Green

Green

LIGHT GREEN	Good for growth, new ideas and a fresh approach	Fresh thinking, harmony, balance, rest, vigorous growth.
DARK GREEN	Denotes long nurtured traditions	Stability, dependable, reliability, reassurance

Green is a healthy colour according to this quote:

‘When you're green, you’re growing. When you're ripe, you rot.’ Ray Croc

I’ve always loved Green, but that is not the case for many of my clients I’ve seen through the years.   Given that there is a colour for everyone to look great in AND I’ve seen many people looking great in their best shades of greens, I’ve also experienced a greater frequency of clients expressing a dislike for green over and above any colour, even when it looked good on them.  I concluded over time that it must have something to do with the energy and/or the memories it was eliciting.

Everyone in the class agreed that she looked elegant and confident in her 2-star colours, so it was a surprise to hear her say, ‘I don’t like this colour!’

AND PAUSE! The power of silence to let her process what she had just said in contradiction to the feedback given by her friends in the class. As she absorbed the effect the colour was having on her, she continued, ‘And I know why I don’t like them!  The woman that went off with my first husband wore these colours’.

Fortunately, she was now happily married so we were able to engage in a conversation about how well she looked, how many ways she could use it, how to introduce it into her life more gently so that she could learn to love the colour the way the colour loved her!

This would probably have been a different experience if she had not been able to identify the source of her distaste so clearly! 

Was ‘the other woman’ the green-eyed-monster, or was she herself ‘green with envy’ a few years earlier?  I doubt the world would have looked like ‘Green and pleasant lands’

I’m not sure that any other colour conjures up emotions quite like green.  Green around the gills suggesting a certain level of nausea has a very different application to that of green fingers and of young people today being taught well with Green principles to respect, conserve and save their natural environment.  It is a very grounding colour in my experience and hence, when you consider its energy is that of ‘stability and reassurance’, a possible explanation for seeing green as a popular colour for interior design in traditional living rooms.

Green with envy/green fingers/green eyed monster

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/green-eyed-monster.html

I love the sound of ‘sea green’ as well as the colour and the image it conjures in my mind of azure seas, Mediterranean holidays, warm balmy evenings and diving off the deck of the tourist boat. 

Equally delighted was my 6 year old recently with his illustrative description of ‘Troll Snot’ for my spinach based smoothie!

Unfortunately, I too am guilty of disparaging colours not to my liking and I’ve even heard others talk of the ‘sludge’ colour when describing autumn.  How much better to picture the leaves as they change and find something to create the image of ochres, oranges and olives in a Mediterranean orchard because, on the right person, that is the effect!

Your Greens range from:	Strong :	Light / Bright
Spring (warm & clear)	Leaf, Kerry	Apple, Mint
Summer (cool & soft)	Sea Green and Jade	Duck Egg to Pastel Aqua
Autumn (warm & soft)	Moss, Dark Olive, Forest	Light Sage
Winter (cool & clear)	Emerald and Pine Green	Ice green

Grow well with your greens, whether experimenting with the fresh and bright end of your spectrum as the vigorous growth of spring, or the deeper end enjoyed by the established trees of both conifer and deciduous forests.  There is something indisputably powerful about them, which could account for its ‘marmite’ reactions when people are introduced to their best greens!

Colour mixing your Greens
Spring	A soft background of neutrals (honey, beige, tan) can be complemented beautifully by a bright leaf green as well as a pastel collection of banana, peach and Apple
Summer	A deep collection of burgundy, plum, navy and sea green can always be lightened with a hint of pastel aqua.  Or mix sea green with rose brown and mushroom
Autumn	Olives with Orange, Pine green with Royal purple
Winter	Emeralds with…

Green with envy/green fingers/green eyed monster

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/green-eyed-monster.html

Wearing The Power of Neutrals

Sitting in a London café waiting for my train I am surrounded by a sea of neutrals.  It’s not exclusive to this station, or indeed any station; I’ve seen plenty of it as I travel through the capital.  Commuters and travellers in their thousands wearing blacks, greys, whites, browns and beiges with the odd spattering of accent colour; a red hat, a pink bag, a purple coat. 

