Trying again with lapis blue - YouLookFab Forum

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Trying again with lapis blue

Aziraphale

Veteran

The other day I added a lovely plum-coloured skirt to my spring/summer capsule (always my weakest suit!) and I am absolutely delighted with it. It's a perfect fit at the waist, perfect length (longer on me than on the model; it hits slightly below my knee), lovely lightweight stretch linen fabric, and it's in one of my favourite and best colours. (Pretty much any of the plum, burgundy or merlot shades are a slam-dunk on me). I liked it so much I found myself wanting the other colour too, which is a beautiful rich lapis blue.

But here's the thing. I discovered a couple of years ago that lapis is emphatically not my colour. It's up there with icy lavender on the Colours That Make Me Look Consumptive list. I bought a lovely lapis-blue top (mainly because it had a sting-ray printed on, which I couldn't resist), but found that every time I wore it I looked washed out. I eventually gave it to my blue-eyed daughter, on whom it looks fabulous. But I love this skirt so much that I'm giving it another try. I figure it's on the bottom half, so it shouldn't affect the facial complexion, right?

Does anybody else do this with colours you like but that don't suit you?

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Dressing

24 replies

Latest reply was from Bijou

Inge

(website)

Yes, I do this too, A. Mostly with black, a colour that isn't flattering for my complexion, so I hardly ever wear it close to my face. I also don't wear it all that often in general, but I am in love with the cropped black pants I got at the NAS last year, and have no trouble at all wearing a not-so-flattering-for-me colour as "bottoms", as long as the colour works with the tops in my wardrobe (predominantly cool colours).

I bet you'll be able to make the blue skirt work. As a start, I think it will look beautiful with the plums in your closet.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Thanks, Inge! I think it'll work. I'm wearing it today with a black top (black is, surprisingly, not terrible on me). It also works with light grey, white and cream. The lapis blue clashes dreadfully with plum, though -- at least to my eye!

Inge

(website)

Ah, I looked at the two skirts pictured here side by side, and I thought the color combo looked lovely
And brilliant that black tops work on you (wish they did on me as well;-).

See, you've already found four colours that work with the skirt, so it sounds like a winner to me...

Aziraphale

Veteran

It's all in the eye of the beholder! I think I have a relatively low tolerance for colour mixing though

Inge

(website)

Exactly!-)
Go with what you love, always!

Greenjeans

Veteran

Yes, I've done this. A just-right scarf close to the face can help, too, though I never really feel great in items that aren't a good color on me.

Things are going better for me shopping-wise since limiting my palette to colors I know work on me. One of the bennies of sticking with a limited palette is that all the things go together so color mixing gets easier.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Greenjeans, I agree that shopping is easier when we limit the palette. I generally do that too, and just about everything in my wardrobe goes with everything else, colour-wise (and my closet looks great with all the harmonious colours hanging together!). That's why this blue skirt is a bit of an anomaly. (I hide it at the back of the closet so I can't see it clash with everything else, because I'm not a totally sane person). It's such a pretty colour, though, and a gorgeous shape, so I'm giving it a try!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I think it can certainly work worn away from your face if that allows you to enjoy the color! I love that color myself, and it's not easy to find lately.

I wear some colors that are not my best, even near my face. I have orange workout gear because the color makes me happy even though it doesn't make me look great. But I don't even bother with yellow or citron because I just don't love them enough to wear them, especially on my bottom half, which I don't like to emphasize with bright colors anyway.

Greenjeans

Veteran

Yes! I do that, too (hide clashy things).

Tisa

Yes, I do that too. As long as the less flattering colour isn't too close to my face, I can usually pull it off. However, short skirts or shorts can be challenging, since they show a lot of skin. The wrong colour can make legs look less flattering and skin imperfections more noticeable. For many of us that can be just as problematic as wearing the clashing colour next to our faces.
If you wear skirts with hosiery, you won't have this problem of course.

I really like both skirts on your pictures. They look beautiful and I hope the blue one works for you.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I definitely do this. Angie had a blog post on it a while back. I tend to do it with bags and footwear. I can't wear yellow but had a mustard bag for a while that I adored!!

Sara L.

Veteran

Pretty skirts! I do this - mustard makes me look like death but I have mustard pants that aren't a problem.

K. Period.

Veteran

I do this for sure. My color is olive. I love it. It is a lovely neutral. But gah, not next to my face.

