HOW TO USE YOUR PERSONAL COLOUR FAN
Once you have a Colour Fan of your own, you need to know how make the most of all the benefits. Each season of the year has its own distinctive and attractive characteristics and the one that relates most closely to you, is a reflection of your whole self — your skin tone, iris pattern, health and personality. The colours on your fan are truly a part of you and can be very therapeutic.
Each Season's range of colours has certain unique qualities and the fan is a guide to help you benefit from these. It is not possible to make a fan which is large enough to display the vast variety of shades in each harmony. To really benefit, it is important to remain within your own range especially near your face.
The fans themselves have been designed for long use and contain many of your colour harmonies. To gain the most, it is important to understand that apparent variations in the colours will work really well together, as long as you follow the guides relating to your Season. For example a colours which falls between two leaves in the fan, is in your range. This is so useful when checking your wardrobe and also when shopping - helping you to judge the extent of your range.
Separated at the back are a few additional shades, suitable for formal and business clothes, as well as accessories. Usually variations on navies and greys, the best versions to combine with your Seasonal colours. Many people have hair which is darker than the colours which flatter them, so black hair combined with a black handbag for example pulls an outfit together in an attractive way without shadowing the facial skin.
An exciting aspect of the fans is that because the colours harmonise naturally with each other, the clothes you choose will start to colour-coordinate effortlessly. I love picking up an item in a sale and then find it goes with at least 5 or 6 other items, a benefit from a long standing wardrobe.
Most systems of Colour Analysis are based on understanding the Four Seasons concept, as these are the natural groups of colour that blend with the four basic skin tones. These can be used in many ways but we concentrate on ensuring that your facial skin looks as attractive as possible. As we age, a good colour worn just below the face, can create the illusion of a face lift, without the cost and risks.
Although Hair and Eye colours are important to appearance, we have discovered they can be poor guides to lifting your skin tone. The pattern in the iris of your eye and your fundamental personality, are much more likely to be in harmony with your natural skin tone.
Using them right colours next to your face will disguise lines, wrinkles and shadows round the eyes.. This is actually the most flattering thing you can do to enhance your appearance.
The Personal Colour Fan is inevitably designed to be used as a Wardrobe Fan which is why you have so many colours and examples of strong and pale variations to guide you. As mentioned elsewhere, when checking colours against each other in stores, they need to be compared in daylight as the artificial lighting in stores does not help. Fortunately, most suppliers are prepared to exchange garments.
Colour can have a powerful effect upon our feelings and emotions. This is where the therapeutic aspect of wearing your own shades is usually first noticed. However the effect of fashion can influence our approach to colour too but not always in the direction of our most flattering shades. If you need to wear colours that are not in your range, make sure that those worn just under your chin come from your fan. Your own skin will always be in harmony with itself, of course. A cutaway neckline is very effective in this situation.
On the rare occasions when a person is not immediately drawn to their own fan, we recommend some experimentation. Start by buying (or borrowing) one or two versatile and inexpensive garments which are worn close to the face. i.e. scarves, blouses or tee shirts. Use good daylight and possibly get help from a friend.
Closely observe the effect on your facial skin. Notice your own feelings and the reactions of others. The vital effect is harmonious skin, the lifting of wrinkles and shadows, especially in the eye area. For the very young, the right colours will make the skin glow.
Having said that, most people love their colours even when surprised by them at first. Often they relate directly to feelings not previously expressed and wearing them, enables us to experience and enjoy all the different aspects of our own unique personality.
THE FIRST STEPS IN WARDROBE PLANNING
There is no need to rush out and buy a new wardrobe if these colours are new to you. Increased knowledge may help you to make long overdue decisions about garments you have never been sure were good buys.
You will probably find that about 50% of the things you own, are in your colours or useful neutrals and these will make a good foundation for your new, more flattering wardrobe. Fashion has a strong influence, so if you have very few of your own colours, it is usually the reason. It is important to realise that there is considerable flexibility in colour, as all the shades that exist in the world have been devised from just red, yellow and blue, combined with either black or white.
The four Season's palettes can be divided into two warm, gold orientated Seasons (Spring and Autumn) and two cool, silver-orientated Seasons (Summer and Winter). There is a natural harmony between fans which are in the same orientation, making it easy to adapt for use in your wardrobe.
What is important is the area just below your face. Colours close to your face will reflect as either youth and beauty, or age and shadows, so it is important to start using those which suit you in that vital position.
The first step is to sort out your clothes, using your fan and following closely the advice given in the other sections of this pack. This is essentially done in good daylight, of course.