While I do believe that most of our great race are not confident enough in their knowledge of colour to risk experimenting with it “I would never have put these colours together, but I bought it from the website as suggested and it feels really good” - Kelly, Chrysalis Consulting is evidence that we can be moved safely into areas beyond our previous comfort zone.  It’s clear that neutrals have a place in the working environment, a cacophony might be too much of an affront or a distraction, so you learn how to push the boundaries appropriately and confidently.

A quick foray onto Wikipedia and I discover that the purpose of neutral in electricity is grounding. 

 

A fascinating article is provided by Wholistic Tennis on returning to neutral in a game of tennis and fully understanding the power of neutral whilst pinpointing a key challenge:

 

….In terms of tactical play we talk about offense, defense and neutral…………..

Neutral is the least glamorous, and for most people, the least enjoyable of the three possible conditions

 

…There is a great deal to learn in neutral.

 

The concept of neutral never changes although the neutral ball a player hits will change dramatically as he or she develops

 

Keep playing at your neutral and as you become bigger, stronger, quicker and as your strokes become more grooved and effortless your neutral will often automatically become bigger and bigger

 

It is impossible to win on offense alone….  One has to earn the right to play offense and playing solid neutral will offer you the opportunity to ultimately play offense.

 

Finally and very importantly, the patience required to stay in neutral is excellent mental training for the competitive player…………… 

 

And so, replacing the context of playing tennis with dressing for authority, i.e. being taken seriously, it is important to understand the power of neutrals as a foundation for your wardrobe, you then earn the right to use colour creatively and with confidence.

 

Ground your big or core investment pieces (suit, skirt, trousers, jacket) in a darker neutral and ring the changes of variety through fashion and your seasonal colours and styles of your tops and accessories.  Providing your weight doesn’t change drastically, a good investment garment will still be looking good and serving you well for years to come.

 

How interesting to hear fashion editor Anna Wintour’s response to the question ‘Is there anything you would refuse to wear?’ is simply ‘head-to-toe black’. 

 

 

 

So there you have it - identify the neutrals and how they work for you so that you can confidently apply colour or texture to achieve interest at your desired level of impact.  As with any successful recipe, it’s the balance of ingredients which makes the magic work; colour to neutrals is like cake to icing.  ‘Everything in moderation’ could be a wise approach.

 
Ground the core of your capsule wardrobe around your best neutrals, keep returning to them as the basis from which you launch yourself into offensive (high visibility) or defensive (low visibility) and you’ll grow from strength to strength!

Knowing Your Colours – Empowering YOU

Knowing your colour season versus understanding WHY you’re a certain season are not necessarily related. 

Knowing -v- understanding

My niece has known from the age of 4 that she’s a Winter.  Last year, she had her colours analysed for her 15^th birthday.  At this point she SAW it for herself and it’s had a profound effect on her understanding of (her) colours, what it MEANS to be a Winter and why certain colours don’t belong in her palette. 

My colouring has changed!

With the House of Colour system we analyse and identify people according to the season their colours fall in (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter).  By using a thorough, systematic process of analysis, based on your natural (genetic) colouring it’s our experience that people, when analysed correctly, stay with the same basic colour range (season); it’s your best/top/2-star colours within your range that may change over time or with tanning.  I find that some of my pastels look good on me in the summer but I need stronger colours in the winter (still from my season) to balance and complement my natural colouring.  Some people think you need to have your colours re-analysed I think you may just need a refresh – a fresh perspective. 

I used to be able to wear anything but now I can’t.

This is related to the fact that a younger or tanned skin tone can be more forgiving – there is more colour and definition in your skin tone to be drained away before you start to look tired.  As we get older, our skin and hair colour move closer together, making them less forgiving when we venture away from our core seasonal palette.  You’ve also got several more years’ experience of seeing images and reflections of yourself to recognise that some work better on you than others.


Thank you for giving me permission to wear something I love, but thought I couldn’t anymore!

Having the confidence to know something suits you and to wear it proudly is one of the biggest gifts we share as Colour Analysts.

Part of the human condition is concern about what people think of us, whether something suits us, makes us look stupid or is in fashion.  My teenage years were spent trying to find what suited me by asking my friends.  The opinions I received were rarely objective, more based on their own preference rather than an objective view of what flattered me.

The challenge of emotional interference. 

