I need to wear more colour but am rubbish at putting things together. Any tips please?

[Honey1975]

I'm 43 and looking tired, I have brown hair with greys appearing, get the roots done every 6 weeks but don't feel the colour does much for me at all. Brown eyes and sallow skin with dark circles.

I wear a lot of grey & navy for work, sometimes black. I had my colours done a few years ago and came out as an Autumn. I was given a little swatch of colours to help choose when buying clothes. But I've never got the hang of it. Either I can't find the colours in the shops or I don't like the ones I can find. There is a tomato red which I love and really suits me but I just don't have the confidence to wear that colour, especially to work!

I realise the difference colour can make to appearance but I'm just no good at putting things together and I don't feel I have the confidence to wear colour even though I know it would probably make me look a hell of a lot better than I do currently!

Does anyone have any advice please?

Could you start small? Maybe a handbag in tomato red, and scarves or gloves in other colours you fancy.
I have a pair of cherry red ankle boots that make me smile, and deep pink wrist warmers, as I also am a very navy and grey person.

Start small? Coloured jewellery to lift and brighten the grey and navy outfits? Then once you've got used to that look, start looking for some brighter tops. (I know the shade of red you mean, and I love it - hope you eventually get the confidence to wear it).

Maybe start with your grey and navy plus three of your favourite other colours - your tomato red plus just two others. And start small - a coloured scarf, T-shirt under a jacket or cardigan, or a shirt popping out from under a jumper. I tend to wear a restricted colour palette of navy and grey with burgundy, white and sometimes purple/bottle green. I know they suit me, they mix and match really easily and I find it easy to shop because once you are used to looking out for just half a dozen colours you can dismiss whole rails at a time if they are not right for you.
Kettlewell Colours is an online shop geared up to sell clothes by season colour groups, it isn't cheap but it can be a good way of getting into the idea - maybe buy two or three pieces in different colours and wear/think of those when you go to ordinary shops. If an item would blend with those then you are on the right lines.

Seems we all agree that starting small is the way to go :)

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes that is a good idea to start small, I have seen lots of mustard coloured hats & scarves etc but because I have a navy coat I didn’t know if they would go.

I’m not even sure if mustard does look good on me as my skin is sallow, I wonder if it might make it look more yellow? It is one of the ‘Autumn’ colours in my swatch though so does that mean it must suit me?

Just wondering, does anyone else wear colour for work (office) or is this best kept for casual wear?

Mustard looks lovely with navy!

Starting small’s a great idea. I used to avoid colour,I felt too self conscious in it but I’m rocking a yellow coat this winter. Colour is such a great pick you up,really lifts my mood as well as my appearance.

Pretty much everything goes with navy I think, pink, mustard, red, purple, that’s the nice thing about neutral colours like grey, camel, navy and black, you can add pretty much anything to them.

Hi I’m an Autumn, I used to wear black all the time but now I have a wardrobe of beautiful flattering colours! However it did take time. I started off with scarves, then bought some basics. I’d carry my swatch around with me and only ever buy clothes in those colours. This website is good and may give you some ideas to help you put outfits together.

www.truth-is-beauty.com/soft-autumn.html

That’s how I want to be Destinysdaughter! I hope I can be a bit more adventurous and start buying clothes in my colours. Today I’m dressed from head to toe in shades of grey & feel so dull!! I really need to stop buying things in black too but for some reason i’m drawn to it, think it’s a ‘safe’ colour.

Definitely start with scarves until you are confident enough with your colour choices to buy outfits. I had my colours done and got a shedload of scarves from Primark for less than £5 each, which mans if you make a mistake that it’s not a big deal. As you wear them round your neck then it doesn’t really matter if the rest of the outfit is really your colour as the scarf is right next to your face.

It’s worth making sure that your foundation and lipstick are ‘warm toned’ as well. It’s worth talking to your colourist to discuss a different hair colour, maybe you could go a bit lighter. It really does make a difference, and it’s worth buying a nice brightening face mask for a weekly treat.

Didn’t realise I used ‘it’s worth’ quite so much!

