blues and cool colors. And grey. But I am fading - my hair and skin and even my eyes I think. Now I do think brighter colors look better and there may be some truth to the idea of older women wearing brighter colors to make themselves more visible - literally and figuratively.

Christina F.

Veteran

I did think I could wear bright white. It turns out that it was just wedding dresses - I needed ivory. White is fine for me nowadays and in the context of clothes with other colors.

Joy

Veteran

I didn’t really believe I could wear yellow, but the right shade of light mustard works well. Even some brighter mustards that are more yellow than murky, will work, but I was surprised,
.

RainB

Funny how so many of us have this relationship with yellow! Never thought I could wear it either, and it's still not the best colour for me. But I recently bought a dress in a mustard yellow which surprisingly looked fine. I would use either accessories (probably pops of turquoise )or lipstick to make it work better though.

Marilyn

Veteran

YES! I'm wearing a camel pullover today and I THINK it's good. And, of course, camel can differ from item to item so it's this particular shade of camel that I'm wearing. I had my colours done back in the 80's and they said I was a summer (cool). The colours in my swatch packet work....although I only wear some of them....so I think that analysis was fairly helpful. But, the Sephora girls say my complexion has warm tones. Hmmm. I THINK I'm a summer who can dabble with some autumn colours. Anyway, I'm thrilled to wear this colour and I hope I'm not deluding myself into thinking it works. I love neutrals so having a new one is exciting.

Bijou

Veteran

Wow - it has been fun to read the feedback.

Lisa - it is probably crazy, but I always expected that my 'best colours' would stay constant, despite the ageing process lightening up my natural colour (and with a bit of help from my hairdresser).

Liesbeth - you have been a great inspiration in adding new colours to your wardrobe that look great with your colouring. Blush and burgundy come to mind as really pretty colours that you have added recently that work so well with your blues and neutrals.

Lavender & mint - that is a good idea to embrace accessories in colours that are not great with our complexions. Army green is too murky a colour to be flattering on me, yet is great in accessories as it goes with everything.

Nemosmom - I am looking forward to seeing you outfits with the washed black colour.

Angie - I can believe you buying the grey "dog lover" sweater and making it work perfectly. Your wardrobe is so cohesive, I think you could make any colour work for you.

Cardiff Girl - yellow can be tricky on blondes. The one colour I absolutely cannot wear is nude tones - I look positively sick.

The Cat - your comment is really so instructive and I guess this is another area of not fighting nature but embracing the changes that age brings and enjoying wearing a new colour palette.

Rachy - my first raincoat was bright yellow too. I guess our Mum's bought them for safety reasons rather than flattery - my Mum was concerned that I would be visible to traffic on wet and rainy days.

Bijou

Veteran

Sarah - Glad you are enjoying mustard. I need bright or clear shades of yellow too.

Bonnie - I LOVE your new cardigan. Well done on trying something different.

Sal - yes! Keeping an open mind and trying new things is very wise.

Katerina - I love your new mint leather coat. As Angie says, colours are not to be looked at in isolation, and so the way you wear this coat looks fresh and very beautiful. You really know how to mix colours to maximise their impact and also suit your colouring.

Nuancedream - it is funny, because the turquoise that you dislike is one of my best colours!

Cee - you have to post the purple shade that you dislike so much.

K.Period - Angie is always right!

Fashintern - pink can be a tricky colour as at times it has a bit of a Barbie effect. I say embrace the bubblegum pink and have fun with it.

Shevia - the idea that middle aged women become invisible seems so wrong to me. In my mind, most middle aged women have the courage and style to dress to suit themselves and so are more visible rather than less. Although, perhaps I am saying that through the lense of being middle aged myself and hence I notice my contemporaries rather than the younger women around me. This is definite food for thought.

Christina - I am glad that you are enjoying white - it is such a great neutral and works with all other colours.

Joy - I 100% agree with you - this has been exactly my experience with yellow and mustard.

RainB - Yellow can be a tricky colour to get right. However, given how pretty it is, it really is worth the effort.

Marilyn - I was diagnosed as a classic Summer too. I sort of disregard the classification from time to time as I like wearing a range of different colours and am happy to be just flattering enough rather than sticking to a fixed colour palette.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Bijou, you are soooo gracious and kind. Thank you for your impeccable manners.

Anonymous

Blush. I thought I couldn't wear anything remotely resembling pastel, but Angie's post (a long time ago) convinced me to try it. That said it has to be deep/ toasted and warm toned to work.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I am not sure. I “did” my colours (myself) from Carole Jackson’s book Colour Me Beautiful in about 1983/4, and was very sure I was a Spring. Bright warm clear colours. Those were the ones I liked best and also got complimented on the most. I do think with age my eye colour has gone a lighter blue and obviously grey hair is a cooler colour than my previous rich brunette colour. An updated version of that book has me still thinking I am more warm than cool, but can now wear cooler colours more happily in addition to my previous favourites. And I’ve also been surprised since last year by how much I like the bronzes and even the browns, which I would regard as more “Autumn” colours.

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Bijou

Veteran

Angie - thank you - what a lovely compliment.

Suntiger - you look great in warm tones, glad you found the shade of blush that works for you.

JenniNZ - you may be one of those lucky people who can wear both. I think of bronze as not being either cool or warm and it means that you can wear both shades of colour equally well. You do look amazing in cobalt and red.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Bijou, you look like you’re having fun when you wear bubble gum. It’s still too pink for me. I feel happy on either side of it—blush, fuchsia, ballet pink, but Barbie/bubblegum, as well as any sugary color, just wouldn’t feel right.

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