Bad experiences

Colours may evoke an emotional (positive or negative) response in us, (school uniform, fashion trends, parental imposition, favourite experience) disabling our ability to see whether they look good on us or not.

One overriding memory is of a client who, on realising she was an Autumn, immediately retorted  ‘I don’t like these colours….. and I  know why I don’t…. the woman who went off with my ex-husband wore these colours’.  By identifying this emotional repellent she was able to separate her colour selection from the emotional trauma of that marriage breakdown and give herself permission to look good.

Objectivity/Subjectivity 

As a consultant, analysing my elder son as a 6 week old baby, having only known him 6 weeks it was easier compared to his younger brother who was over a year old by the time I sat him down with the drapes.  As his mother, analysing a 12 month old was influenced by our year together and what I WANTED him to be rather than what he was!  But what a joy to be able to buy them clothes in colours that suit them and really see them shine as individuals.  More importantly, a sense of who they are through what suits them; enabling them to have freedom to choose and like their own colour choices rather than being influenced by each others’ subjective preferences.   

Practicality

Knowing what colours suit someone I’m choosing for means swapping and exchanging clothes is less hampered by the emotional baggage and possibility of offending someone.  Second hand clothing,  keeping the ‘hand-me-downs’ which work and dyeing, or freely releasing those which don’t, to someone else is a liberating and empowering place to be. 

I know someone who regularly buys presents for people in her own colours (and often styles) thinking, in the absence of knowing their colours, that this is a ‘safe’ colour.  Safe for her as the giver, not necessarily for the receiver if they are a different season/style!

A world without colour is unimaginable - the joy of colour is in surrounding yourself with those which empower you as an individual.  The challenge is in finding a compromise that works for everyone in the home when you are all different seasons!

How Many Hats Do You Wear?

There are periods in life when balls get dropped, some are more visible than others, and the regular readers among you have commented when it gets a bit quiet on the blog front – feel free to feedback any time - your views are always welcome!

 

My excuse is much the same as many - ‘too busy’, although given that some people manage to organise multi-million pound businesses and their families, it must be that my support structures are not sufficient or my organisational habits not up to scratch, as every now and then I drop a ball or two!

When your life is full to the brim, how many hats can you wear at once and who can you bring in to help you with a ‘hat’ which is maybe not your area of expertise?  

 

I’ve been heard to say that I can be 3 things, wife, mother and career woman.  But is that true?  Is it possible to do more than one thing at a time? 

 

The world of technology is clear that there is no such thing as multi-tasking – the concept of multi-tasking is merely an illusion created by the processors working so fast or in parallel that they appear to be able to do more than one thing at a time – a bit like an effective parent! 

But, when the systems get overloaded, the computer crashes!  When I try to take on more than my own capacity, something drops and nothing seems to get done effectively.   Bring in the cavalry – back up required!  This Blog gives some good ideas for reducing the number of hats you may be trying to juggle! Whether this is asking for help from a friend, hiring a PA, a team of staff or even outsourcing to a company, it’s possible, BUT a certain amount of organisation is required to get to that point!

Just as order and structure supports me in work, so it does in my home - everything in its place and a place for everything’ - thus, frustrations mount as the clutter increases with expanding work, school activities, birthday parties and the Christmas influx!  All the ‘places’ are full and ‘things’ start to pile up in the corners. 

Working mostly from home means my space needs to be organised and (subject to the limitations of having young children) relatively tidy; I walk around the ‘clutter’ and TRY to ignore it but notice how distracting it is.  I say ‘try’ because in reality mess has an adverse effect on me; tidiness leaves me feeling relaxed and able to breathe. 

But it’s more than tidiness - at a basic level, the areas of my home need to support ME, i.e. do the right job in the right way.

At House of Colour, we work to identify that your clothes do the right job in the right way, supporting you in your lifestyle.   Enter Rannveig (pronounced Ranvay), of Anna Stone Design, an interior designer who works with ‘space’.  Rannveig listened to what I was trying to achieve and my frustrations with it not seeming to come together.  Trained, professional and objective, her fresh eye, made my space work better for me just as I’ve helped people’s wardrobes work better for them.

My problem was reduced to about a quarter of its original size by reorganising 3 out of 4 of my downstairs rooms - space and energy is apparent!

