RHYS BOWEN: I just ordered a couple of new jackets from Banana Republic. One is oatmeal color, the other camel. And a cream sweater. When I hung them in my closet I realized that I had been buying variations on stone, beige, camel for the past year.
And I also realized that I suddenly fancy a certain color, never based on what is popular that year. I don’t realize I’m doing it but when I look at the items hanging up I can see that that was my navy blue period, that was my teal, my turquoise and once, God forbid, my mauve. Don’t worry, they’ve all been donated long ago.
I have come a long way on my fashion journey from the Sixties, when I was tres tres fashionable, did some modeling, worked for the BBC, had a Vidal Sassoon haircut and wore Mary Quant to the Seventies when I was flowing and flowery, to the Big Shoulders of the Eighties and then got some idea of the look I wanted: well cut, timeless, professional, I suppose. But I've never really hit upon MY COLOR. I had my colors done and I was definitely a spring. Pastels, light colors. I look awful in black, red, anything bright. But this doesn't account for a sudden yearning for a particular color that I'm not even aware of until I can see a whole line of them hanging in my closet.
So what can it be that makes me decide I have to have a certain color at a certain time? Is it how I’m feeling about life? Was I more upbeat and cheerful in my turquoise year? Sweet and lovable in my pink year? And now, in my beige period, am I more subdued and boring? (But then I saw this pic of Angelina Jolie and she is wearing... so maybe I am fashionable after all)
I know other people decide what their colors are and stick to them—I’m thinking of Hank and her black suits for work, occasional splashes of red. She knows who she is, what she represents and what suits her. Perhaps I’m still looking for who I am? Roberta—psychiatric help needed please.
Reds and Reddies, did you ever have your colors done? Do you stick to a few that suit you? Do you follow fashion trends Or do you move between colors like me? What makes you choose?
That's a stunning picture of your younger, modeling self, Rhys. And you still always look stylish and elegant when I see you!
ReplyDeleteSince my hair started to go silver, I'm also in the pastel range. When I wear turquoise or pale pink or pale purple, people always tell me it looks good on me. But when my hair was brown, I wore.more reds and browns. Never beige though, that looks terrible on my skin.
What I really need is a personal shopper, someone to find me those well cut non fussy blazers in colors that look good on me.
Also, so glad your knee procedure went well!
DeleteRHYS: YAY! I saw your FB photo last night, back home after a successful arthroscopic surgery on your knee.
DeleteThank you Grace and Edith
DeleteI never had my colors done, I don't follow fashion trends. I choose quiet colors that I feel comfortable wearing. I guess that makes me pretty much a fashion failure, but I don't mind; I'm happy wearing what feels right to me . . . .
ReplyDeleteNo, I have never had my colours done, but one colour I do avoid wearing is BEIGE! It doesn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteIf I look at my (unworn) office clothes still nicely lined up in my closet, there's a whole rainbow of different coloured blouses that I wore under classic navy, black or grey blazers.
In retirement, I still like wearing like wearing brightly coloured tops (or fleece on top of a t-shirt in winter): pink, red, turquoise, yellow with either blue jeans or black pants.
Today, I am wearing a thin grey UNIQLO HEATTECH long sleeved shirt & a fuschia pink fleece with black pants.
GRACE: I remember your colors when we met at LCC in San Diego. I think it was turquoise? There are colors that I avoid wearing too - Orange, Mustard Yellow, any color that would look better on someone with olive skin color.
DeleteDiana
DIANA: Good memory! Yes, I often wear turquoise, royal blue or navy blue tops when travelling. I also don't wear orange, green or mustard yellow. Those colours just don't work for me.
DeleteI did have my colors done back when that was a thing - the 80s, I think. I can’t remember which season I am (was? Does your “season” change as you age, as Edith said?), but think my colors were sort of muted, like a sage green or mauve. All I know is that in high school I wore lot of navy blue and brown. Now I get compliments when I wear red or turquoise so I wear brighter colors. My personal psychoanalysis is that I was probably trying to blend into the background in high school and now I’m older, I don’t care as much about other people’s opinions.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your surgery went well, Rhys. — Pat S
Pat S, someone once said that the skin color can change when the hair color becomes gray / white. I wonder if that is true? It makes sense to try to blend in the background in school. When the Catholic school had us students wear Uniforms, I remember wearing a dark green wool cardigan, white blouse and a dark plaid skirt. It is funny how I HATED wearing plaid skirts or having to wear a uniform. Now I LOVE plaids.
