Fashion 101---Colors

For my talk show, www.jessICAREctor.com, I have to know a little about fashion, and I want to share some fashion tips with you. We are going to begin with Colors 101.
If you were to take a look into my closet, you would see how it was organized by color, from lightest to darkest. Then within each color, it is from lightest to darkest, solids to patterns. For the summer, the shirts go from strapless to straps to short sleeved. Let me tell you how much time it saves to organize your closet this way. I know my closet so well, that when I’m looking for a shirt, I can go to exactly where it would be. It doesn’t take me 10 minutes to sift through all my tops to find one shirt. If you’re like me, you wait until the last minute to get dressed, so you don’t have this extra time to find clothes you want.
Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. We look at ourselves every day, but look at yourself and ask, “What colors look good on me?” The thing is…every color looks good on you, but you just have to find the right shade of color for your skin complexion.
For instance, I have blue eyes, and I can wear almost every shade of blue, because blue brings out my eyes. Darker blue doesn’t flatter me as much as a turquoise blue does. Hold the shirt up underneath your chin to see how it looks again your skin tone. Does it wash you out? Does it make your face look white or does it bring color to your skin? Does it make you look pale or does your face brighten up? You can compare different colors against your face in order to tell the difference in how shades look against your skin.
For instance, I can wear emerald and mint green but I can’t wear lime green. I can wear dark gray but not light gray. Light or vibrant yellow looks great on me but not mustard. I think orange is the hardest color to pull off. I definitely can’t wear bright orange, but I can wear melon or peach.
And, ladies, keep this in mind, if you drastically change your hair color, you may not be able to wear the same shades that you once could. My hair went from auburn to strawberry blonde, and I had to adjust my blouses accordingly.
I am not a fan of neutral colors, but I do have a lot of white, black, and white/black polka dot shirts. The reason why I have so many tops in these colors is because I love, love, love color. I not only love color in tops, but I love color on the bottom too. I have purple, turquoise, and hot pink pants, which I gotten a lot of compliments on. You don’t have to have confidence to buy these pants, but once you wear them, you’ll gain the confidence. People tend to really love these color of pants when I wear them. Now, keep in mind, these pants are not tight, showing off curve pants. They are straight-legged slacks. They don’t need to be tight, where you are saying, “Look at me; look at me!” You just want to add some vibrancy and brightness to your wardrobe.
If you wear these pants, you don’t need something loud on top. Even if a pattern top has the same color in it that’s in the bottom, don’t wear a pattern shirt with loud pants. You need to have balance in your outfit. A shirt with a pattern would make the outfit too busy, and you don’t want that.
If you live in the comfort zone of neutrals, meaning you only wear white, blacks, and tans. Get out of this place. I know a few people who only wear these three colors. It’s time to add some color. I know it’s difficult, because you’re comfortable wearing neutrals, but color can add so much to your wardrobe. Start small. Add a yellow ring, pink earrings, or red heels. Think about it…Picture it…a white top with black pants and some red heels. How much a difference a small pair of red heels can make in an otherwise very neutral outfit. Boom! It can, now, make the whole outfit, POP! And that’s what you want. You want people to not only like your outfit, but to love it! You want people to say, “That is an awesome outfit, and you can pull it off!”
All of that can be achieved with adding a little color to any wardrobe. If you have any questions, please email me. I would love to know how you add color to your life, how you brighten your outfits with color, and how I’ve helped you. I would love to hear your feedback. Email me….I want to hear from you.