After an exhausting but enjoyable day spent rearranging sofas, chairs, tables, toy storage and pictures, my home felt completely different.  With only Rannveig’s time as my cost, I was well on the way to solving a problem that had seemed insurmountable because it drained me of energy and I always had too many things to do.   I’m used to being brought in as the ‘cavalry’ but today I’d been the recipient!  

And the best bit?  Nobody noticed!  I’d say that’s because it’s right, it works - just as when someone is wearing the colours and styles which suit and flatter them, people notice the person not the clothes.

Death and Public Speaking

 

 

It is often acknowledged that the two things people are most afraid of are death and public speaking. 

Most people can acknowledge that these are variations on Fear – of the unknown and being vulnerable.  Preston Ni has an interesting perspective, suggesting that these two fears are related by the fact that the fear of public speaking is the fear of emotional death!

 

 

Although it might not be so extreme, at House of Colour we’ve experienced people feeling intimidated by the thought of meeting an Image Consultant; they suddenly become self-conscious about their appearance, invest additional energy (compared to their normal levels) in thinking about what they’re wearing and apologise for various elements of their attire which they don’t have complete confidence in.  Otherwise confident people are reduced to varying degrees of nervousness. 

At the very least, this is something that needs to be acknowledged at the meeting introductions, and then put to one side, so that we can get on with the business of the meeting.  But what would it be like if you could remove most of the fear, releasing the energy for more productive use?

At our annual conference last year, we heard Mo Harford speaking about how our brains and thinking get in the way of our performance and producing great results.  In effect it is often only our beliefs which support (positive) or hinder (negative) us in our performance.

 

 

By focusing on getting your look ‘right’, i.e. one that you are comfortable in, comfortable with and that makes you look your best, you’re able to confidently step out and take care of the primary business at hand.  In the case of a ‘business’ person, this is getting on with their ‘business’!  

 

Special events can typically take a lot of our energy and attention when looking for the right outfit - often costing a lot of money - but it doesn’t have to.  For women, the problem often stems from a lack of confidence in coordinating items, so the safe option is to invest in a complete outfit which is clearly designed to coordinate and look good.  The problem with this approach is that you may have invested over £500 (clothing, accessories, shoes and in some cases underwear) and ended up with 1 outfit, rather than spending £500 on several items that can be used and adapted to create many more outfits in combination with clothing in your existing wardrobe.   Return on investment is about your cost-per-wear, shifting the focus to cost-per-outfit, an item of clothing or an accessory reveals itself as a good investment or not.

We need to know we look right, we have phrases such as ‘I need to put my face on’, ‘I’m having a bad hair day’, ‘I can’t go out without my lipstick/perfume/necklace (delete as appropriate)’.  All these statements point towards our need to ensure we ‘look the part’.  I particularly enjoyed reading this article on clothing related expressions!

 

Why are they fears? Because we all have a fundamental concern about what people think of us. This blog by Michael Hyatt gets succinctly to the point – take the focus off yourself!  Ironically, by focusing on yourself and your image, this is exactly what we are aiming for - get your physical presentation to such a level that you are able to take the attention off yourself and focus on the job in hand.

Maybe a business friend of mine who is considering a career transition from Business Consultant and Professional Speaker to Undertaker has the ideal solution to help you through your fears!

‘Good is the enemy of Great’…

 'Good is the enemy of Great'.......

…is a well known Jim Collins quote From Good to Great - he states that:

 

‘Get rid of the good to make room for the great in your life’. 

I’ve noticed an ongoing theme this week:

Holidays are useful changes in energy which either cause a spate of activity before the deadline of leaving, or an injection of inspiration and enthusiasm after which a spot of spring cleaning is often initiated.