DeleteDiana
We had school uniform all my school life so I loved colors for years after that. The dress in the photo is royal blue with red and white trim ( British flag)
DeleteI had my colors done back in the 80s and found I'm a summer, which gave me license to wear my favorite color - purple - along with bright colors. I happily got rid of a bunch of things I never liked - gave them to someone who looked good in dull fall colors. I'm a quilter, so I have noticed, however, that a lot more quilters are making quilts in beiges and other neutral colors lately. In fact, I was asked to make two beige baby quilts this past year for family members. I complied but not happily. Guess this is the current "fashion."
ReplyDeleteMarianne, I think you can blame Pinterest for the beige baby quilts.
DeleteI remember 7 years ago at a baby shower for my daughter, when everything was grey. No colour anywhere. That was one of the first strange things I was to learn about babies and bringing them up in this day and age...
DeleteMargo--I remember that! Gray seemed so cold for a nursery!
DeleteYou mean I’m actually in fashion? Wow
DeleteYou are! Those colors exemplify the quiet luxury trend!
DeletePS I never had my colors done, but I would imagine that what looks best on someone can change quite a bit with age.
ReplyDeleteI'm an "autumn" on the color scale, but I rarely limit my choices to the warm hues. Perhaps I should!
ReplyDeleteI've gone through a lot of phases colorwise. Lately, I noticed I'm back to wearing a lot of black with some turquoise or green thrown in. I may have to log in to Stitch Fix and get some new things for spring.
Speaking of Stitch Fix, I love it. Pricey, but I've gotten some pieces that I wouldn't have thought of for myself and now wear a LOT.
My daughters have tried it. Maybe I should but I already have too many clothes
DeleteI’m a winter so darker colors even though I have pale skin and light hair dark purple, reds, black look good.
ReplyDeleteBeige is always a good color! And it can be accessorized with bright or fun jewelery, scarves, etc.
ReplyDeleteI love any shade of blue - not purple though!
Glad the surgery went well. Hope you are out and about enjoying life soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Going great so far!
DeleteI had my colours done when that was 'the' thing to do. I came out 'winter'. My wardrobe tells my colour story -- blues, greens, the odd dash of red or muted orange. Punctuated by my bright flower-patterned overalls I had made last year. They are pure fun to wear, though people are sometimes not quite sure how to respond to them! But I love them.
ReplyDeleteI used to wear overalls all the times, Amanda. Fun flowered ones sound great!
DeleteRhys, so glad to know the operation went well! The photo of you smiling was very encouraging.
ReplyDeleteAnnette, for years whenever I've complimented my youngest daughter on something she's wearing the reply is, "Stitch Fix". They really do have interesting choices that you don't see every place.
When the "color seasons" thing was big I was active in the sewing world, where a lot of garment makers, in particular professionals, were learning about how best to flatter individuals with colors. My dark hair, light complexion, and dark green eyes made me a Winter, with jewel tones and black being my best colors. Hallie and Hank are also Winters. I think Debs is, too. You are in no danger of any of us borrowing your beige jackets, Rhys. My three daughters are one of each, because they all have different coloring: fall, winter, and summer.
One lecture I attended about color theory used a slightly different measure, contrast. There are high contrast people (Hank and Hallie, and maybe Debs?), and low contrast ones, like Julia and Rhys. And medium contrast, which I suspect are Jenn and Roberta. That gives you the intensity of the color to wear, so low contrast people wear colors that are closer to their own coloring in terms of vividness. The speaker said one way to know if a color is good for you is if you have a shadow delineation under your chin. No shadow? Don't wear that color, it would look on you the way beige looks on me.
Going silver or white shouldn't change much, except in my case I am gravitating more towards grey, as long as there's a contrasting, brighter color with it, or black.
