(...inspired by a client who could not relate to "spunky"...) "Spunky" isn't relatable for all Gamine-influenced women. Yes, Gamine is inherently youthful, but "spunky" may sound almost condescending to a grown woman. How about "mettlesome" -- "full of spirit and courage"? I sure like that one. "Spirited" is good too, IMO -- it gets at Gamine's energy. "Brisk," I like too, as perhaps a more dignified but still accurate Gamine descriptor. How about "spanking" as an adjective? Perhaps a bit silly, but so, so funny. It makes me laugh and smile, which is actually the effect a Gamine look will often have on the viewer. Gamine's witty, quirky style brings a smile. "Offbeat" is great. "Kinky?" Hey, if it works for you, use it -- I can see it applying to a Romantic-Dramatic-Gamine blend. :-) Gamine is definitely edgy -- not in an intimidating way, as Dramatic is, but in a playful way. Gamine is playful. We all have a playful side, don't we? If you're a Gamine blend, find the playfulness inside you and express it visually through your Gamine style choices. Your idea of playfulness might be kittenish, or sportive, or wicked, or arch, or even devilish. Find the word that works for you, that focuses your mind and helps you shop.
Not sure of your style identity? Try the Style Identity Calculator.
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Natural is one of the most difficult style identities for us to wrap our heads around. Most of us want to feel beautiful, but we have difficulty seeing the beauty in a style ID that's by definition masculine and unfancy. I say this as a Natural blend myself. Here, I offer you some words to use as synonyms for Natural, to help you find the beauty in your own Natural blend. "Raw" makes me think of things in their pure, unadulterated states. I've never enjoyed having to pretend to be someone or something I'm not. I feel like Natural gives me permission not to put on airs, permission to just relax. "Relaxed" describes Natural's lines -- the lack of tailoring and construction in the clothing -- but it also describes Natural's vibe. "Pure ease," I sometimes think when I think about Natural. A feeling of complete peace and relaxation. I love the comfort and simplicity of Natural. Since I was little, I've always been one to take my shoes off, to cut the tags out of my cloths, to loosen and untie things -- I've never enjoyed being belted or buttoned up. I could have edited "sloppy" out of the word cloud above, but I left it in, because I think it's instructive with regard to Natural style: what looks sloppy on others looks just right on Naturals. Unfinished hems, untucked shirts, shirts falling off one shoulder, rolled sleeves -- these details look great on us Natural blends.
Not sure of your style type? Try a virtual analysis. The short answer is, No way. People who look similarly don't all come into this world with similar personality traits. It's just not the case that all Winters are born serious, focused and determined. Frankly, this kind of thinking sounds racist to me. In a country where almost everyone has black hair, a cool skin tone, and brownish or black eyes, surely a good portion of those people would be some sort of Winter. Would that mean tons of people in that country would share the same basic personality traits? No. That's nuts. Other people do sometimes expect us to have certain personalities based on what we look like. For example,my sister is a Dark Winter. Growing up, people often seemed to expect my sister to be quiet, serious and determined. My son is a Light Spring, and people seem to expect him to be bouncy and cheerful. But the bottom line is this: you are you. Color analysis won't do a thing to reveal your personality to you. It will help you see your true physical beauty, though. That makes all kinds of personalities pretty happy. :-) Sometimes people ask me, "Is color analysis just for white people? Is it relevant for people of African descent or other people of color?" The answer is that color analysis is absolutely relevant for POC. 12-tone color analysis is applicable to people of every skin tone, from very light to very dark It's a sad fact that some websites and books about color analysis don't address people with very dark skin tones. But I'm striving to right that wrong here on my site. I'm also striving to correct some common misconceptions about color analysis for people with skin tones on the darker edge of the spectrum. For example, despite what you may have heard, not all people of color are Winters. In some systems, anyone with skin that's rather dark gets immediately shunted into the Dark Winter category. And it is true that many people with very dark skin will need a high-contrast palette to look their best. Often, that will be a Winter palette. But it won't always be Dark Winter -- and sometimes it won't be Winter at all. Other palettes with high contrast, such as Bright Spring and Dark Autumn, are certainly possibilities for people who need a lot of contrast. And many people of color have a gentler tone to their skin that is most flattered by muted colors. Here, I have examples of African-Americans and other people of color who are Dark Autumns, Soft Autumns, True Autumns, Light Springs, Brights Springs, True Winters, and Bright Winters.
Your color season doesn't depend on what box you check on a census form! Your color season depends entirely on which colors flatter your skin. That's it. Don't know your season? Try at-home draping! Figuring out the color season of a particular color in a store can be difficult.
When I'm trying to figure out a color's season, and I don't have swatchbooks in front of me, I try going through the three dimensions of color one at a time. I ask myself "Is this bright or soft? Is it light or dark? Is it warm or cool?" Sometimes I'm stuck on one of those questions, but answering the other two makes things start to become clear. This is all harder to do with lights and neutrals, but in those cases I try imagining alternate versions: "Could this be dirtier? (More greyed?) What would that look like?" "Could this be purer? (Less greyed?) What would that look like?" "Could it have more yellow? What would a more yellowed version of this look like?" "Could it have more blue? What would a more blued version look like?" Warm and cool -- yellow/orange-tinted or blue/pink-tinted, to be simplistic about it -- can be tough to decide until you've memorized a warm and cool version of each hue. Once you have those mental images, it becomes easier to determine temperature because you can compare a sample to those mental images. For example, for brown I have memorized mental images of caramel, a warm brown, and cocoa, a cool brown. When I see a brown in a store, I can ask, "Is this closer to caramel or cocoa?" For blue, I have memorized mental images of aqua (a yellowed blue) and periwinkle (a purpled blue). I can analyze whites pretty easily without a swatchbook if I can first identify what the white is tinted with. So, for example, if I figure out a white is blue-tinted, I can ask myself, "Is that drop of blue more aqua-ish or more periwinkle-ish?" It's also a good idea to compare colors in a store to other nearby colors. See the red in front of you: is it the brightest red in the store? Or is it "dirtier"-looking than many other reds? Does it seem to have more orange in it than other reds, or does it seem to have more violet? Commercial products, like Coke cans, are great reference points for this kind of comparison because they are often purely saturated. If you're looking at a red that's as bright as a can of Coke, chanes are it's a Bright season red. |
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