• My trusty swimming costume got left on holiday - it saved me finding a plastic bag to carry it in after using it during the day and flying home in the evening!  But this wasn’t the real reason, the Lycra was starting to go (Chlorine is the enemy of Lycra!) and I realised that I bought it when I was about ½ stone heavier, maybe not a lot, but on a 9½ stone frame, that’s 5%.  It didn’t make me feel great.
• As I started to unpack and return everything to their rightful homes, I recognised that at least 8 of my tops, trusty stalwarts, were no longer in regular use - past their best.  They didn’t make me feel great.
• I moved along to my dresses and realised a couple, while fine, never really worked. Each time I would overlook them in favour of another.  While I thought I liked them, they didn’t make me feel great.
• I’ve never quite bought into the handbag graveyard, preferring to have 5-6 covering the main colour/purpose points in my spectrum rather than one in every style or colour possible.  One, well loved and used, was past its best, another too floppy, unstructured, I could never find anything because it either fell to the bottom of the ‘bucket’ style, or the bag flopped over when I put it down and everything fell out.    They didn’t make me feel great.
• And so to shoes.  There comes a time in every shoe’s life when it has earned its retirement but at what point? Sometimes they’re looking past their best before date, other times, past the fashion trend, even though I like the colour or style and they still fit - 2 pairs gone.  They don’t make me feel great.

Are you noticing a theme here?

Working through accessories and jewellery, I removed 20+ items, resulting in a gentle feeling of relief at  the extra ‘breathing space’ in my wardrobe. 

 

By removing a small percentage of energy drainers I’ve freed up myself and the space in my wardrobe.  Even without any more clothes I immediately feel better because the ones left are the ones which make me feel great!

The mantra I’ve passed on to many friends and clients over the years is ‘if you don’t use it or love it, pass it on’.  Regardless of your feelings for 'it', if ‘it’ doesn’t love you, it won’t make you feel great and you deserve more than that! 

Why settle for ‘good’ when ‘great’ is available?

I just made my friend cry...

....all I did was ask her to put on a dress and then look at herself in the mirror – it’s part of my job!
 

Trying something that was at least 1 size smaller than she was expecting, containing colours she would never have considered previously and in a style far more revealing than she would usually dare wear (because it showed her figure rather than hiding it) enabled her to see the potential of how good she could look - for the first time since having her children.  I say she saw a glimpse of her true self coming back at her from the mirror, someone she had forgotten.

‘Telling the Truth and making someone cry is better than telling a lie and making someone smile’.  

Paolo Coelho

Let your appearance tell the truth about who you are. I don’t always move people to tears but it has been known!  Susan Boyle has also displayed this skill of causing people to be moved! If you haven't yet seen her original appearance, it's a real treat.

Transformation: 
a complete change, usually into something with an improved appearance or usefulness (Bing Dictionary). 

Susan Boyle is also one of the most significant and public transformations that we've seen in recent years and what a difference it’s made to the way people relate to her?   Coming on stage everyone clearly assumed that she couldn't sing - and the main basis for that was her appearance.  Understandably she then went through a make-over and typically followed the public criticism.  It's not an easy journey to make at any time, never mind in the public eye.

Simon Cowell captured it well when he later said:

 “Focus yourself.  …come back as the person you want to be, not the person you think you should be"

True transformation; noone can deny how gorgeous she can look.  

Internal conversations and scripts prevent you looking our best often accompanied by not knowing what suits you, your body shape, proportions and your personality, our consultants at House of Colour are trained to help you with that change to transformation.

I once met a lovely woman wearing scruffy trousers, a grungy (sorry, but it was!) vest top, no make-up and her hair scraped off her face in a messy knot.  It was highly likely the colours weren’t her best either becaue there was nothing stunning about her.  Yet she was an amazing woman with a lot to offer and we had a fascinating conversation.  She was someone who looked for the beauty in everything and everyone.  For her, true beauty was about the personality on the inside, not the outward appearance.  Ironically, in my opinion (and having consulted over 500 people, I consider myself a fairly objective judge) she was beautiful - stunning eyes, facial bone structure that many women would pay for, a fabulous figure and had what I can only describe as a peaceful, serene energy around her.  At the time there was something amiss but it wasn’t until later that it registered - the misalignment between the inside and the outside meant that she was making people work really hard to see her beauty.  Why would you do that?

When you present yourself to the world as a true reflection of who you are, you make it easier for people to see you, get you, understand, relate to you and therefore make it easier for people to work with you. 

While the most obvious application for this is some kind of interview, be it sales or a new job, they are one-off events.  It’s the consistency over time which embeds the transformation. I clearly remember a client who discovered that business networking suddenly became easier, more effective and far more enjoyable when she was dressed in colours and styles that flattered her -  that is, showed off her best self to the world week in, week out. 

