Fashion

Wearing black doesn’t make us look truly slimmer and over quarter of us actually don’t suit black. There I’ve said it. But before you run to the hills, we all have neutrals that look incredible on us and wearing these, and the other colours that truly suit us, can be transformative and suppress our need to wear black.

Whilst black absorbs light so less detail is detected by the eye in the hope that lumps or bumps may appear to disappear, what actually makes us look slimmer is wearing the right colours because this draws the eye up to a face which looks radiant and healthy, so the focus is no longer on the body and its wobbly bits.

Black is also often worn at work in the hope that it symbolises professionalism, prestige and power, however, is it memorable? Black on the wrong person will drain us and make us look unhealthy, whilst wearing the right colours and styles makes us look attractive and glowing and we feel good about ourselves. I’m not demonising black, it looks gorgeous on some people. It’s just that it only looks good on just over 25% of us, the ‘Winters.

The Swiss artist Johannes Itten established that each of us has a basic skin pigment which falls into four groupings, defined by the unique combination of depth, hue and tone. At House of Colour we determine which colours suit us by the pigments in our skin and eye colour. We all fall into one of the four seasonal categories which have an array of gorgeous colours that look amazing on you and some of these will be your wow colours. ‘Autumns’ are best suited to muted, soft, warm colours such as rust, and dark olive. ‘Springs’ look best in bright, clear, warm colours such as geranium pink and apple green. ‘Summers’ wear muted, soft, cool colours like dusty pink and smoked grape. ‘Winters’ wear bright, clear, cool colours like electric blue and raspberry, and yes they are the ones that can wear black!

It is not about wearing a rainbow of bright colours but choosing the right colours that suit us, not those that look good on someone else. Great quality neutrals ooze style kudos especially using a pop of colour. We all have our own wow colours that always look amazing when worn close to our face. Even the wrong lipstick will drain us, but the right colour will make our complexion glow and can lift your whole look. Once you know what colours suit you, you can successfully make unlikely pairings and change things up a little bit if that is your style personality.

My 5 best ways to be bold with colour

1. Use colour to look vibrant and radiant, this includes the neutrals that suit you. When you think colour, think both contrast and combinations. 2. It is true that once you know your colours, most of us need to do a spring clean of our wardrobes, but after that every piece should work effortlessly together meaning you can be more eco-friendly and don’t need an endless supply of new items. Instead boost your wardrobe with gorgeous accessories as the icing on the cake. 3. We all have a colour that we wished suited us, but we feel healthy and radiant when we are 4. wearing the colours that best suit us. Primary red is the only colour that suits every skin tone because it is neither yellow nor blue by Jane Brook toned. 5. Know that colours are thought to be over 60% responsible for our first www.houseofcolour/janebrook impressions of one another. For those of us who are more conservative at work, use good quality neutrals for professional kudos. A pop of colour can have the final say.