Lady on a Train
Last month I was on a train to Oerlikon and couldn’t help but secretly stare at a lady sitting across me. She was travelling with her partner, there was an atmosphere filled with love. She clearly put an effort into her outfit. It looked like she was on a date and wanted to look her best. She was well groomed, her outfit - including her accessories - was colour coordinated, new or relatively new, clean and on the expensive side.
One would think that “expensive + colour coordinated + new + well groomed + date night” would automatically mean that the lady looked stunning. That she looked her very best. On the one hand, she looked great. Everyone in love has a glowing aura of warmth and excitement around them. On the other hand, if I were encouraged to put my image consultant hat on and analyse her overall aesthetic impact based on the harmony of colour and line, the answer would be different… From my professional point of view, she did not look as great as she could. In other words, she could have looked much better had she made more informed choices, had she known what colours flatter her and what don't, what lines and cuts flatter her Body Type and what don’t. Unfortunately, the lady on a train made choices regarding her clothes that didn’t enhance her natural beauty but rather undermined it. As a result, she didn’t look her best. AND IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF THE COLOURS AND CUTS SHE WORE!!!
Colour analysts, myself included, cannot determine person’s Colour Type* (Season) without professional drapes. However, I love to secretly guess the Colour Types of people around me. From my observations, there are 3 types of people: textbook examples of a particular Season (the smallest group), people who seem to be a textbook example of a particular Season but turn out to be a different Season, and people who are an enigma, i.e. almost impossible to guesstimate. I dare say that the lady in front of me belonged to the first category and was one of the Winter Colour Types, i.e. Deep/Dark Winter, True/Cool Winter or Bright/Clear Winter. If I had to further narrow down her Season, I would bet my money on a Cool/True Winter. Her Image Archetype** was Dramatic, no guessing there (she got off at Oerlikon with me and I could see her silhouette in motion). Therefore, the lady on the train was quite probably a Dramatic Cool/True Winter. Think of a unique combination of Jennifer Connelly (Cool/True Winter), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Cool/True Winter) and Cate Blanchett (Dramatic Ethereal Image Archetype). This is a striking, sunning and eye catching combination. In the right colours, cuts, materials and accessories, these women are not to me missed, overseen or considered boring. Oh no. Unless …
Unless they make the wrong choices. Unless they are dressed the way the lady on the train was. She was wearing Soft Autumn colours - khaki green and beige, i.e. highly muted, warm-neutral colours. The effect was that her skin looked yellow-grey, her eyes appeared dim and her facial bone structure, her striking Dramatic bone structure, melted and lost definition. (Observe the difference between the Cool/True Winter and Soft Autumn colours in the pictures above.)
Her top was a Soft Classic top (i.e. suitable for a Soft Classic Image Archetype). The effect in the context of her Dramatic Body Type was: “I do not come across as feminine, I am quite masculine and lack feminine elegance and lightness, while at the same time my long, narrow and sharp bone structure is obscured under the symmetric curves and soft ruffles of the top”. She wore trousers that were Natural trousers (i.e. suitable for the Natural Image Archetype). The wide-kind of Natural trousers that are neither wide enough nor slim and tailored enough to be Dramatic. The result was unflattering in the context of her bone and hip structure. Together with the Soft Classic top her proportions were off and she looked wider and shorter that she was. She was quite tall and lean. The clothes did their best to camouflage that. Her accessories were Natural as well. Natural clothes and accessories look too casual and not put together on Dramatic Body Types.
Now, let’s imagine she knew the colour dimensions of her face (cool, deep and bright) as well as the essence of her Body Type and how that translates into clothes that flatter her. Imagine she put the same time, effort and money into her clothes knowing her Colour and Body Types. She would look 99% better. Without a doubt. Her eyes would sparkle, her skin would look fresh, tight, uniform and healthy and her jawline would be well defined. Her hair colour would appear luxurious and her figure would come across as long, lean, feminine and attractive.
There is nothing more difficult than to see yourself objectively and to carefully determine what colours and lines truly flatter you. And even more importantly, what colours and lines work against you.
The mission of Style Identity is to bring peace of mind to every man/woman out there who wants to look his/her best. Who wants to know that his/her efforts will multiply and bring him/her the desired outcome. No man or woman dresses for a date with their beloved partner while strategically planning to look sub-optimal. Oh no. Yet, it happens.
The lady on the train was absolutely stunning. However, she made choices that very carefully hid that.
Note:
*Colour Types: Bright/Clear Spring, Warm/True Spring, Light Spring, Light Summer, Cool/True Summer, Soft Summer, Soft Autumn, Warm/True Autumn, Deep/Dark Autumn, Deep/Dark Winter, True/Cool Winter, Bright/Clear Winter
**Image Archetypes: Romantic, Theatrical Romantic, Soft Gamine, Gamine, Flamboyant Gamine, Soft Classic, Classic, Dramatic Classic, Soft Natural, Natural, Flamboyant Natural, Soft Dramatic, Dramatic, Ingenue, Ethereal