By the way, almost everyone looks great in some shade of red. It's just a matter of whether it has blue tones or orange as to whether it is a good color for you.
Karen in Ohio: The Red Sweater with blue tones looks good on me while a red dress with orange tones is Not a good color. I get what you mean about every shade of red.
DeleteDiana
Yes, Karen! I remember “my” red had blue tones in it! — Pat S
DeleteHow nice of you to say so, Rhys. Yes! I wear it all the time.
DeleteAnd the magnificent silk scarf Cajsa gave you as a thank you gift. Those gorgeous turquoise tones.
Looking in my closet I can see a lot of black and navy blue Mostly white tops. A few spring colors like pastels, pink, light blue and always love red, no matter if it’s work or play clothes.
ReplyDeleteI love red, and will choose it if I buy clothes other than the ubiquitous sweat shirt. I find that now a days, I seem to be buying more black for fancy (that does not mean a real frock, but maybe a nice blouse) because that is all there is. I would prefer red or navy blue, but they are usually not any options in that colour.
ReplyDeleteMy mother always wore red and looked fabulous. When she died, so many people commented on the fact that red was her colour and that is what they associate with her. We asked people to dress in something red, even if it was to just add a scarf for her funeral. One of the cousins was so disgusted when he came with his proper black tie, and we made him take it off and put on a dollar store red one with a maple leaf on it, definitely not silk – we had spares just in case!
Rhys, enjoy your time recuperating.
Thank you, Margo. Red and black will never flatter me, I fear
DeleteI love that story! What a great way to honor a loved one.
DeleteMy granddaughter (age seven) once told me that I should expand my palette beyond black, white, and gray. I protested, saying I liked lots of colors, to which she responded, olive green isn’t much of a color. She was right about all of it, of course, but since I hate shopping with the fire of a thousand suns, nothing’s changed in the last six years.
ReplyDeleteRhys, I am so glad to hear that your procedure went well, yesterday. Irwin had a similar procedure on his knee and he was back playing tennis in a couple of months.
ReplyDeleteI want to thank everyone who chimed in on my brother's crisis on Sunday. He is in Critical Care and still touch and go. He has always been responsible for himself and I suddenly find myself in a new and decidedly uncomfortable role.
As for colors, I know that I am a winter and mostly adhere to that pallet. Some of those colors look better on me than others. I do love dark brown so occasionally I cross dress and pretend I am an autumn. But I am very careful not to go overboard. I wear scarves almost every day, and they are the reason I can wear a beige sweater. Black is my go-to and looks just as right on me now with silver in my hair as it did when my hair was dark brown.
Judy, thanks for the update on your brother. Still sending healing light.
DeleteYou are definitely a winter. And you have great scarf game!
Sending continued good thoughts for your brother and for you! Not an easy position for you right now
DeleteMy knee seems to be doing well so far. Of course the numbing might not quite have worn off yet!
Thanks, Karen.
DeleteThanks, Rhys. I hope your recovery is fast and complete.
Sending you continued strength!
DeleteRhys, so glad your surgery went well.
ReplyDeleteI've never had my colors done. I always had a lot of blue and purple. People said they looked good and I liked them. I have one red blazer, but almost no yellow or orange. Just not a good look for me. I always think I look washed out in pastels. Same with beige and black. I'm a big fan of charcoal gray and chocolate brown. I tend to gravitate to saturated, bold colors (a vibrant pink instead of a pastel).
You’re what Katen called a high contrast person, obviously
DeleteRhys, you look fabulous (and especially so in your recovery photo!) no matter what color you're wearing! My wardrobe has a lot of different shades of blue with a dash of any other color that grabs my eye. Black pants or jeans on the bottom--t-shirts in basic colors, with something colorful over--but usually not bright colors. I get a lot of compliments on a pale blue sweatery top, and my new favorite is a muted dark sage corduroy jacket.
ReplyDeleteThe jacket sounds like something I would go for! Thank you for the good wishes
DeleteI'm so glad your surgery went well! You always look so elegant, so keep doing what you are doing.
