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!

Foundations for Colour

Last week I wrote about wearing black and came to the resounding conclusion that YES, everyone can wear it   …but why would you want to if it doesn’t flatter you!

A world without colour is unthinkable for most of us, and yet, walking down the high street, there is always an abundance of black, a heavy spattering of beige and usually a reasonable quantity of white available.  This is because they’re neutral colours which ideally form the backdrop to a wardrobe – the trick is to choose from the selection of neutrals that sit harmoniously in your colour palette to provide a supportive backdrop.

Back in the 1940s when colour film emerged on the scene the significance and impact of colour came to the fore.  The previously elegant and sophisticated actors/actresses somehow didn’t have the same effect – colour was recognised as the difference and the world of image consulting was born. 

In a previous blog  I’ve shown the screen test images of Julia Roberts as they made their colour choices for the 1990 Film, Pretty Woman.  I regularly cite this film as an excellent example of how we can change the way people perceive us simply by looking at the way we present ourselves. 

Choosing colours and styles that flatter you and honour your personality is an incredibly powerful way to help people to ‘get’ you –  giving them an idea of who you are, what you stand for, your values and ideals – not directly from what you wear but because what you’re wearing and how you construct your outfit will support and reinforce your verbal messages or undermine and conflict with them.  I’ve also talked about how, when you honour who you are with what you wear, you make it easy for your listener to hear you.

Liz Jones’ summary in The Daily Mail last week gives a few amusing takes on using colour: ‘You can wear any colour next summer as long as it’s white’ reminding me of the announcement I heard many years ago about ‘the Thursday club meeting on Tuesday to discuss what colour they were going to whitewash the walls of the village hall!’

While travelling in Asia a few years ago it was clear that white was a status symbol because it demonstrated that you could afford to keep up with the cleaning and maintenance.   As Liz astutely points out: ‘White hair to match is not compulsory… but expect your cleaning bills to soar’.  I love the white jacket I bought last year but don’t wear it as often as I might had I the time, money and staff to cover my cleaning requirements, including a Nanny to keep the children and their sticky fingers away!

I don’t however, agree with Liz’s statement that ‘You will not be able to avoid sheer next Spring…’  a confirmed classic that will be no hardship for me!  As for purchasing big pants, well, that’s entirely up to you but visible underwear is a faddy look and never for anyone serious about their image.  In this world of Personal Branding to gain competitive advantage, every little helps – or hinders!  

One of the most famous sheer looks on the planet (right) will clearly never be repeated  for that very reason – a far classier way to employ sheer is with the use of lace in a wedding dress (left).

 

See-through clothing reminds me of the Emperor’s New Clothes. It's interesting how some images protect his modesty with underwear whilst other interpretations have assumed the outfit to include the underwear.  Coming back to 2014/15, for me it’s another good excuse for the fashion industry to produce poor quality and justify it.  One golden rule to follow, the lighter the colour of your clothes, the higher the quality needs to be. 

All wardrobes, regardless of your season, need a foundation of neutrals which form the backdrop to a variety of outfits.  Adding colours to neutrals enables the full impact of the colours to be seen, excluding neutrals can provide an onslaught of colours which at best distracts your audience, at worst, causes them to look in the other direction.

With the release of our latest colour report, highlighting the colour trends for the Autumn/Winter Season, I thought it would make an interesting journey to explore how colour affects our lives over the next few weeks – including neutrals. 

Anyone Can Wear Black!

Of course anyone can ‘wear’ black, and on the right skin tone it can look stunning - elegant, sophisticated and lovely but why would you want to if it doesn't suit or flatter you? 

In the examples below, I suggest that black suits Victoria Beckham and American singer Keri Hilson but not Nicole Kidman, the best make-up artist in the world can't cover the gaunt look it gives her and the air of inauthenticity which doesn't exist in the other two photos.



Victoria Beckham

Nicole Kidman

Keri Hilson

I have friends from all seasons and the light that comes into people’s faces with colour, especially when they’re Spring, Summer or Autumn, is drained away when they put black on.  It’s as if someone has cut off their head, highlighted the dark rings around their eyes and prepared them for their own funeral!  Mary’s Halloween blog entry provided an entertaining view on the negative effects of black on a Spring! 

In all seriousness though, Clare Bumford provides a compelling article around why black is so important but where she says ‘why not?’ … I ask ‘why?’  There are many reasons, apart from funerals and black tie ‘dos’, that might cause people to choose black.  So let’s take a look:

It’s slimming! 

Is it?  Dark colours absorb the light making things seem smaller (slimmer), where light colours (e.g. white) reflect the light making something appear larger.  It’s an optical illusion property of all dark colours, not limited to black.  Far better to chose a dark colour which suits your complexion so that you look slimmer AND healthy!  Besides, there are other tricks to help you look slimmer - focus around wearing styles to suit your body shape and accentuating your assets/best features.

"The best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you"
Coco Chanel

It goes with everything!

Of course it does and, depending on your perspective, some people say, so does ketchup ! Black is a neutral colour and all outfits benefit from using neutrals to provide a supporting backdrop to the colours and patterns.  Neutrals from a complementary range of colours will enhance an outfit, but will diminish, even slightly, an outfit chosen from an alternative range to the neutral in question.  Choosing all your clothing  from the range of colours which complement you  provides you with neutrals that enhance you and you’ll find your neutrals do go with everything.