Once you have a group of clothes which go with your fan, sort through your other clothes to see how they can be used during the change over. Things like trousers and skirts for example are very basic, and jackets can be worn with flattering scarves.
As a general rule almost any colour can be used in a flattering and stylish way, if you use a bit of flair. First of all, as already pointed out, the most important area to get right is directly under your face, so blouses, sweaters, scarves etc. in your colours are a good place to make your first investments.
The neutral colours to be found at the back of the fan can be a helpful way to judge how to work your new colours with those suitable for work or formal outfits. This exercise should give you the necessary information to make a list of your priority purchases.
Useful colours to start off with, if you have a large heap of unflattering garments are:-
SPRING — Cream, Beige, warm Red, Yellow, Peach.
SUMMER — Pastel Pink, blue toned Pinks, Blue, cool Off-Whites.
AUTUMN — Cream, Beige, Tan, Brown, Olive, Mustard.
WINTER — White, Black, Navy, Charcoal Grey, deep blue Pinks
In the long term you will find that the most exciting colour combinations will be those outfits that you put together using only colours from your own palette and this type of dressing flatters your figure as well as your face. It is something to aim for in the future. One of my constant pleasures is to pick up something in a sale, take it home and find it works with anything up to 5 or 6 other garments.
The Wardrobe Workshop with the Colourflair unique Body Mapping service is a valuable and practical, personal style counselling session, designed to help you develop your own instinctive sense of what looks good on you and to be of benefit to any woman of any age or income. It is an excellent additional investment in your appearance.
SHOPPING WITH YOUR FAN
TAKE YOUR FAN EVERYWHERE UNTIL YOU ARE CONFIDENT ABOUT RECOGNISING
YOUR OWN COLOURS.
The lighting in most stores is not designed for accurate colour matching. If you are unsure about a colour, a sales assistant will seldom object, if you ask to take something to the window to check it in better light. If you are still uncertain, remember that if a colour is between two leaves on your fan it will be in your range.
It is important to look at your facial details in a good mirror in daylight, as you will be able to see whether a colour is good or bad. For example, carefully observing the eye socket and any lines and wrinkles. It sometimes helps to hold the whole fan open against a colour especially if it is a pattern or a tweed. The overall effect of the different colours in a print can be quite deceiving, so using the whole fan or the self-draping technique will help you see if the effect is right for your skin tone.
Finally, little can be done about the availability of colours in the shops and this is a very frustrating aspect of shopping, especially when you are looking for a particular shade. As a general rule it is easier to find your own colours in the season of the year they relate to and though fashion will effect this to some extent, the shops are usually full of colour when it is warm and dark, dull colours when it is cold.
Check sale rails when shopping towards the end of a season as good colours can frequently be found then. I am speaking from experience. Unless an item is made of heavy wool or paper-thin cotton, if the colour is good, you can find a way to wear it for most of the year. Thermal vests are a good way to make clothing designed for warmer weather more adaptable. There really is no reason to wear dull clothes just because the weather is dull. Wear something colourful in the winter and cheer everyone up, including yourself!
If a colour you like becomes fashionable, don't be afraid to stock up, particularly with classic styles, as this will make up for times when your colours are harder to find. In the States, some stores are starting to cater for the Seasons all the year round and this new service should spread to other parts of the world as Colour Analysis grows in popularity. You may like to check this out if you travel.
If you are in the process of losing weight don't let that prevent you from enjoying ALL your colours. Dark colours are only really slimming when they are in your Seasons range. For example if cream is one of your colours it will be surprisingly flattering, precisely because of its natural harmony with you. The eye will slide down the body in the same way that a vertical line does. If you have a figure fault of any kind wearing your own colours is your best camouflage and if you feel that you come into this category then it is advisable to get into your own range from head to foot as soon as possible.
Do not deny yourself the pleasure of looking wonderful, just because you are trying to lose weight. Wearing your colours in the meantime will get you used to receiving compliments and boost your self-confidence. It is now possible to buy tops cheaply and you can also borrow. If you are on a restricted budget you should take advantage of sale time.
Don't keep your wrong colours for working either, as it is times like this when you benefit from looking and feeling good, especially if your work keeps you at home near the biscuit tin.
Now you have your colours use these hints to get the very best from them. Our aim is to enable you to gain as much confidence as possible from your own fan without feeling limited in any unnecessary way and if you feel you need more help please ask.
Back to Frequently Asked Questions
How to buy your own Colourwheel fan
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