Colors can bring out personality
Analysis can help you choose your makeup and clothes
By Virginia Margheim Special to the Kansan
Give Lavonna McAllister 15 minutes, and she can tell her clients whether they're cool in terms of fashion, that is.
McAllister, owner of Step by Step Hair Professionals, 925 Iowa St., is a color analyst. Through a color consultation, McAllister can determine whether a person is cool or warm.
"Only about one in 15 Americans are warm," McAllister said. "Most people in the United States are cool."
Warm colors include those in the yellow to red range, and cool colors include shades of blue, green and black.
To determine whether a person should wear warm or cool colors, McAllister looks at the color of her client's hands. Pink hands indicate a warm person, and extremely yellow palms are a sign of a cool individual.
Another method McAllister uses involves the rim around the colored part of people's eyes. If the rims disappear from view she moves to the side of the person, the person is warm. But if the rims are still visible from the side view, the person is cool.
Finally, McAllister considers the color of
hair the person had as a child. A cool person's hair probably turned white in the sun as a child, but a warm person's hair most likely turned orange or red.
Although McAllister tells people which colors are best for them, she warns against being restricted by this.
"I'm not a very big believer in color analysis t'at tells you exactly what colors you can wear," McAllister said. "It's your makeup and what's next to your face that's most important."
Color analysts also use color drapes to find the colors that complement a person most. These pieces of fabric, which are draped across the client's upper body, help to determine colors that do not distract from the face.
"If my eyes are immediately drawn to the color, it's not a good color for you," McAllister said. "That means the color overwhelms you."
Color analysis is helpful in wardrobe selection, but it is most beneficial in regard to makeup application. A prime candidate for color analysis would be a person who tries many different kinds of makeup both different colors and brands and is not sure which is best for them, McAllister said.
McAllister, who has been doing color consulting for approximately one year, said that the consultation time varied depending on how detailed the person wanted to get. The normal time range for a consultation is 10 to 15 minutes, and it is free, she said.
McAllister said that to maximize their potential of color, people should:
use accessories. Adding a scarf or a turtleneck could tone out the wrong colors. Silver and gold necklaces were also excellent for accenting the correct colors. For example, if cool people wanted to wear warm colored shirts, they could add some gold chains to tone out the warm colors.
wear colors from their category close to the face. Warm people should wear colors such as brown, orange and yellow,and cool people should wear colors such as royal blue, forest green and black.
pay attention to their makeup, especially lipstick. Wearing the right makeup colors is one of the biggest problems people have. Because most people are not in the warm category, many of the color bases of makeup are not right for them.
It is important for people to wear colors that complement themselves. Colors also can convey a wide range of emotions and produce many different associations.
Studies have shown that colors often are associated with certain moods or perceptions, said Ruth Bowman, a KU lecturer who teaches a course in color in the School of Art and Design. She said that fashion colors affected many aspects of life.
For example, she said that the fashion designer, Donna Karan, was partly responsible for the increase in popularity of black. Black, which used to be a sign of mourning, now is regarded as a sign of sophistication. This shift of attitude was due in part to Karan's black dress design of the 1980s.
Stephen Sidelinger, author of "Color Manual," points out some general associations with colors. Yellow, for example, may make people think of spring, summer, exhilaration, youth, extroversion or comedy, he said in the manual. On the other hand, it also may be associated with such negative things as sickness, deceit or treachery, he said.
"It's your makeup and what's next to your face that's most important."
Lavonna McAllister
Coloranalyst,
Step by Step Hair Professionals
Another book, "The Pantone Book of Color," also lists colors and the associations made with them. Dusty pink, for example, often is thought of as soothing, sophisticated, romantic or classic.
Although these books list positive and negative associations with color, Bowman warns against relying on them.
"I try to get students in my class to develop their own color lists," Bowman said. "This helps them to discover their own color preferences and to do their own thinking. I think that color associations are very subjective."
4. SPRING FASHION • THE UNIVERSITY-DAILY KANSAN • April 6; 1994
MOH2A3 GW1998 • VASMAN YUAN YUAN DEVINI SMIT 1993, SpringA