Wearing pastels...do you wear shades that don't look the best on you? - YouLookFab Forum

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Wearing pastels...do you wear shades that don't look the best on you?

Cilleena

Veteran

Most pastels are not my friend. I LOVE pretty spring pastels, but they don't love me. I am very pale and with my darker hair, I just look drab and washed out in most pastels. I can usually pull off light pink if it's bright enough, with plenty of white in it. But, most cute spring pastels like mint green, lavendar, peach, pale yellow, etc. look awful on me. So I tend to continue wearing my "fall" and "winter" colors...

Thankfully, I can do navy and deep pink and purple well. Do you wear colors that don't look good on you? Maybe with tricks like wearing a scarf or other color next to your face? Would wearing some types of necklaces (I have a choker that is thin brown and black leather kind of intertwined) work or would that be too thin?

I guess if all else fails and I really fall in love with some pastel tops, I can break out the bronzer to put the color back in my face. Ha!

Dressing

37 replies

Latest reply was from Marley

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I'll let the others chime in first, but to answer your first question: I don't wear colours that look grim against my skin tone - they just don't make me feel happy. And I want to feel happy!

crwilson

Veteran

I can't wear pastels either because I, too, have pale skin and dark hair. I don't wear them at all, which isn't a big sacrifice because I don't care for them either. If I wanted to wear them, though, I'd stick to using those colors in accessories that would be away from my face.

Dusty

(website)

Yeah, I can't do pastels, either. If I feel the urge to wear pastels, I'll put them on the bottom, far away from my face.

yardshark

I've got pale skin as well, hair's not too dark (it's dark blonde), but I have always had trouble looking good in pastels. I couldn't wear them well even when my hair was the golden blonde of my youth. So I tend to just not wear them. Maybe a lazy solution, but it helps me avoid pastel disappointment. Pastels are not really my personality either, so that helps too.

ETA ah, crwilson already said most of this. Well, I'll just copy her 'cause she's cool.

MsMaven

Veteran

Pastels are tough, but I find the more skin showing, the worse they look on me. I love the blush pinks and peaches, but don't try to wear them. If there is something I really love, though, I'll try it with off-white or cream in the summer.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I don't wear them either and do not miss them at all. I go for deep colors in winter and bright colors in the spring with neutrals added to the mix year round.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Nope. I've learned my lesson the hard way: pastels make my skin look gray, and my skin makes the pastels look dirty. Lose-lose. I need colors that are more vibrant.

Kristine

Veteran

I don't wear pastels either, they wash me out. I try not to wear colors that don't look good on me, with the exception of black or white, which I'll warm up with a necklace or scarf.

I bet you'd look great in one step more saturated than pastel- coral, plum, sea green, etc.

Cilleena

Veteran

Ah, I see I'm in good company. With the soft pastel colors coming out this time of year to herald in the spring, it sometimes bums me out that I can't wear them. Oh well...

Kristine, I do love the way plum looks on my skin, but ANYTHING peachy/coral looks awful on me, I have yellow undertones in my skin and it makes me look sallow. Sea green is a little better, but it does something weird with my skin too. My best colors are brown, rust, burgundy, navy, deep pink, deep purple and olive.

Maya

Veteran

I do occasionally wear colors that look less than great on me, but I don't wear colors that look awful (and pastels fall into the awful category). My blue ruffle dress is a good example. It's a little too icy and not quite saturated enough for me, but it's dark and has a nice sheen to it (which you can't see), and was basically otherwise perfect:

http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....G_2479.jpg

I also wear gray even though it's not ideal.

I can't imagine putting so many restraints on what I wear and passing up a perfectly fab piece just because the colors aren't "mine," but some people find it convenient to be restricted because it makes things simpler and more streamlined.

It's all about what you feel happy in, I guess.

Barbara

Veteran

I never wear pastels. With my very fair complexion, they wash me out horribly! Rich, saturated colors like purple, turquoise, teal, fuchsia and red are my favorites.

Aida

Veteran

I too rarely wear pastels (more because I don't like them, and luckily most don't look too good on me ) but I do find various specific blush colors that work which I like. My suggestion for you is to take a stronger color you like that's flattering and for spring just use a lighter but still saturated version of it. An example for me, turquoise/teal turns into aqua for spring. And black turns into gray or white, though I still wear black in spring/summer.

yardshark

"ANYTHING peachy/coral looks awful on me, I have yellow undertones in my skin"

Me. Too. Although I can do some sea greens (actually what I really like on me is chrome green* and on up to citron), but plums can be iffy. Has to be just the right shade or it looks frumpy somehow. So interesting, the nuances of skin tones.

*(not what Google brings up in a search! It's more like...hmm...well, sort of like a light olive but not that yellow.)

Maya

Veteran

Hmm, I am also on the yellow side and I wear coral.