It’s easy!

If everything in your wardrobe is black then life is very easy!   Widely recognised in the energy world as an absorbative colour it could be seen as good for learning (absorbing everything, albeit it not selectively) but is more generally associated with depression due to absorbing everything.  It takes courage to know what suits you and wear it with confidence, but when you know WHICH colours are yours and WHY, choosing the colours which suit you from the full colour spectrum is easy.

It’s quality!

The quality and construction of a fabric is not easily visible on darker fabrics as they absorb the light.  We know that the lighter the colour, the more important it is to ensure quality is inherent in the garment construction, for example light coloured skirts and trousers need lining in order to be able to wear them away from the beach (see pictures). 

It’s available

It is and always will be, for all the reasons above, but you don’t have to rush into a purchase.  Knowing what suits us gives us the confidence to be more selective and wait for a great item of clothing to turn up in our style, size AND colour.  Supply and demand is my theory.  When people understand how to wear colours confidently they buy and wear them. 

Kettlewell affirm this by noting that House of Colour clients purchase more colours (than neutrals) than any other group.  They understand the amazing effect it has on our energy and and how we appear to others. 

 

In the following examples, I suggest that Victoria and Keri look sallow and inauthentic where Nicole, in her warm colour, looks healthy and naturally authentic. 



Nicole Kidman

Victoria Beckham

Keri Hilson

By selecting bright colours from their spectrums, to suit each individual, they all three look healthy, interesting, confident and authentic.

Nicole Kidman

Victoria Beckham



Keri Hilson

 



Give yourself permission and the freedom to use your best colours and not be bound by the inaccurate statement that everyone suits black!  Everyone can wear it, but it doesn't suit everyone!

 

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.

Life Changes

House of Colour clients come from all walks of life and choose HOC for all kinds of reasons - the intangible (emotional, look good/feel good connection) to the tangible (practical, measurable, saving time/money/effort, to help secure jobs, promotions, relationships and sales). 
 

Whether people are successful, visible and happy with their life or feel completely disempowered or invisible, the overriding reason to decide to invest in themselves can frequently be defined as a desire to become more visible (noticed for the right reasons),  often triggered by a life event which focuses attention:

• Employment changes: finding that first job, making the transition from education, wanting more success as you climb the career ladder, moving to a position of self-employment and needing to secure sales, returning to work after a maternity break or moving into retirement.  People want to be distinguishable as an individual, looking professional, friendly and approachable, as though they can do the job in question – they want to look the part.
• Starting or ending a relationship often leads to a change in hairstyle and clothing.  The retail therapy element cannot be ignored but when making changes it’s far better to invest in things that will suit you to ensure you get full cost per wear and a return on your investment.  A major milestone is a frequent trigger - 18 and 21 may be welcomed with as much gusto as double digits or the teen milestone, but those blessed with youthful looks sometimes wish to look more mature to help career progression.  40 and 50 tend to be more resistant milestones, our pictures and reflections seem to defy how we feel, we know there must be a way to stay looking younger and slimmer for a bit longer without the need for surgical or chemical intervention as we prepare ourselves to embrace the ageing process; fear not, with HOC help is at hand!
• Recovery from any period of change can be a big deal - the varying levels of recovery from traumas or a period of illness (as patient or carer) also bring a need for a personal morale boost.
• Also included in this group are mothers - the impact of having children cannot be underestimated.  Every mother I would dare to say, without exception, will have experienced at some point a loss of power, self-esteem or self-confidence, which has a direct impact on our confidence when selecting clothes which suit us.  With time and space to think about ourselves for the first time in a long time, a change in lifestyle, body shape and budget, leaves us a little disorientated as we learn to find a new balance.   When life changes result in disempowered people and they want to pick themselves up, it’s something visual that needs changing – new hairstyle, outfit and/or accessories.  The power of the image is grossly underestimated but we need the image we see in the mirror to be a true reflection of who we are - we owe it to ourselves to be empowered, visible and authentic.
• From a business perspective a review of your personal appearance may be triggered by the company revisiting their corporate business strategy and recognising the value of bringing congruence to the staff, representatives and corporate brand.

All over the world, businessmen and women work hard to get themselves and their businesses ‘noticed’ (visible), seen for what and who they are (authentic) to customers.  One visit to a local business networking group will show you that, unfortunately, too often the focus is around getting the business card, brohure or product right, with little attention paid to the appearance and presentation of the person.

From a personal perspective we want to be seen for who we are, from a business perspective we also need to be seen to represent our company, product or service with authority and make sure that our personal appearance (brand) supports and reinforces the corporate brand while empowering us to be ourselves. 

The paradox of life is our conflicting need for both continuity and change.   Empowering people to embrace these changes by taking themselves on first is a real gift -  ‘chin up’, ‘best foot forward’, ‘tomorrow’s another day’ - it’s not what happens but our approach and reaction to it which will determine how we handle it – knowing you look your best is akin to knowing you’re as well prepared as you can be.