Color Me Confident

I have had this book checked out of the library for 6 weeks, and it will make it into my permanent library. Color Me Confident by Veronique Henderson and Pat Henshaw is one of the best books I have read on color and style in one's wardrobe.

The book covers making a change, finding your best colors, finding the right shapes for your figure, hair and make-up, and building a wardrobe.

What I learned:
Buy investment clothes in neutral colors. For me, those colors are chocolate, pewter, moss, gray-green, bronze, charcoal, light navy, rose brown, taupe and stone.

Make-up colors to try:
eyeliner: moss
eye shadow: melon, fawn, khaki, grayed-green, peach
lipstick: terracotta, pecan, and copper, sandalwood, spiced peach, nutmeg
blush: cognac, sienna

I finally have the right name for my style, creative. Although I was an education major in college, everyone always thought that I was an art major, because of the way that I dressed. This has not changed as I have gotten older. Things that I can use to reflect this style are unusual belts, unusual jewelery, interesting buttons, wear a hat. I thought the list was interesting, because these are already things that I used to do on a regular basis.

Capsule wardrobes
For business
4 suits, 6-8 tops, 3 shoes, 2 handbags
Casual
4 jackets or cardigans, 6 skirts, trousers or jeans, 8 tops, 4 pairs of shoes, boots or sneakers, 2 handbags
Dresses can be substituted for the skirts.

Color Combinations

I have been trying to put together some more sophisticated color combinations. Since this is not something that comes to me naturally, I have turned to some outside resources.

Trinny and Suzannah have some interesting combos in their rules.

For my spring coloring here are some interesting suggestions:
With a dark gray wear bright emerald, dark sky, and dirty green apple.
With navy wear black, dark purple and charcoal.
With french navy wear royal blue, deep burgundy, and pale beige.
With slate blue wear sage, chocolate, and deep fuschia.
With periwinkle wear dark lavender, gray beige, french navy.
With red wear tobacco, brick and dusty pink.
With racing green wear sea green, dark purple and dirty mustard.
With dark olive wear forest green, steel blue and light orange.
With emerald wear dark lime, dark aqua, and deep purple.
With khaki wear olive, jungle green, and burgundy.

Color Me Confident also has some unusual color combinations grouped by season and activity.
Warm Weather Combinations

• Business Wear

Sage and salmon
Camel and natural beige
Cocoa and peach
Verbena and light moss
Golden brown and coral
Moss and salmon
Oatmeal and tomato red
Grayed green and mustard

• Casual Wear

Rust and shell
Jade and light moss
Taupe and golden brown
Yellow-green and grayed green
Lime and salmon pink
Orange-red and rust
Stone and pumpkin
Light periwinkle and camel

• Special Occasion Wear

Peach and salmon
Salmon pink and rust
Light moss and olive
Light gold and buttermilk
Tangerine and pumpkin
Moss and Olive
Tomato red and rust
Apricot and salmon pink

Cool Weather Combinations

• Business Wear

Chocolate and golden brown
Teal and camel
Olive and light moss
Charcoal and salmon pink
Olive and sage
Chocolate and rust
Charcoal and pumpkin
Teal and salmon

• Casual Wear

Turquoise and yellow-green
Spruce and rust
Pewter and camel
Cocoa and light gold
Turquoise and pumpkin
Rust and amber
Evergreen and lime
Terracotta and coffee

• Special Occasion Wear

Claret and salmon pink
Jade and teal
Eggplant and olive
Rose beige and peach
Coffee brown and mahogany
Bittersweet and tomato red
Pumpkin and tangerine
Purple and mahogany

The Truth About Caregiving

Carol O'dell had a great post today on her blog, Mothering Mother and More. I urge you to read it here, http://caroldodell.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/the-truth-about-caregiving/.