I wear cobalt a lot. What about plum isn't working for you? Is it a warm plum? Or have you tried a cooler plum (I wear cobalt and cool plum). I also wear cobalt with any color you find in a peacock feather. (Isn't that a great, easy way to identify a color set?)

The Cat

Veteran

Love that skirt. The colours and the pattern are very "me". So if you should decide not to wear it any longer, please send it my way!

If you don't like to wear the skirt with items in plum tones, what about tops and toppers in offwhite or jeansblue?

My answer to your last question is no. I have stopped buying and wearing items in colours that don't suit me. Now it is a daily pleasure to use colours that I know I look good in. And as most of my (cool) colours go together very well, it is easy to create lots of different outfits even from relatively few items - a great advantage when travelling, for instance.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Janet, I like orange workout gear too. I used to have a favourite hoody in orange...not sure if it looked good or not, though! That was way back before I cared about flattering colours, and was young enough to look OK in pretty much anything!

Greenjeans, glad to know you like to conceal stuff in your closet too!

Tisa, I'm wearing this blue skirt today with bare legs, and it looks totally fine. Maybe it's a slightly better lapis blue than my other top that I didn't like? Or maybe it's that I've got a pretty neutral skin tone? I can't tell. I can't even get past the first question on those seasonal quiz things.

Suz, I came so close to buying a mustard-coloured bag once. I ended up not because I decided I liked the cognac one better, but the mustard was super cool. Thumbs up for your good taste

Sarah L, I bet your mustard pants are awesome.

The Cat and K. Period, I love my plum skirt. I like it even better than the blue one. I don't like plum WITH lapis blue, that's all. I have several tops that work with my lapis skirt, though, so I'm ok there -- it works with black, charcoal, cream, white, black-and-white stripe, and light grey.

LaPed

Veteran

From the pic on my monitor, it strikes me that that particular lapis blue isn't very saturated. It reads to me as almost a very deep cornflower blue, with a slightly purplish cast to it (which could be completely untrue IRL, but whatev). So, if the consistent thread in your "good" colors is that they are slightly muted, this may very well be one of them (or at least not an outright "bad" color). I'm with Suz that it sounds like you might be a Soft Autumn, if you do decide to head down the color analysis rabbit hole.

I just bought a pair of pants in a color that is totally outside of my current wheelhouse (they're a sort of faded russet). They fit great, but I'm fence-sitting a little because I want to make sure they're versatile enough. They look good with black, white, charcoal, and navy, so I should be good to go.

In any case, those are both gorgeous skirts. I love the idea of graphic skirts, but they always become orphans in my wardrobe because I can't easily pair them with graphic/printed tops. Enjoy!

Aziraphale

Veteran

La Pedestrienne, I think you might be right. The colour is a bit muted, so maybe that's why it works. I love the graphic prints too. These skirts are made by a local company that silkscreens a lot of nature-y and science-y stuff onto their products. I have all kinds of neat prints. Butterflies are not normally my thing, but pretty on this skirt. I have a dress that has flies printed on it, and another with peonies overlaid on a blocks of prime numbers, a cardigan with the periodic table (nerd alert!), fish overlaid on a topographical map...lots of neat prints.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I have a really cool t-shirt from this company with a rooster silkscreened in green on a cobalt background. It would be awful on you (according to what you say about your colours) but it is a slam dunk with white shorts for me! Love this company's stuff....I got DD a black tee with a cool cat on it.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Suz -- I love interesting silkscreen prints on clothes! Your rooster tee sounds fab. I bet it gets lots of compliments. (Have you noticed that everybody loves chickens?).

Gigi

Veteran

My usual answer to this difficulty is to wear the item only with a full face of makeup. That usually helps the sickly effect.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Lol, Gigi, I never go out without foundation to cover my perpetually pink nose and mascara to cover my blonde eyelashes! A bit of peach blush never hurt anyone, either.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I do it with things I already own but I've stopped buying things that don't work with my chosen palette. The skirt is lovely

Joy

Veteran

Both skirts are lovely but I especially like the blue one. The shape and length look fabulous.

Bijou

Veteran

Both skirts are lovely and I think you can get away with less flattering colours when worn on the lower half of the body or in an accessory. I look terrible in mustard and yellows (like I am jaundiced), so I do steer clear of these colours unless they are in a print. I do have some yellow sandals which have been lots of fun.