What season are you?

For my birthday this year Chris gave me the book The Fashion File:  Advice, tips and inspiration from the costume designer of Mad Men. I'm a huge fan of the show Mad Men and love the classic/vintage fashion that Betty, Joan and the ever so handsome Don Draper pull off on each episode. The book takes a sneak peek into the dressing room of Mad Men and the process behind each character's look. It also provides suggestions on how to embrace your own personality through fashion.

Inspiration:

As we move into spring I thought it would be a good time to focus on color. Everyone has a color that looks great with their complexion and it's important to find the right color scheme that suits you best.

I love bold colors. I think they make a difference in the way I feel once I'm dressed. It's why I'm so excited that spring has finally arrived too. My closet drastically changes color once spring rolls around. I actually spent Saturday packing up my heavy sweaters and winter clothes and swapping them out for my spring/summer attire. My closet finally looks cheerful again! Everything is yellow, purple, pink, teal, white, green....bright colors.

I feel confident and happier when I'm wearing bright colors versus dull, dark colors. I always seem to have a drab day when I throw on a black sweater and gray pants and stroll to work. As Janie Bryant mentions in her book, she would never put a depressed secretary in a bold colored dress or try to downplay a cheery housewife in a shade of pea-soup green. Color shows emotion! So the next time you wake up and it's pouring rain outside and you feel a dull day ahead of you, pick the brightest color in your closet and see if it makes a difference.

"The best color in the world is the one that looks good on you." Coco Chanel

So now you need to determine your "season." Johannes Itten was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus school.  Itten's work with color is said to be an inspiration for seasonal color analysis. He was one of the first people to associate color palettes with four types of people and had designated those types with the names of seasons. To determine your season you can visit Color Me Beautiful.

Winter

If your hair and eyes are dark and you have a fair or olive complexion with cool blue or pink undertones, then you're considered "winter." Colors like navy, black, dark gray, white and jewel tones compliment your complexion.

Autumn

If you're a redhead or strawberry blonde with golden or yellow undertones with camel, dark blue, or hazel eyes then you're considered "autumn." Dark brunettes with auburn highlights are included. Clothes in camel, orange, peach, taupe, copper and cinnamon favor your complexion.

Summer

If you have blonde or light brown hair with fair skin and light colored brown, green or blue eyes then you're considered "summer". Soft blues, pinks, yellows and greens look nice with your complexion.

Spring

If you have strawberry blonde or light brown hair with light eyes then you're considered "spring." Your complexion is fair with warm, golden or peach undertones and you may have freckles and rosy or ruddy cheeks. Salmon, aqua, teal and lime green look nice with your complexion.

Your next question may be, how do I determine my skin's undertones? One of the common methods is looking at your veins on the underside of your wrist. If your veins are green then you have warm undertones. If they're blue you have cool undertones. And if they're purple then you have neutral undertones.

You may already have a favorite color or you may notice when you receive compliments while wearing a particular color.  I have noticed that I usually get the most compliments when I'm wearing jewel toned colors- bold greens, purples, blues, etc. I love these colors so I guess I should stick with them!

What season are you?