Having your colours done & restyling yourself

[alwaysthepessimist]

Has anyone had this done? This is inspired by the clearing your wardrobe out post - if I clear my wardrobe out where can I go to get my 'colours' done and how do I get someone to restyle me? What do they actually do? It isn't something I have ever done but I am at a point in my life I think it needs to be done - my life needs a revamp & a clear out

You can find a list of local practitioners on the Kettlewell website if that helps: www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk/all-about-colour/find-a-colour-stylist-99

I looked into this, but concluded that it depends what sort of shopper you are. You’ve really got to enjoy trailing around shops with your swatches afterwards, or buy from Kettlewell to ensure you are getting your exact shade/tone (too often of polyester).

I prefer online shopping, because my criteria are: fabric, style, then colour.

There’s endless guidance online, so you can determine your “season” or whatever and go from there.

Loads of advice on pinterest just see how they styled someone with similar colouring to you. And buy a colour wheel.

I kind of DIY'd it; going by how the item I was trying on lit up my face. I too often bought things that were flattering shape wise but drained the life out of me colour wise

It's been hard to put things back, cursing it doesn't come in my colour!

I started shopping in charity shops to find my 'style' - it allowed me to experiment with different items I would never pay full price for.

It's taken time to build a wardrobe as you can't rely on things being around but patience has paid off and I'm now at the point where one item makes several outfits different

My priority list I've discovered via the charity shops is
Colour
Style/shape
Fabric
Brand

Is there someone, maybe famous, that you admire their style you could use as a starting point?

Personally I'd rather work out my style by watching what other people wear, trying things on, experimenting and making mistakes. But then I enjoy the whole process and I'm not really bothered if I get things wrong sometimes. But if I didn't enjoy it and just wanted to look good without any of the hassle, then yes, I would pay for it.

Just bear in mind that this isn't a science and that the 'rules' aren't really rules - they're just people's opinion.

I did it with ColourMeBeautiful years ago. It has completely changed things for me.

It has made it much quicker to select clothes and saves me a lot of money. Everything I buy is used regularly nowadays. I also feel much better presented, no more frumpy fat days when you know exactly what suits you.

And no, I don’t suggest looking at what other people wear, but if you are going to do it yourself, look at women who look good in their clothes but who have your same body shape. Same applies for colour.

I do think is worth to pay the amount to do a consultation, but if you want to do it on your own Trinny and Susanah’s The Rules is the most concise guide on how to choose clothes that fit your body shape. Unfortunately it is out of print, but sometimes you can get them used from amazon (there are quite a lot of books by the same authors, but what you need is The Rules)

thanks everyone - I think I will try to DIY it then go from there

I did this. Was totally lacking in direction after DD1 so had my colours done for Christmas. It was fab. Took me quite a while to get to grips with it and in the meantime I had another baby so mostly bought cheaper things until I had my style done. I often get told I look younger now than I did before (despite the horrendous sleep deprivation and bags!!).

Having my style done was revolutionary I have to say. I now understand why I like things but they don’t suit me or go with other things I own. I am now building a wardrobe where everything goes with everything rather than having specific outfits which I did before.

I now look at the cut and material of clothes which I never knew to do before and I don’t buy much but I spend more on individual items and love them all. I don’t carry my swatch wallet often unless a big shopping trip as I now know what I’m looking for. The only downside is I am now incredibly fussy which can make shopping frustrating.

Kettlewell is actually a great resource even if you don’t buy from them. I often put my palette of colours on my phone from
their page, I do occasionally order but only a few pieces from each season seem to work for me. I do A LOT of online shopping and returning. Companies must hate me now!

I think it depends on how much confidence you have in yourself with clothing or how strong an identity you have with style. I had neither so House of Colour worked brilliantly for me.