ReplyDeleteI've never had my colors done, although I've always been drawn to certain colors--royal blue, cranberry, oatmeal. I had an oatmeal sweater that I really loved! One year when peach/salmon was popular a friend gave me multiple different tops in that same color. She thought it was my color. I liked it, but maybe not every day.
I think we’re on the same color spectrum. I wear blues and cranberry and oatmeal!
DeleteRhys, so happy that your procedure went well yesterday. You looked great in your recovery photo on Facebook. I haven’t seen a picture of you where you haven’t looked wonderful in any colour!! I had my colours done and I am a summer. My daughter has said to me, ‘’Mom, there are colours other than red!’’ My current car is red and I ordered a new car this week and it’s also red! 🚘❤️
ReplyDeleteIt’s your happy color and shows that you feel good about yourself!
DeleteGood luck on your recovery! Never had my colors done, but have always preferred earth colors with maybe a pop here and there of jewel tones. Have never colored my hair, so I find that with fair skin, light eyes, and now grey eyebrows (ugh) that I need more rosy shades and fewer cool ones, although I do love blues, grays and greens.
ReplyDeleteRHYS: I remember the beautiful colors that you wore at Left Coast Crime in 2019. Looks like your procedure went well yesterday.
ReplyDeleteYour story reminds me of my own experiences. My great aunt and my grandmother always looked beautiful in their clothes. They KNEW their colors. I inherited a beautiful custom made BLACK dress from my grandmother and a orange black ? houndstooth? suit from my Great Aunt. However, they had the Olive skin of their Spanish ancestors and green hazel eyes of their Irish ancestors. I got the green eyes, NOT the olive skin.
Because I LOVE the cut of the Black dress, which fits me like a glove, I wear a scarf in my colors to offset the blackness under my face. I never wore the Chanel suit from my great aunt. My Pink skin color is from my British great grandparents. Now I know what they mean when they say "blue blooded" because I can SEE my veins under my skin. LOL
My Mom inherited my grandmother's olive skin. A family friend gave her a beautiful purple sweater that did not look good on her, though it looked GREAT on me, so I wear it. At Uni, I met people with similar coloring to mine. I eventually figured out that my colors are: BLUE, GREEN and PURPLE. Though Red is NOT my color, if the Red has a Blue base, then I can wear that Red, It depends on which kind of Red it is. Most of the Red clothes are Orangish. I used to get the Trunk Club every month and one month, they put together clothes that would look better on someone with Olive Skin. So I sent a polite letter explaining why I could not wear these colors. I wrote something like"If I looked like Meghan Markle, then I could wear these colors."
Wow! I cannot believe I wrote such a long comment here!
Diana
We have the same sort of skin tones, Diana. That British heritage!
DeleteHa! I love this, Rhys! I did have my colors done ages ago - I was olive green, black, burgundy, and electric blue, if I remember right. I have no idea what palette that is. I do know that for the past several years, I've embraced aqua and pink - neither of which I wore in my youthful grunge years (I still love plaid flannel) and I do think it's because I find the colors cheerful and I like/need cheerful.
ReplyDeleteJENN: Me too! I love plaid flannel. Diana
DeleteThat’s me too, Jenn I need to be cheerful. That’s why I wear winter white on gloomy days
DeleteKatherine, perhaps your seven year old granddaughter can go shopping with you?
ReplyDeleteThough I'm not a fan of shopping, it is more fun with someone. I remember when I was seven years old, my Mom asked me to help pick a tie for my Dad. She also encouraged me to pick the dining room set. I am still amazed that an adult would trust a seven year old's taste in fashion. I was pretty picky where fashion was concerned. LOL.
Diana
The only time I did anything like this was my freshman year at Providence. I was hoping to wear a nice black and white outfit, but they decided it just wasn't me and cut me from the basketball team
ReplyDeleteThe baseball uniform was black and white?
