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

Yellow

YELLOW

Good for sharing factual information, promoting conversation, sociability, family harmony

Joy, happiness, intellect, energy, inspiration

When asked to look at being happy or angry and then attributing a colour to it, Yellow was automatically the colour for happy, Red for anger.  The child was about 6 at the time.  A purely instinctive reaction, from the heart.

‘There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun’ – Pablo Picasso

It’s a colour recognised to be good for harmony – is that why we love primroses and daffodils so much in the spring?  Energy and inspiration abounds when the newness of spring approaches and I can feel it as I sit looking out to sea with the sun shining down on the golden sands.  One of my favourite memories is stopping by a field in Tuscany and absorbing the sunshine and warm energy of the sunflower fields.  Sunflowers adorn our walls and a stained glass window adds interest to the view of the neighbours’ wall!

I once heard statistics from car insurance companies that stated yellow cars were less likely to be involved in Road Traffic Incidents.  The implication was that the high visibility was effective in raising attention and thus ensuring people kept a safer distance.  Never having been a lover of yellow and particularly not yellow cars, I did wonder whether this was more to do with the distinct lack of yellow cars on the road, I can’t see any in the car park! The bright and reflective nature of high visibility clothing certainly ensures that many people are kept safer in potentially dangerous environments.

And yet, while every season has a yellow, like orange, it is another colour which is primarily the domain of the warm toned seasons, spring and autumn.  But, unlike orange, each season has a yellow – enjoy yours!  If it’s not a 2* colour, then use it for accents and complementing colour schemes.

Try these combinations for something a bit different:

Spring (warm & clear)	With anything from your palette!
Summer (cool & soft)	Primrose, Coral Red and Hyacinth
Autumn (warm & soft)	Yellow Ochre, Orange and Amber
Winter (cool & clear)	Mole, Stone and Acid Yellow

Returning from the hairdressers where people were admiring the natural blonde highlights that adorn my son’s head when the summer arrives, I recognise that many people want to replicate the blonde hair that adorns so many young heads.  Apparently, it is the change in hormone levels as we get older which causes most of us to lose the blondeness and turn darker.    I recall a very humorous moment when I was in my 20s when someone described me as having dark, curly hair – my program of me says I have blonde, I have the photo to prove it, I was 4!  

I believe everyone is lucky to have their natural colour -  what we need is learn how to choose the clothes, make-up and hair style that will show it off in its best light!  Watch as mousy grey turns to distinguished silver and ‘bleached yellow’ turns a stunning shade of honey beige purely by changing the colours of your clothes and make-up.  It is, however very personal and some are not ready to change - if that’s the case, consider temporary colour to help the transition as mentioned in an earlier blog. 

‘Without my Johnson trademark mop of yellow hair, I think I would be nothing’ – Rachel Johnson

© Tatler

It’s clearly an emotive colour, I’d love to be a fly on the wall as they get into the nitty gritty of what shade of ‘pastel’ this yellow house needs to be repainted! 

And on a practical note, thanks to a school t-shirt, I’ve learnt that yellow needs to be washed with whites to avoid it absorbing all the colours in the wash and turning grey.  

  

Your Yellows range from:	Strong to:	Light / Bright
Spring (warm & clear)	Daffodil, lemon	Lemon
Summer (cool & soft)	Primrose
Autumn (warm & soft)	Old Gold,	Yellow Ochre
Winter (cool & clear)	Acid Yellow	Ice Lemon

As for lipsticks?  If in doubt, wear your red but if you aren’t wearing any point of red with your yellows, your favourite colour will harmonise well. 

Accessing the Energy of Colour

Every now and then, people and ideas cross our path that are similar and compatible but not necessarily the same as our own beliefs. 

On my journey exploring whether to become an Image Consultant, I also explored the world of Feng Shui.  As someone who likes clear and clutter free, but is a natural hoarder trained with consummate post-war values, this little book was a godsend.  Scroll to the bottom of the link and you’ll find a connection to the audio version so you don’t have to further clutter your bookshelves!  

You don’t have to subscribe to the beliefs of Feng Shui to get value from this book – at every page turn, it felt like Karen Kingston had been looking over my shoulder!   How did she know about the box of ‘useful things’ under my desk, the broken bits and pieces that might ‘come in handy’ being stored in the cupboard?  So began my lifelong journey with clutter clearing and considering the impact of items on my energies.

This moved further into choosing things for the positive energies they bring which, with my training, extended into considering the energies of Colour and the impact they have on us.  For me, Colour is the root of everything, wearing and surrounding myself with my Colours feels good; from an alternative perspective, why do I feel on some days that I need a certain Colour? 

