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      • ♂ ♂ Natural Gamine -- The Tomboy
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    • Blends of 2 types
      • ⚥ ♂ Classic Gamine -- The Prep Schooler
      • ⚥ ♀ Classic Ingenue -- The Class President
      • ⚥ ♂ Dramatic Classic -- The Art Critic
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Gamine -- The Punk Rocker
      • ♀ ♂ Dramatic Ingenue -- The Childlike Czarina
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Natural -- The Amazon Queen
      • ⚥ ♀ Ethereal Classic -- The Delicate Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Dramatic -- The Sorceress
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Gamine -- The Sprite
      • ♀ ♀ Ethereal Ingenue -- The Fairy
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Natural -- The Earth Goddess
      • ♀ ♂ Gamine Ingenue -- The Girlish Mod
      • ⚥ ♂ Natural Classic -- The Prep
      • ♂ ♂ Natural Gamine -- The Tomboy
      • ♀ ♂ Natural Ingenue -- The Outdoorsy Sweetheart
      • ⚥ ♀ Romantic Classic -- The Sexy Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Dramatic -- The Vamp
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      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Gamine -- The Firecracker
      • ♀ ♀ Romantic Ingenue -- The Demure Seductress
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Truth is Beauty 

Personal Color as a Characterization Tool in Film and Television

8/16/2010

6 Comments

 
I don't know whether many film & t.v. costume designers have studied personal color analysis. But they apply the principles when they make costuming decisions for characters. Characters are presented in their proper colors to make them seem strong, sincere, or likable. Characters are shown in the wrong colors to make them appear weak, uncertain, uncomfortable, or phony.

One of my guilty pleasures of the last year was Spartacus: Blood and Sand on Starz. Lucy Lawless's character, the crafty Lucretia, was almost always shown in completely wrong colors to emphasize her phoniness.

Here's Lucy Lawless in good colors (as virtuous Xena, Warrior Princess):
Picture
Healthy and vibrant. Winter or Deep Autumn, wouldn't you say?
...and Lawless as the scheming, unhappy Lucretia in Spartacus:
Picture
No life, no health.
If you've watched Spartacus (and I really think you should!), you may be thinking "But her husband, Batiatus, is just as wicked, and he looks pretty good." I agree.
Picture
Soft Summer, don't you think?
This is a actually a great example of a costume designer using personal color as a characterization tool to brilliant effect. Yes, Lucretia and Batiatus are both (mostly) wicked. Yes, they both plot and scheme. Yes, they're both insincere.

The difference, and the reason Batiatus appears in his correct colors, is that he is sincerely insincere. He is a fearless, plotting, power-hungry schemer inside and out, and he revels in it. No weakness, no self-doubt. He's totally centered in himself.

Lucretia, though, worries. She frets. She's not happy. She wants something more... it's not clear what.

(A clue: just about the only time she looks halfway real is in a scene at the end of the season, when she's lying in bed, having just discovered she's pregnant. Hair's still wrong, but the ivory robe, soft light & natural makeup create a less artificial effect:)
Picture

So in addition to the contrast between these crafty characters and the virtuous characters in the series, the narrative is enhanced by dramatic contrast between husband and wife. Batiatus is strong, centered and authentic; Lucretia is scattered and false. Their colors communicate this to us, probably without us realizing it.
Picture
The characters, and the overall narrative, are made more complex and effective by a costume designer's understanding of personal color.
6 Comments
s
3/17/2011 03:51:24 am

I doubt she is Winter or Deep Autumn.

Her natural hair color is blonde.

Reply
Rachel
3/17/2011 06:10:45 am

You may be right that she's a lighter season. :-)

But I'm afraid she, like many actresses, uses a rather loose definition of "blonde" when describing her natural hair color.

There are several good pics of it available online. Here's one where the natural color is easily discernible:

http://ie.askmen.com/galleries/sony-pictures-premiere-of-you-dont-mess-with-the-zohan-arrivals/picture-11.html

Reply
s
3/18/2011 10:09:47 am

The photo you chose is from 2008 when she is dying her hair.

Here are some of her before she started dying her hair.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y149/janeontoast/KidLucy.jpg


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_XeYZ04-tU/TVa6rKZrEYI/AAAAAAAAI4E/aJK-FiIgPTA/s1600/lucy+lawless+on+horse.jpg


http://www.flixster.com/photos/lucy-lawless-lucy-11366107

http://www.xenafan.com/stallion/lucybs14.jpg

Most definitely NOT Deep Winter nor Deep Autumn.

Why quibble with her about what she believes her natural hair color is?

Reply
Rachel
3/18/2011 01:04:16 pm

s - Yes, she certainly was more fair-haired as a younger person. So many of us were - including some Deeps. I think she can take quite a bit of color, but she could certainly be one of several seasons. Maybe after I have my baby I'll spend a week or so deconstructing her, a la Aishwarya. :-)

To answer your question: it matters to me whether celebs are honest about being naturally blonde because when they're not (and many of them aren't), it helps perpetuate our culture's idealization of fair hair, which is rooted in racism.

Reply
jkitten
11/8/2011 07:49:13 pm

How deep can a soft autumns colora really go? Alot of websites that explain soft autumn make me think they don't go all that deep. Im trying to figure out my colors. So far it seems the soft seasons are far to faded and or light for me. I think will continue also looking into true spring and true autumn

Reply
s
12/25/2011 09:53:36 am

I think people are being honest when they claim their hair was lighter as a child than it really was. Memories are not perfect, especially from childhood.

Reply



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"My closet has totally transformed into something I like, but don't think about much. How amazing is that? I just walk in, grab something for the occasion and the weather, and go. Because it's all the same color season, it all blends. Because it's all the right style (my style, so who cares if it's 'in'? It looks good on me) I can rest assured it looks about right. It's really amazing.

"I waste a lot less time and money now with shopping. I can walk into a store and rule out 90% of the inventory. I now try things I never would have dared and happily pass over things I used to think I had to have. Shopping is just a hunt now, not a source of guilt. I feel like I'm a lot less wasteful and more mindful this way."
  • home
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      • Please explain BRIGHT and SOFT.
      • Please explain CONTRAST.
      • Is color analysis just for white people?
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  • Style Analysis
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    • ♂ DRAMATIC style type
    • ♂ NATURAL style type
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    • ⚥ CLASSIC style type
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    • ♀ ETHEREAL style type
    • Blends of 2 types
      • ⚥ ♂ Classic Gamine -- The Prep Schooler
      • ⚥ ♀ Classic Ingenue -- The Class President
      • ⚥ ♂ Dramatic Classic -- The Art Critic
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Gamine -- The Punk Rocker
      • ♀ ♂ Dramatic Ingenue -- The Childlike Czarina
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      • ⚥ ♀ Ethereal Classic -- The Delicate Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Dramatic -- The Sorceress
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      • ♀ ♂ Natural Ingenue -- The Outdoorsy Sweetheart
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      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Gamine -- The Firecracker
      • ♀ ♀ Romantic Ingenue -- The Demure Seductress
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Natural -- The Babe Next Door
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