Miscomprehensions
Some palettes have been subject to change through time and others are no really understood. Cool Winters, for instance, were initially described by having either silver gray, salt'n'pepper, or graying black hair, and that they probably were Deep Winters when younger. Now they are described as people with cool eye colour, skin, and hair. The colour of their eyes stands very strongly against the white (which is very white) in their eyes.The Cool Summer palette seems to be another basically misunderstood palette, and I haven't found two websites that mention the same people as belonging to them (well, except Ms. Middleton).
The more I study , the more bored I get and the endless discussions around it. I think the 12-palette system is quite useful up to a point, and that's why I started composing the palettes and explaining how the system works. When you look at the colours that belong to both Cool Winters and Clear Winters, you see that they share tons of colours, so knowing which exact palette you belong to is not a life and death issue, but just a question of subtle nuances.
Wearing the right colours is important for you and that's why I write about it and have also made it one of the points in the Own Your Style Decalogue (number 4, to be precise).
So, where does this leave you?
My advice
- If you want to know what palette you belong to and you are not familiar with CMB's system, start with your hair and eye colour.
- Try to pinpoint your complexion.
- With a little care, you should be able to reduce your options to one season or to a couple of palettes in different seasons. You are not trying hard enough if you are doubting between three or more, because then you are not reading the physical descriptions and looking at the pictures at all! Let me give you an example: X writes to me and thinks that she could be a Clear Spring, a Deep Autumn or a Deep Winter and tells me she has dark hair (dark brown) and brown eyes. Clear Springs don't have brown eyes!!
- Try first the colours that are common between the palettes you doubt between. If you don't have a good eye for colour or you are just not used to thinking of colours in terms of cool and warm, you will need to learn about it (it's really worth your while to invest that time, believe me).
- When you get used to looking good in a colour for some time, it will immediately strike you when you try one that does not look good on you. It's very much like reading: at the beginning, you just read anything and enjoy it but, after reading good literature for a while, some books will start striking you as awful (you may still enjoy them, of course, but with discrimination ;)).
Towards independence
Finally, I'd like to say: Don't be lazy!! There's no substitute to YOUR knowing the basics about colours, how they work, and how they relate to you.The point of my blog is very much that YOU learn about shape, silhouette, etc., to make you an independent stylish woman (because that is why you started reading my blog, right?). I want you to know the basics and then think for yourself!
I do promise, however, that I will keep on publishing posts about colour theory and tips to distinguish among the palettes, but at a slower pace, I want to focus on other things!
Where to start with the blog
- How to distinguish between shades of the same colour Part 1 and Part 2
- How to distinguish between shades of red, an example of thinking about a colour in terms of cool and warm.
- How the 4-season and the 12-season Colour Me Beautiful's systems work
Thank you for this helpful post - I've been so aggravated trying to decide between cool summer and cool winter; now I will just focus on the common ground between them, as these are probably the best ones on me anyhow! How helpful ... with much thanks!!
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