The colours you wear can give you the wow factor, provided they’re the right colours for you. TOAD took two loyal readers to image consultancy firm House of Colour to find out more about what suits them.
We’ve all heard the saying, ‘That colour looks great on you,’ – but what actually makes a colour suit someone?
Kirsty Volpe, Marcia Holland and Sam Logan, experts from House of Colour, say it is more than just eye colour or hair tone. They take us through their workshop with two readers, Kaye Smith and Karen Visser, and show us how colours can influence everyone’s overall appearance.
The colour wheel
The women begin by explaining the colour wheel, which is hanging on the wall in the House of Colour studio. The wheel is made up of two frames, with autumn in the top left, spring in the top right, winter in the bottom left and summer in the bottom right. There are 36 colour swatches in each season.
Sam says, ‘The wheel was developed by Johannes Itten, who taught at the Bauhaus School of Art in Germany. He found that it didn’t matter what subject matter art students were given – they tended to use similar colours for each work. Monet, for example, stuck with summer colours for his work. You’ll see the top half of the wheel has warm yellow based colours while the lower half has cool blue based colours.’
‘We work out whether clients suit the warm based colours or cooler based ones,’ Kirsty elaborates. ‘We have the colours divided into warm and cool and within that into seasons. Each season has a selection of 36 colours in their range that will suit different skin tones. Everyone has a specific season that suits them best.’
Sam shows us an example red swatch. ‘This red has a yellow undertone. You’ll see it fits well in the warm, yellow colours but it changes in tone when we take it into a different season,’ she explains, carrying the swatch in front of the autumn and spring colours. ‘It looks great at the top of the colour wheel in autumn and spring but it doesn’t sit so well in the bottom half.’
‘Wearing the wrong colour can really drain the life out of someone’s face and make them look ill,’ adds Kirsty. ‘We always get clients telling us they get positive feedback when they are wearing a colour that suits them.’
The stylists have drapes of fabric that are specially dyed to emphasise the blue and yellow undertones of the skin. Marcia holds a white drape tinged with blue then a yellow-based white drape against a client to bring out the tones in their skin to compare and contrast between the blue and yellow tones.
Finding the warm and cool
Marcia explains the coloured swatches of fabric work by accentuating the yellow and blue undertones – she tells us everyone has one or the other in their skin. ‘This is all according to all a person’s colouring – eyes, natural hair colour, skin undertones – the fatty tissue under the skin.
‘To begin with, we want to find the clients’ hue, whether that’s warm or cool. Then from that, we delve into seasons. You see autumn and spring are mostly warm colours and winter and summer have a blue undertone. After that we suggest colours according to how they suit the client.’
Marcia continues, ‘Warm colours will make cooler skin tones look unwell, and often accentuate yellow tones in the skin. On the other hand, we see warm skin tones looking washed out in blue tones, as it drains colour from their face.’
The workshop
Marcia tells Kaye and Karen, ‘When we drape variations of colours around your neck, don’t think about whether or not you like the colour, but look at your face to see what happens to your skin tone.’
Karen sits down first. Marcia drapes a blue-based white piece of fabric around her neck, followed by a yellow-based white one. After four different colour-comparisons, it’s evident Karen’s skin brightens with the cooler colours. Karen says, ‘Wow, I can really see the difference, I can’t believe it. I can see I look better in the cooler shade; yellows really wash me out and give me a yellow tinge.’
Kaye then has her turn. However, she is not as quick to be defined as Karen. The stylists need a few more colour-variations before defining her as a warm tone. Then it’s time to decide on her season, alternating between autumn and spring colours. The spring pastel colours look a little washed out on Kaye. Sam explains, ‘People with autumn tones tend to look like they are faded or have been over-washed when wearing spring colours.’
To finish, once the season has been selected, the House of Colour stylists work through each of the 36 colours on the client and give them a booklet of fabric swatches to take shopping to ensure they know the colours that suit them despite the lighting in shops.
The results
The ladies are stunned at the difference the colours make – and both tell us they will be going shopping to buy a new wardrobe in their new colours.
Karen is a winter – this soon becomes obvious, as the brighter colours really enhance her face whereas the warmer colours give her an unhealthy yellow hue. Kaye is an autumn which gives her a warm radiance and complements her skin tone. She says, ‘It’s surprising I can actually see the difference in my face – the autumn colours make my skin tone look even and healthy. Normally I would never wear this colour, but now I see myself in it, I can see it looks great.’
Dhs700 for three-hour colour-analysis consultation. Location provided on booking, www.houseofcolour.co.uk (Sam, 050 152 2161, Marcia, 050 596 4386).
Get styled
House of Fraser
Try the personal shopping service at House of Fraser in the World Trade Center Mall, where the specialists can help you find a new style or re-vamp your classic look.
World Trade Center Mall, www.wtcad.ae (02 627 7558).
Dawn Williamson
British stylist Dawn Williamson offers styling and shopping services around the city, matching your look with the latest trends to suit.
Email Dawn@dawnwstyle.com, www.dawnwstyle.com
Mirabelle Boutique
This boutique offers in-house styling services with the latest trends hot off the LA catwalks. Get a new look at this one-stop-shop.
Khalifa Park, Bloom Gardens, www.mirabellebelles.com (050 811 2033).