DeleteI went to a women's meeting eons ago where the guest speaker was "doing colors." It went well with her first volunteer. Not so well with the second lady. She finally had to admit her hair color was not her natural color which confused expectations. We all had a good laugh. - Pat D
ReplyDeleteI find that my hair gets lighter so do my colors. And skin more washed out with age
DeleteKim, I once babysat a boy who loved to wear pink. I found the book by Marlo Thomas "Free to Be Me". He was a happy child. I think people like the colors they like for whatever reason. In your photo, it looks like you are wearing blue?
ReplyDeleteDiana
This is wonderful! I think my color is blue jeans.
ReplyDeleteI did have my colors done. Turned out to be a spring as well. I thought that was hysterical since I hate pastels and tend toward bold statement colors. That said, they were right. I do look my best in muted shades, but it doesn't mean I have to like it!
Perhaps you should try some bright scarves to please her. I think the right white and gray can look stunning
ReplyDeleteThank you! I think blue is my best color too. I wear a lot in summer
ReplyDeleteWith my orange hair, I avoid reds and pinks. Purple is my red, and I think I bought every purple suit I ever found. Browns and greens are good too.
ReplyDeleteI’ve learned to be more muted when traveling. My navy and turquoise patterned top stuck out like a sore thumb in the south of France, at least in December.
Rhys, you look fabulous in your post-surgery photo!! And you always look lovely and elegant in your pastels and those beige-y neutrals, which make me look like death warmed over. I did have my colors done, back in the day, and I am supposedly a Summer. I love jewel tones and bright colors, especially magenta. And I absolutely cannot wear olive greens, browns, oranges, or yellows. I have a lot of fun in my books giving Gemma clothes in those autumn and spring shades that I can't wear. Melody, on the other hand, is all jewel tones. It's a fun way to differentiate characters. Do readers notice these things, I wonder?
ReplyDeleteSummer is the complement of Winter, and I wondered if you might be Summer instead.
DeleteHow fun, to live an alternative life through your characters!
What a fun discussion and a walk through the past, too. No,, I never "did" my colors when that was a fad , but I remember it and did read some articles. Pale skin and almost-black hair made me a winter. I should wear jewel tones or black and white, and avoid earth tones- which I thought were sophisticated then - and pastels. And they were right! All compliments on my clothes agreed and still do, even with gray hair. BTW? A friend who was a fearless driver and I ended a car tour around England, staying in very, very minimal b&b's - we looked like we had been camping - with a touch of luxury in London- haircuts at Sassoon before we returned home our new jobs. Best haircuts ever.
ReplyDeleteYou look nice and comfy after your surgery, Rhys. I had that done to my right knee last year. Wow, what a great difference it made. Your modeling picture is fabulous here on the blog. I don't recall ever having my colors done. I seem to buy a lot of black and different shades of blue. I can finally wear turquoise, which I love. I swear when I was young, like 20s young, I could not wear turquoise. I've bought a couple of pink things last year, which I don't usually do. But it has to be the right pink. I like a soft pink, not a glaring hot pink. The soft pink goes with my now gray hair pretty well. I love cornflower blue or blues close to it. I don't really much care what I wear these days, but I know I'll have to have some sort of planned wardrobe for Paris the spring. Any suggestions on types of clothes to wear there? Somewhere it seems I remember reading that jeans are out for Paris.
ReplyDeleteYes! I had my colors done ages ago and I am a summer. The drudgery of getting a 5:55 AM train into Boston every day for work forced me to center the main pieces of my wardrobe on black. In the days of Filenes Basement, I would hunt for high end silk scarfs to add some jazz to my outfits. Blue and Purple have always been my go to colors. I also brought colors into my look with jewelry, both 14K gold and sterling silver with stones of various colors. I do have to confess that all of the tops in my closet are organized by color especially the sleeveless silks which was about the only time that I splurged. I am always looking for new designers to purchase and sometimes will pick up a name in a novel and then hunt them down to see if they suit me. That is how I started wearing Johnny Was. Now, that really shows that I am adopting a lot more color into my wardrobe now that I am retired!
ReplyDeleteAww..thank you! xxxx Yes, black just works on me. And I was totally winter a million years ago. (I have learned to stay away from yellow, though, and that oystery-pinky-tan.)
ReplyDeleteYes, it's my favorite jacket. A very bright blue!
ReplyDelete