It took a while to discover what my seasonal category actually was, and what kept leading me astray were two things: my natural hair color and the well meaning opinions of others.
If you don’t have dark hair, you can’t be a Winter of any kind. The “shot heard ‘round the (color analysis) world” blog post composed by a well respected educator stated this: she has not seen a blonde True Winter. It was a surprise to read this.
Is hair color NOT supposed to matter?
Hmmmmmm…….
Bread crumbs kept appearing over time….
With nail polish- WHY did I only really like brighter colors? Browns, mauve, rose, beige or any other “conservative” color, other than a pink and pure white French manicure did NOT work. And-that white had better be pure!
MAC Fusion Pink, Impassioned and Full Fuchsia lipsticks were staples.
Bright Winter made me look 10 pounds slimmer, gave me white teeth and cleared the whites of my eyes.
The clear navy dress I wore to a family wedding was NOT anywhere near Light Summer territory and I got compliments that evening.
“You look GORGEOUS in that (hot pink) sweater!”
Hmmmmmm……..
In 2019, I suffered the loss of my dear Aunt Sharon. It was a rough time for our whole family. A road trip was in order. Lisa K. Ford of Invent Your Image invited me up for part of a training program, and I was a test subject for her student, Erin. After a meticulously thorough draping process, my suspicions were confirmed: Bright Winter.
What about Light Summer? Ok…..it’s a beautiful season that is a complete delight to the eye (sigh!!) BUT, these things happen:
Face, chin and neck melt together.
Gray, far away eyes.
Blotchy skin tone.
What about Bright Spring?
Head and shoulders MUCH better than any of the other Spring seasons, but it was a little too light, bright and warm.
Bright Winter was like arriving HOME!
However, I wasn’t finished trying “all the methods” and had a few more consultations to give my readers feedback. These were the results:
Light Summer?
Tinted Summer?
Toned Sumner?
I won’t say any of those were necessarily wrong. They hit on the point that my skin loved that cool/neutral color space.
Something was still missing. Frustration set in. I was 100% ready to be rebellious and forge a pathway to travel on my own terms.
Then, another opportunity arrived!
Just recently, I got to visit Cate Linden and her student Grace. As part of Grace’s training, she went through the draping process under Cate’s tutelage. Nothing belonged quite as well as Bright Winter. The “chef’s kiss” drape was unexpected. Bright Winter emerald medium dark green!!
When I flew home from Louisville, I wore a simple outfit: fuchsia-red pink blouse with lace inset sleeves, a long black skirt, bright purple tie dye socks and white sneakers. I probably looked a bit like the nerdy Aunt that I am, but I felt SO GOOD!! Everyone else wore gray, brown or black. The scene was devoid of color. Not me! Walking through the terminals was like delightfully moving to the beat of a different drummer!
It feels fantastic to have my color journey behind me. Now, there is permission to be that sparky, joyful, exciting person I’ve envisioned!
See you next time, when I talk about how to navigate color groups on social media.
-T
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