I recently had the eyelid infection from hell. And if any of you have had one you know that eye makeup is strictly forbidden whilst treating these bad boys. For three weeks, yup, count ’em, I had to go everywhere, including work, sans eye-shadow! Not a fate worse than death, but for a woman it’s darn close. What I learned from being a stye frequent flier is that in order to feel my best on these days when I’m only half made up, I wear only my best colors when it comes my clothing . It’s not perfect solution, as I’m totally missing my Lancome, but it’s something. But this time it dawned on me, why am I ever doing anything but wear my best colors? Duh!!! I guess realizations are always better late than not at all. As for you, dear friend, have you ever thought about what looks best on you? Or have you struggled to determine your best wardrobe colors? Read on for my personal tips on this…
How I Determined My Own Best Wardrobe Colors
My daughter Charlotte, a.k.a. my mini-me, helped me determine my best wardrobe colors. Ironically, Charlotte has a type of colorblindness where she can’t distinguish between certain hues. No matter, she was, and is, my go-to gal for determining my best wardrobe colors because it’s all the same colors that she looks good in. When I started shopping “Charlotte colors” my wardrobe and my features came alive. But I was still hanging on to some “out of bounds” colors until this last trip down eye infection aisle. But no more! I’m culling my closet and keeping my best colors only.
Maybe it’s time for you to determine your best wardrobe colors? This is one of the best ways you can determine your best wardrobe colors. You can work with someone you trust, and who is brutally frank, like Charlotte. Test items in your wardrobe (while not wearing any makeup) and make them tell you the truth. Do this in good light and maybe over a couple of days. Make piles of definite yeses, absolute no’s and maybes. The maybes you’ll want to test again on subsequent days.
How Can You Determine Your Best Wardrobe Colors If You Don’t Have That Brutally Frank Friend or Family Member?
So what do you do if you don’t have a Charlotte? Well, I think there are a couple of other options, including:
- Enlist A Service: You can work with a color consultant, who will use swatches of fabric to determine your underlying skin tone (cool or warm) and then a palette of colors to determine your personal best. They usually give you the swatches to keep as part of the service. It’s pricey, but less so than making a lot of wardrobe color mistakes.
- Buy A Book and/or A Kit Online: Color Me Beautiful and the like, are great reference books to help you to determine your best wardrobe colors. You can also buy those color swatches, mentioned above, online, but you really need to have an idea of your season of colors first, otherwise you’re buying way too many swatch kits at about $40 each.
- Take A Bunch of Selfies: for determining your best wardrobe colors your cell phone can be your best friend. Try everything on and take your picture wearing it. You’ll get a pretty good idea, pretty quickly, of what looks good and what you just wish looked good.
- Listen to Your Heart: I’ve said this before, you kind-of know already. Think about those colors you wear and people compliment you. Think about the ones you gravitate to over and over. Sometimes this is among the best intel you can have.
But, But, But…
If all this has completely failed you, The Today Show has an awesome segment that explains one great way to determine your best wardrobe colors. Check it out. And if you love a color and it it doesn’t love you back? No worries. You can always use those colors in your home decor instead.
Insider Tip: If you’ve analyzed your colors and your wardrobe is lacking much in your good shades, thrift and consignment stores are great places to ramp up your wardrobe quickly. For more on the wardrobe topic, check out my previous blogs: Organize Your Closet and Start 2024 Right and Style Tricks You Can Borrow From The French.
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