I always find it fascinating to hear what colors people won't wear and why they won't wear them. It's so variable and often conflicting.

It reminds me of this:

http://tomandlorenzo2.blogspot.....wards.html

If you scroll down to Lea Michele, and the commentary on her, it really gave me a "wait a minute..." moment. I have similar coloring to her and she looks pretty good in that milkshake pink dress.

That's why I never say never when it comes to color.

taylor

Veteran

Cilleena,

I am with you. I love pastels but they don't love me back. I just don't do it any more at all I just feel less than fab all day and it really affects my mood.
Maya, I am really sallow and I also wear bright coral with pure white underneath and feel fab. But put browns near my face and it is REALLY remarkable how bad this makes me look!!

catgirl

Veteran

I can't wear pastels, unless you count soft grey as a pastel. I also don't wear variations on peach, beige and white. We are talking about up close to my face, right? Pastels make me feel sickly and are a bit too feminine for my taste. I will wear a certain light blue, and lighter colors when I am tan.

I think they are lovely on people who wear them well, though. So who does?

Maya

Veteran

Julie, Lisa, and Tanya all look amazing in pastels.

Anchi

(website)

I like pastels in small doses, and if close to my face I pair them with another color that looks good on me.

I love darker shades like periwinkle, rose, butterscotch, celadon, mauve, etc. -- but I don't know if those shades count as "pastels", exactly.

Kate

Veteran

No pastels here. I mostly stick to my autumn colors. I look better that way, and it makes it MUCH easier to mix and match all of my clothes.

Jonesy

Veteran

I'm the same: I don't like pastels nor do I think they look good on me. Luckily there are so many other fab colors to choose from!

Anonymous

Except for light grey, I don't like wearing pastels, nor do they look good on me. I can and do wear colors of a brightness similar to Angie's purple today. Besides, pastels just help older women to become invisible.
Deep reds, hunter green, and teals are colors I like very much but don't love me back. I use them in my home. There is deep red in every room, but it doesn't look good near my face. Tomato or a coral red is a much better choice for that. I do still wear some of those dark colors and add a scarf or bright chunky beads to make them work if the piece is loved inspite of it's color.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Like Maya has stated pastels are my freind, I require less make-up when I wear pastels. But come Autumn and the jewel tones appear I have the same problem, if I bite and buy a colour which is too strong for me it often becomes an orphan so I have learned to resist.

Louise

Veteran

Another pale skinned, dark haired lass here who can't do pastels. I don't miss pastels but whether that is because they wash me out or whether I wouldn't like them even if they did look good on me I'm not sure? x

Dawn

(website)

Ever since I added some more red and blonde shades to my hair, I can wear pastel blue. I haven't tried pastel pinks yet but I'm looking forward to trying the honeysuckle pink or a paler shade which Pantone are saying will be the colour of S/S.

Cilleena

Veteran

Interesting replies. My problem is that I LOVE pastels. When I paint a room or pick out artwork, it tends to be pastel colors. My bedroom is pale pink, bathroom light blue, halls beige, my favorite color is a pale butter yellow that is in my daughter's room. I love how soft and easy on the eye they are. But, I read recently that we should paint our homes with colors that flatter us. Hmm, I'd have to totally redecorate.

Funny because a few colors that I really don't care for, but look great on me are rust and olive. I remember as a teenager, my mom would try to get me to wear those colors because she knew they looked great on me and I would RESIST like crazy. I'm still doing it too. Haha! I don't have a single olive piece of clothing in my wardrobe...that isn't an orphan that my mom bought me. And one rust jacket that my husband bought me...again, never worn.

I am learning to like colors that look good on me and a few I always liked. Still, I may have to go more blonde for the spring so the pastels work a little better for me.

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

I honestly have no idea what colors look best on me, and what ones I should avoid. I just try to wear colors I like (including pastels).
Makeup helps a lot, too.

Cilleena

Veteran

You're right Sarah! Make-up helps a lot. It makes it possible for me to wear colors that wash me out without looking sick. You are probably instinctively wearing colors that work for you. I haven't seen you wear anything that didn't look great on you. Plus, having lighter hair and warm, if not tan, skin tone gives you a lot of flexibility. I bet you have a lot of cross over color groups...probably winter, spring and summer colors.

mamaKate

Veteran

Although I buy tops and scarves in colors that flatter my skin tone (guess what? rust & olive top the list), I still find ways to use some of my favorite pastels (e.g. sea green, shades of peach), in shoes, swimsuits, belts, bracelets, and handbags which don't sit near my face.

Mac

Veteran

Definitely, I do wear colours that aren't my best. I have a lavender pea coat that I adore - got it on sale and swapped the tacky buttons for ones that I love. With my yellow undertones and pale skin, it's not as flattering as camel or rust would be on me, but I feel like a crocus or a freesia every time I put it on and go out in the drab, slushy winter.

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