Hotter than trends: Color/Style Systems Compared

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the “systems” and individual stylists available today.  When I was in a new mom style slump, I went pretty far down that rabbit hole, and this is what I’ve learned about the different systems.  Important side note:  if you are also in a slump of some kind, get clear on your energy before you shell out major money for a stylist.  You want to be coming from a place of calm curiosity rather than frenetic desperation.  See the note on personality in the previous post. 

Nearly all of the systems are based on a quadrant or “4 corners” concept more or less aligned to the traditional seasons of the year like this:

I’ll start with Jen Vax Thoden’s Your Color Style community because I think it’s the easiest to identify the “family” of colors that look reliably good on you.  She has a great Facebook community and supportive online membership with new content all the time.  She starts with your contrast level, listing examples for different skin tones, and then warm/cool, and light/dark.  You can purchase her cards to put “test” colors next to your face to see the effect in real life.  Her bright/cool/medium palette works best for me (which is somewhere between a summer and winter in traditional seasonal analysis). 

Next is Carol Tuttle’s “Dressing your Truth” method.  She has an active online community and posts often about everything from makeup to shoes and accessories, with actual links to buy the items pictured if you are a “lifestyle” member.  I like that she adds patterns to her corners/seasons–if you order her cards, there is a purse-sized set with colors on one side and patterns matching the coordinating “energy” on the other, and a larger set with more information about the best fabrication, metals, and overall vibe for each type.  This gives someone who is just starting out great direction, but may be limiting for someone looking for more specifics.  Personally, I think there’s a leopard print out there for all four types, but in her cards, you’ll only see it in the sassy Type 3.  You’ll see a whole lot of long, open waterfall style cardigans for Type 2, but fewer fitted cowl-necks, which might be a better match for a “summer” with a more classic style.  I am a Type 1 in her system, but many of the colors from all three of the other Types look great on me, so this was not the easiest DIY method for me.

I turned to Pretty Your World online because it features “in between” seasons, based on a 28-season system.  Many of us that don’t fit neatly into one of these traditional corners are “cuspers” with other seasons, and this system illustrates that beautifully with actual human examples and coordinating palettes.  I still couldn’t find my colors in this system – I look most like the Cool Winter model, but some of the “best colors” listed are definitely not my best, and the “Clear Spring” colors are too warm.    

I had an in-person color draping with a lovely local House of Color trainer, mostly because I was having a hard time determining whether I was truly “warm” or “cool.”  (I’ve since determined that while I have very cool/pink undertones, the freckles and warm overtones as my light brown hair bleaches to blond in the summer make things tricky.)  The draping was great fun, and as expected the very professional expert had a difficult time, but eventually determined I was a “Blue Autumn,” a subset of traditional corner 3 indicating someone who looks best in warmed up (toasted) cool colors – think the deep blues and greens of fall.  House of Color gives you a little wallet with your overall palette, noting your best colors from the draping, and the opportunity to buy coordinating makeup.  My best colors felt great, but I didn’t feel harmonious with the overall fall palette.

That brought me to Ladybird, a brick-and-mortar style boutique that has since moved online.  Molly, the founder, put me in “corner 3 leaning corner 4” (autumn with a sparkly touch of winter).  I don’t think this was about corner 3 colors as much as the fact that after being pregnant and nursing for the previous two years (serious utilitarian mom slump), I needed to ramp up the rock n’ roll sex appeal.  A lot.  And I loved it.  I went home with a glittery bronze motorcycle jacket and some burgundy leather pants that felt fantastic... but ultimately didn’t go with a lot of other stuff I knew looked good on me.  The team at Ladybird is top notch, and they are a great alternative to “Dress Your Truth” above if you’re looking for something more young and current and elevated overall.  Check out their online offerings.        

There are a few different stylists that go a step further with more specific archetypes.  I first consulted Rachel at Truth is Beauty.  She is great on Pinterest, and has a ton of information on her website, including celebrity examples with different skin tones in colors that are great and not so great on each.  I could tell that in her color system, I seem to be a light summer.  She has archetypes from the seven style essences based on Kitchener and Kibbe from the 1980s, which include different combinations of yin/yang (feminine and masculine) qualities in the face and body. In all, Rachel has come up with 63 different combinations of these essences, and gives to-the-point descriptors (e.g., the Romantic Natural is the “Babe Next Door.”)  You can sort of DIY this with her website and Pinterest boards, or schedule a virtual consultation like me.  Send in a few pics, and voila, she’ll give you her impressions.  She determined I was mostly Gamine with Natural (The Tomboy), and I loved the advice she gave me to play with proportions and color.  The Gamine part was right on, but the Natural influence felt a bit too casual/rustic; I like it better when adding a more feminine Romantic or Ingenue component in her system.

Which brings me to my favorite stylist, who incorporates color in the most personal way, as well as more specific information about archetypes than I’ve found anywhere else.  David Zyla has a very active Facebook community for DIYers and a whole book called Color Your Style that walks readers through his system.  His Pinterest is a beautiful, comprehensive dive into all of his archetypes.  He has worked in the stage, television, and film industries for decades and personally styled many celebrities.  His system loosely follows the traditional seasons, but there is so much variety within each, because he gets the colors from your actual skin, hair, and eyes, and each season contains several different archetypes.  Many DIYers take the colors too literally – when I saw him in person, he got an almost black deep navy blue from the ring around my iris, and greens and yellows in addition to the more obvious blue in my iris.  Beyond the colors, the archetypes are helpful to really nail down all of the details of your unique style.  His book lists relevant decades, favorite flowers and artists, and typical personality traits of each archetype.  I saw myself in a handful of them, but when he met me in person, he could tell within a few minutes of talking with me that I’m a Floral Spring (Wholesome Flirt) in his system.  My custom palette isn’t warm like traditional spring palettes, it’s mostly blues, greens, blue-purple, teals, and neutral pink.  Some of my best colors from those previous analyses are in there.  Soft coral, buttercup yellow, and khaki are as warm as it gets, though; no red or orange or brown.  Once you land on an archetype, your patterns, jewelry, proportions, fabrics, and when to wear what color are all noted in the book.  It’s foolproof.  If you are lucky enough to meet David in person, you’ll gain more insight about what works specifically for you considering your body type, face shape, etc.  This is hands down my favorite if you want to invest your time (DIY) or your money (David is not inexpensive) to get the most comprehensive advice possible.  It has saved me money in the long run because now I am so particular about curating my style.  And equally as important, I now know that if I feel cute, sporty, or perky when I walk out the door, I probably look like my authentic self, and I don’t care at all about being “on trend” or fitting in.      

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