I send all my clients a document explaining how to use their palette to assess their current wardrobe and for future shopping.  It’s not as simple as “Toss everything you have that is NOT in these colors! ”  No, no.  Your palette contains your BEST colors but you also have plenty of ok colors, and I want you to salvage as much as you can from your wardrobe that is good.  I advise how to do this.  I  also want you to remove your worst colors from your wardrobe and you’ll learn how to do this.  (Note: during an in-person analysis I usually can’t resist but show a client her/his worst colors, saying as nicely as I can, “Please never wear these colors.”)

An online color analysis does not include a formal in-depth style consultation but I do include some guidelines.   If you just wear your colors but not in your style, you won’t look great. The “ok” clothes you’re salvaging need to be great styles for you.  If I need more photos to formulate my style thoughts, I ask for them!

I also add personalized information. This might include where a client has more wiggle room with color and where they do not.  (Most of us have a hue or two we do really well in.)   I offer suggested garment purchases and information about color combining where relevant – more about that in part two.

This online client had an incredible array of fantastic “colors” that worked on her.  But neutrals?  They were not forthcoming, and she was relieved when I told her that as she’d suspected it herself.  I included her best traditional neutrals and suggested she use her medium dark purples as neutrals too.  Doesn’t she look beautiful?

So to give you a taste of how my personalized comments read, here are my personalized comments for Elmo: 

(Oh, and if you missed it, go  here for his original custom analysis!)

Elmo,

1) You may use your body color (your reds), as part of prints or in details.  A mechanic’s jumpsuit in your body colors will lead to an Emperor Has No Clothes effect, and this would negate you coming to have your colors done. On the other hand a Hawaiian shirt with a touch of your reds in it would work nicely.  Red as part of an accessory is also good – like red shoelaces.

2) Ideas for purchases to build a working wardrobe:

For formal speaking occasions:

• Dress shoes in your blacks
• Dress shirt in your whites
• Dress shorts in your blues or purples
• bow ties in your greens
• Satchel in your oranges/yellows

For every day frivolities:

• Converse or retro sneakers in your yellows or greens
• Graphic T shirts or Hawaiian shirts in any combination of colors – just not a red background or you’ll look like you have a tattoo not a top on
• Pants with medium -large geometric designs – stripes, polka dots, etc or a fun, large crisp print, airplanes, for instance
• Casual back pants are an alternative to jeans if you are wearing a lot of color elsewhere
• Socks in any of your colors including red if you MUST wear socks with sandals
• Backpack in any of your colors, especially a bold mix with clearly outlined shapes

I told Elmo to keep in touch and to feel free to email me with any questions! (Note: I told the same thing to his similarly but not quite identically colored Elm friends and family in this post, where I demonstrated pictorially why creatures with the same skin tones but different hair or nose(!) colors need customized palettes!)

I always want to be learning and if clients ask me something I don’t know it’s WONDERFUL to figure it out and build on my knowledge.  If you ask me something I do know, it’s a fast, easy reply.  And, I like to keep in touch.