By coincidence HOC HQ posted this on our Facebook page this week: ‘You’ve been criticising yourself for years and it hasn’t worked.  Try approving of yourself and see what happens.’  Louise Hay

I believe the world would be a better place if we did!  What do you see is possible?  

A Sense of Proportion

Many of you will have seen this picture before, but not all.  What do you see when you look at it?  A Young woman or an old Hag?  They’re both there, suggesting that it's your perspective that gives the perception of reality.

In some ways, ‘looking good’ is just an optical illusion – the trick is knowing what to draw the eye towards or away from and how.  Knowing what we've got to work with and then dressing it with a little magic and a dose of common sense.  

We all have things that we think are ‘wrong’ with us, but maybe it’s just our perspective which is ‘wrong’ – try these:

• "My bottom is too big!" – or are you enviously curvaceous?
• "I’m short-waisted!" – or is your shorter torso balanced with long legs?
• "I’ve got no hips/bust!" – if you ‘haven’t’ got it, then you can add more detail to balance the other part of you… unless you have that straight androgynous body shape that looks really stylish in something simple, straight and boxy.

Understanding your body shape and proportions is a vital part of the Style Class.  You learn how to ‘redress’ your balance to create interest in a deliberate or intentional way - using emphasis to reinforce a statement about yourself that could be any number of adjectives such as ‘creative, reliable, knowledgeable, sporty, rebellious, relaxed’ and many more.

And for you non-believers?  There’s hope!  The Gestalt Principle “...maintains that the human eye sees objects in their entirety before perceiving their individual parts”.  In Michael Tuck’s detailed article about using the principles of design, it’s refreshing to read that good design can be intuitive, a natural ability.

“Gestalt Principles aren't artificial constructs that people have concocted to apply to design; they are attempts to describe and verbalize how we naturally perceive things....… in at least some sense, "design talent" is an ability to naturally — and perhaps even unconsciously — understand how human perception works, and how to create designs for websites, paintings, or wedding dresses that are artistically beautiful and functionally efficient by appealing to it.” 

A relief to know!

“Some of the best designers in the world know nothing of Gestalt Principles. They use them intuitively; when designs look and feel right, usually they incorporate these principles whether the designer recognises the terminology or not.” 

So, back to you; what of those features which can't take clothing e.g. 

• "I’ve got a big nose!"  Let’s be honest, these 'family features’ be it nose, chin, eyebrows even skin are not usually declared in a positive light. 

Wearing clothing and accessories that suit you in a way that compliments you, we call being ‘In Focus’; your look is balanced and attractive.  When you’re not wearing things that compliment you, you’re ‘out of focus’, out of balance and appear less attractive.  The feature you’d rather diminish often becomes more prominent.

Therefore, if you have a 'distinguishing feature', it’s amazing to watch it blend and harmonise when your whole look is ‘In Focus’.  We all have fabulous parts of our bodies, unfortunately we’re hard-wired to notice the negatives rather than highlighting the positives.  

One lovely client, a size 20+, arrived wearing palazzo pants and a long over shirt, complaining that when she was younger she had a waist!  I pointed out that she still had a waist, maybe bigger than it used to be, but still a waist that needed defining to show off her figure – demonstrating how to do this in a way appropriate to her current size and shape meant she immediately looked slimmer and gave her a massive boost of confidence. 

And then there was the male client who thought his legs were ‘long’ because he had difficulty finding trousers long enough.   I gently pointed out that at 6’4”, a 34” leg length while long, wasn’t disproportionately long, if anything it was a little on the short side for his height!  This left him able to focus attention on his clothes by getting the emphasis right on his torso, redressing the balance.  

There are few universally applicable rules.  In order to emphasise your uniqueness, we need to work with each of you individually.  Lisa Wade wonders “what it would be like to live in a world where the fashion industry encouraged us to “emphasise” our differences from one another, instead of trying to make us all look the same?”  You're all unique individuals; we focus on your uniqueness. 

You may have heard this from me before– it’s not what you’ve got but what you do with it that makes the difference!  

Getting a sense of proportion allows you to make the most of yourselves - you deserve it!