Update - just got myself 2 discounted tops from Oasis, one mustard & the other red. Lovely colours on me, just not sure the actual top is very flattering. Quite stretchy material but feel it clings to my mum tum a bit! So excited to finally have a bit of colour in my wardrobe though I think I will have to keep them!

www.amazon.co.uk/How-Not-Wear-Black-Wardrobe/dp/0241366682?tag=mumsnetforum-21

Look there’s a book just for you! How not to wear black.... I had a look in a bookshop. I thought it looked ok. Not outlandish.

WeeMadArthur great idea re the scarves. I hadn’t really thought about my make up colours. What type of foundation would be good for my colouring? Also any suggestions for lipstick or blusher colours for Autumns? I have made many mistakes and wasted money on make up that doesn’t suit me.

About seven years ago I totally stopped wearing black. It made life so much easier, as everything I had then started to go with everything else in a colourful way.

For me:
White/ivory is my neutral.
Trousers/jeans are navy.
Shoes and bags are natural leather.

Just try putting away all your black, even if it’s just for a few weeks.

Take a like at the Viviane files blog here . She has loads of ideas for putting together wardrobes with different colours.

Why don't you book a personal shopper at Debenhams or John Lewis?
I've had it done twice at Debenhams and both were fab.

In the booking section it has a small section where you can describe what you want:

Smart Work wear and casual. Had colours done. I'm an autumn, but want to know how to mix the red you like /blood red, with other autumnal colours?

Then they'd know, prior to your arrival, what you wanted?

Then they'd help you mix plum with grey, sage with blue etc?

Honey1975 i went to Boots and did their no7 skin scan thing to get my foundation colour, and from that it gives you blusher and lipstick options. I started with a lippy that was only slightly brighter than my normal colour and then branched out to brighter shades.

Same with clothes - played safe with dark burgundy abd dark green at first, then went for oranges and mustards! I don't own any black tops now, they're all colour and i brighten up the darker ones with jewellery. In the summer, i go a bit bolder - so a mustard vest top teemed with a rust cardigan for example, where for work i generally match the coloured top with a neutral jacket.

Carry that swatch book whenever you are near shops, you will soon recognise "your" colours and be able to head straight for them.

I started with buying a TShirt 'out of my comfort zone' like turquoise or brighter purple .
There are colours I don't like ( mustard, charteuse, bright pink, teal) but I have surprised myself

Something with a pattern/multi colour and pick out one of the colours in plain? ( Very old school but I like it)

Well done OP on making some changes!

Can I suggest a tight vest top/camisole under your new tops. I've been doing that recently and found it gives me a better and therefore makes me feel much more confident!

You mention colouring your hair. Can I suggest speaking to a stylist and see if the suggest a different colour?

As an Autumn I believe you need to look for yellow/ warm toned makeup rather than pink/ cool tones. It’s worth the No 7 colour match or speaking to assistants to tell them you need a warm tone as I’ve found they can be a bit hit or miss ( I went to both the Frasers and Debenhams counters for one brand and they recommended me different shades) Always ask for a tester to take away so you can apply it yourself, see how it stays on your face and see it in different lights. Alternately I think bare minerals and lili lolo have online guides that tell you if a shade is warm, cool or neutral, and lili lolo have tester pots you can buy so you can test which shades suit without having to buy a large pot.

I quite like MUA makeup from Superdrug as they are very reasonably priced so you can afford to take a chance on new colours. But just bear in mind that you suit warm tones more than cool ones and you won’t go far wrong.

OP - I'm very similar to you in colouring. I wear mainly navy/charcoal, but with some deep red.
I've found some obvious autumn colours (mustard) don't suit me so do try before you buy. I've found purple or teal vest tops under a low cut jumper are a good way of experimenting with colour without too much commitment

Sorry I'm just going to hijack this thread for a question! Wondering where people had their colours done? I'm 55 and my colouring has changed over the years. I used to be a winter, very dark hair, Hazel eyes and pale, but now more grey and less pale!

I think I was House of colour, you might find that you are a Summer now, we can still wear deep colours but not quite such strong ones as Winter, think French Navy instead of black.