Personal Styling: This Summer its Yellow This Summer is going to be colourful season with yellow outshining them all. But take care before you inject a ray of sunshine into your summer wardrobe as this is one of the hardest colours to wear. So how do you wear this latest colour trend? Choose the right shade of yellow for your own colour characteristics Your colour characteristics consist of the colour of your hair, your eyes and skin tone. Dark golden blonde, redhead to deep brunette, soft eyes (muted greens, warm hazel or brown), skin tone can range from fair to dark, often has freckles. You are best with deep but muted yellows e.g. mustard, old gold, buttercup, banana, yellow ochre, yellow topaz, and goldenrod Dark or white/silver hair, bright eyes (clear blues, hazel, brown and black); skin tone is bright and can range from pale to dark. Still go for a deep yellow but this time in a cooler and brighter shade such as neon yellow, daffodil, ice sorbet lemon, canary yellow Pale ash blonde, mousy brown to medium ash brown, soft eyes (muted greens, hazel, brown, greys or blues); skin tone ranges from pale to medium. Go for a pale to medium shade in muted tones such as pastel yellow, powdery yellow, pale lemon, mellow yellow to a light banana Light golden or strawberry blonde, pale red to light warm brunette, bright eyes (clear blues, hazel, greens and brown), skin tone is bright and ranges from very fair to medium, often has freckles. You need a light fresh yellow such as bright golden yellow, light lemon, pale gold, golden honey, buttercup But the real test is when you try it on. Check your complexion: If it looks sallow, drab or washed out then you are wearing the wrong shade. Wearing the right shade will enhance your complexion making it appear fresher and brighter. Check your overall look: Are you wearing the colour or is it wearing you? You want people to see you rather than just the outfit. A little goes a long way Yellow is an attention seeking colour, even the palest shades draw the eye to them. And although the designers may dress their catwalk models in head-to-toe yellow, for us mere mortals it is often better teamed with another colour to tone it down. Neon yellow is the scariest shade to wear but when matched with greys, white and navy the ‘highlighter pen’ glow is neutralised. For this shade less is definitely more. Look out for neon yellow as an accent colour to your on trend sport luxe look or just accessorize with neon bags, belts, scarf or shoes to bring your retro ladylike style into the 21st century. To carry off this shade your own colour characteristics need to have an overall dramatic and strong look. But all is not lost if they’re not; just don’t wear the yellow near the face. The paler pastel yellow will be more suitable for those with a less dramatic colouring and more of a softer and blended look. You can still create the new high tech sporty style by teaming with a lighter grey or blue. Colour blocking is still on trend, so match with other pastel shades to create a dramatic yet soft look. For those of you with strong colouring, pastel yellow can wash you out so always create a high contrast combination with a darker colour or colour block with brighter colours such as fuchsia and Yves Klein blue. Lemon is an easier shade to wear; it suits most colourings if mixed with the right fruit cocktail: Sharp and dramatic with cherry red, lime green and of course the darker shades of damson and blackberries.
Faded and cool with raspberry pink, mint green, watermelon red, and coconut ice Warm and spicy with olive green, plum, merlot red or chocolate brown and cream Light and fresh with orange, apricot, apple green, peach and vanilla ice Mustard is a great shade for the warmer complexions and works well with the earthy colour palette of browns and olive green. This combination is usually associated with an autumn/winter outfit, so add some spring into the shade by colour blocking with blue or black. The all neutral outfit in creams and beiges give a classic cosmopolitan vibe in the summer, but a splash of yellow will update your look whilst still remaining stylishly cool. But if you’re still not ‘bananas’ over the colour yellow, then the easiest way to update your wardrobe is with yellow accessories and don’t forget the must have yellow nail polish. Guest writer and Augustus Couture Stylist Karen Grace studied Personal Styling at the London College of Fashion and received her professional training in one of London’s leading Image Consultancy training centres. She is also a registered affiliate member of FIPI, the Federation of Image Professionals International. Karen Grace is Director of Style Me Services at Augustus Couture http://www.augustuscouture.com ; owner of Frumpy to Funky, an in-house personal shopper for a large department store; and a fashion writer for several online magazines.