Recently, instead of being at the mercy of the clothing and choosing things that suit me, I’ve started experimenting with actively choosing things to wear from my wardrobe that will help me create the energy I want for the day.  

I’ve been working with my friend Vanessa Edwards, Feng Shui Consultant and Peace Ambassador, on her original list, incorporating the Energy of Colours and the benefits.

This coincides with a recent blog entry from Sue Donnelly, an independent consultant friend who specialises in Fashion Feng Shui and talks of intuitive dressing for health and energy….hey, that’s what I’ve been doing!  Sue’s blog provides another perspective on using Colour for positive coming from the Chakras.   

At House of Colour we believe that Colour is the start of everything around our appearance.  The right Style in the wrong Colour will not be as effective as the right Colour in the wrong Style because the first thing people look at is your face, where Colour has more impact.  Better still to identify your best Colours and combine them with your best Styles because everyone has a blue, a red, a yellow, a pink, a grey, – the question is, which shade of each Colour is the one which best complements your skin tone as each season has plenty of examples of light, dark and bright Colours?  So you can do exactly that – actively choose your Colours for the energy they provide and you want to invite into your life.

Over the coming months I’ll be working through these Colours – if you have anything to add, interesting anecdotes or stories, please email me at blog@houseofcolourhq.com.  I’ve never done this before so it will be fun trying something new! 

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!

Colours for Business

I’ve just returned from our annual conference where it is always a joy to see so many people (mostly, but not exclusively women) in one place looking so amazing; confident; In Focus; happy, comfortable and enjoying how they and their colleagues look; A perfect illustration of what is possible through using House of Colour services – creating empowered, authentic and visible people.

Some of our consultants choose to expand their training to incorporate our House of Colour in Business material, enabling them to deliver bespoke or tailored workshops into the full range of business environments.  From Schools and charities, self-employed, sole traders through to SME’s and Blue chip organisations there is something relevant for everyone who has an area of their life where they want to be taken seriously.  I suspect this applies to most people out of full time education, many still in it and clearly brings homemakers and carers into the remit – don’t we all want to be taken seriously? In a blog last year, I touched on what was possible;  One of the tools to achieve this, is understanding our individual colour rating.

For clarity and to enable you to use your colour analysis effectively, at House of Colour we use the tried and tested system of splitting the colour wheel into four quarters or distinct families called seasons and we refer to them by name; Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.  Each season represents a quarter of all the colours in the universe, so to further aid everyone, we identified 36 colours which represent the various points and extremes on the continuum of each season.  Evaluating these 36 colours against your unique skin tone and colouring, enables us to identify more precisely which are your best, most complementary and most flattering colours in the spectrum.   Some colours clearly work best as foundations, others as a big block, some next to your face and others provide amazing accents to punctuate and define your outfit.  This is your ‘colour rating’. 

We know just how powerful this work is if you use it but having Quality as one of our core values keeps us looking at how we can refine and enhance this offering for your benefit.  We discovered that what works best for us in our everyday lives doesn’t always serve us so powerfully in a business environment and vice versa.  Consequently, all Consultants attending our annual conference were introduced to the concept of Business Ratings as used in HOC in Business. 

What a revelation for many.  Mary (HoC Huntingdon and sometimes contributor to this blog - left) wrote a great review of her experience and discoveries in her blog and provided some great images of how the colours were working.  After 13 years, an experienced consultant there's still more to learn! 

Generally, although not exclusively, this is about using your neutrals (see table) – at the heart of our colour wheel - more powerfully. 

Autumn	Spring
·         Oyster ·         Khaki ·         Beige ·         Lizard Grey ·         Coffee ·         Camel ·         Bronze ·         Dark Brown ·         Navy	·         Cream ·         Oatmeal ·         Light Peach ·         Shell Pink ·         Dove Greys ·         Beige ·         Chocolate ·         Bright Navy ·         Oxford Blue
Winter	Summer
·         White ·         Silver ·         Greys ·         Stone ·         Mole ·         Charcoal ·         Black ·         Indigo ·         Navy	·         Winter White ·         Pink Beige ·         Dusty Pink ·         Mushroom ·         Rose Brown ·         Blue Greys ·         French Navy ·         Airforce

 .. And of course, all those shades that live in the gaps on the continuum between these colours!  (If you have any questions about this, please review your colour notebook and get in touch with your consultant, they’ll be happy to explain it to you.)

Business ratings are about using your neutrals to greatest effect; this Wyse Women article refers to neutral as a 'centred place', so next week I will expand on this with another analogy and look at the Power of Neutrals.  In following weeks, look out for entries on individual colours using the rainbow as my route guide!