HOC winter thread. The cool and clear chat continues. Part 4.

[QueenCardigan]

Following on from part 3.

If you're a winter then come and join us for chat and links about clothes/bags/make up/hair....

Hi winters, loving all the outfit posts. queen your pin board is great for ideas, lots of inspiration. Was also thinking how interesting it is to see most winters with dark hair. On the Imogen thingy style site linked a while back she talks about topping and tailing outfits to match your hair in tone (sounds wierd bit it provides visual full stops I think for the eye). Easier if you're raven haired or similar and not grubby ashy brown like me!
I've been trawling the charities again. M and s double breasted wool in navy or poss' indigo. Think it suits my style but who knows! Who'd wear a more masculine coat? Gamine?

Fellow sultries! I forgot to share a lovely lip colour. I've been wearing No 7 Sultry Kiss- it's a pencil, like a fake chubby stick. It's a nice deep colour without being too bold and in your face bright.

pink your outfit sounds great ( and off white could be called stone).

I can't do scarves either unless it's with a jacket/coat.

mrpop thanks for those pointers, they're really helpful. Thanks :)

How does everyone use their swatch book? I used a permanent pen to mark ** on my best colours and wrote 50 or 75 on the others. I actually folded over the ones I can't use like mole, acid yellow and stone.

Help! The grey I'm wearing makes me look washed out :( 3 different people said so. It's a grey marl and I think I need deeper. It's the ubiquitous grey that M&S and GAP, Next and everyone do.

www.marksandspencer.com/pure-cotton-t-shirt-with-staynew/p/p22275480?colour=GreyMarl

I have the pink one as well - looks ok but isn't in my swatch.

I wear them to the gym - not about to start wearing lipstick to do Pilates to add some colour to my washed-out face though.

Which grey tees do you buy?

I tend to choose pewter, charcoal or silver grey rather than marl although I have a couple of ancient grey marl t-shirts - these look better when teamed with dark colours (e.g dark jeans or black).

Any good?

I think grey marl can just look a bit dull and muted rather than clear iyswim. That h&m one looks like it may be better.

Like that colour Is but it's a bit shapeless for me. I have Nat/Class/Ing tendencies dontcha know

Good colour though, thanks.

Will look at those colour descriptions next time I shop miss and avoid grey marl. Thanks!

Cardigal I marked my double star at 100% colours in the swatch book and made a spreadsheet of the full ratings in case I lose the book

I tend to focus on the double star at 100 colours, but presumably for tops your double star colours at 100, 75 and 50 are all equally good?

A quick question - am thinking of getting something from the aveda black malva range, to try to tone down my reddish ends - would it be better to get the shampoo or the conditioner?

I officially give up on emerald cardigans . I ordered this one but have sent it straight back. Lovely colour, looks ok but I just don't feel as happy in it as I do in damson or cobalt. As someone else said it's a bit of a stark colour like red so just feels a bit dramatic for me.

mrpop I have the conditioner but recently read that to get the best effect the shampoo was best.

nowhere I get confused about that tbh. If something says it's a star at 50% I assume that s either a top or a bottom it's really good. Have I got that right everyone? If something's two ticks at 75% I assume I can buy a jumper in it

That's lovely QueenC - I am tempted - but I know what you mean about not feeling comfortable necessarily. Do you have any emerald cardigans that you have kept?

I've got this one mrpop but it's never really been the right colour as it's too muted. It's also faded quite a bit as it's been washed and worn so often and I can definitely see now that it's too pale and soft looking.

I ignore the ratings most of the time as I tend to have navy or grey next to my face with a cardigan. I'm finding I need the swatch book less and less and can pretty much spot the colours I need when I walk into a shop.

I find cool, saturated blues and pinks quite easy to identify, but the greens are much harder. I bought a green vest earlier in the summer, but even though it was bright it seems to be a summer green going by the online pictures of the HOC colour wheel.

I still wear some summer blues - I think they suit me better than some of the one tick at 25% winter colours like stone or ice yellow.

As a sultry my ** are all so dark near my face. I'm ignoring the greens too.

My wardrobe neutrals are navy/black/grey (wrong grey as it turns out) with pops of bright blue and bright pink.

Nowhere, snap. I think there is a slightly wider range of colours than the swatches indicate. But you learn to recognise when you look good., which is wonderful in itself.

MrPop - conditioner here too and I use it as a dye by leaving it in for 15 mins.

Re the ratings:

100% - whole outfit
75% - coat/dress
50% - top or bottom
25% - scarf/accessories/bikini

With the stars and ticks, these are a guide to help you choose clothes in colours that you look best in. You can use a mixture for example, ** for outfit and one tick colour for shoes. Two ticks and one star clothes will still look good on you if style these well.

I wear a lot of and double ticked stuff because I like the clothes I have that are in these colours. Don't forget that personality/personal taste and style can have an impact on the colours you like to wear - e,g I am not a fan of pink and will not wear it top to toe even if its a * colour for me.

Back to grey marl - it is a winter colour (I remember checking this with the HOC Consultant) but its a rather casual colour so might be hard to wear for those who prefer the smart look?

Thanks for the info MissS and cardigal - maybe I need to buy both?!

Okay, husband has a family-friendly works 'summer' party, mid Sept, in a gardeny venue. I suspect it will be freezing and I feel the cold anyway.

So. Am thinking not a summery dress, but a skirt and tights might work. Jumper or thermal layers.

As a dramatic gamine, I need neat, fitted styles with a bit of eccentricity. As a - - insert body shape here-- I need scoop necks and knee length (for skirts and dresses).

Would love a new dress but would need to think about warmth!

I'm 'ItHas' - have NC to protect the innocent as I have been posting too much.

How about smart trousers - I really like the patterned cropped slim fit trousers (similar to Boden's Bistro trousers)?

Jana what are gamine style like dresses like?

Are any of these the kind of thing (I love a 'find me an outfit' brief)

raspberry

blue

jacquard

collar

star

red

boden