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| Sewing Places – Blog Sewing Nuggets 1st September, 2009 Topic: Always In Style – The Acclaimed Classic On Creating Your Style – The Power Of Color The Power Of Colour
Do you dream in black and white or in color? If you dream in color, do you remember your first technicolor dream? Mine occurred when I was seven years old – and I vividly remember it being the flower garden behind my house. Perhaps I remember because I was precocious about color, but it’s more likely that I remember because that dream was so beautiful. We were the first family on the block to have a color television set. So many friends began to “stop in” to watch TV at our house that I toyed with the idea that their visits were a tribute to my popularity. The truth, of course, was that watching television in living color was a hundred times more fun than watching in black and white. Motion pictures fascinated the public from their earliest beginnings in grainy black and white. But their success skyrocketed with the single new introduction of color. Why was there such a disproportionate increase in these industries when they switched from black and white to color? They literally “came alive” with color, because color has both a dimensional and an emotional affect on each of us. The performers, who had been little more than remote images on our screens in black and white, became real people in color. Colors have a profound effect on us. As Leatrice Eiseman explains in her book, Alive With Color (Acropolis 1983), “Colors evoke emotions – some pleasant, some very unpleasant. You can turn off to a terrific color because of some experience long past.” In fact, psychological “color tests” are often given to people who are emotionally disturbed or depressed. Because we have little reason to falsify our responses to color, the technique opens up channels for investigating the problems of those who are unwilling or unable to communicate on a verbal level. Think back to what I said earlier about non-verbal communication: it will help you to recognize that color has its own special prominence, and impact. If you were to be offered a choice between dressing in the right style or dressing in the right color, which would you choose? Style does have greater importance. But you must understand the symbiotic effect of using the best style and the best color. Each contributes to your good image, but together, they more than double the benefits. You’ve analyzed your body type to determine what style of clothing will be best for you. You’ve gone beyond the visual analysis to incorporate your personality traits, adding another dimension to your wardrobe. The final dimension is that often underestimated but so crucial aspect, color. It’s now time to analyze your individual coloring in order to determine your best colors – to add the final dimension to your style. Why was Carole Jackson’s book Color Me Beautiful such a runaway success? As I noted earlier, color has a profound psychological affect on all of us. And each of us has that wonderfully human trait called “vanity,” which ensures a natural curiosity about which colors are best on us. Finally, Color Me Beautiful gave us simple rules about color; about it nature and use as it applies to our unique individual coloring. When introducing any new subject to millions of people, it is important to do so in a simple and logical way so that a strong foundation can be built. When we are first taught math, we are told that it is impossible to subtract five from three. Later, after the negative numbers have been introduced, we are told that we can take five from three and get negative two. This does not mean that the initial information was wrong. It merely indicates the need to continue to build and expand our knowledge to assure success and satisfaction in the future. So let’s take the initial information we have received about color, expand upon it, and incorporate your personality so that you will be to use color to imprint your own vivid individual style. Sewing Nugget presented “The Power Of Colour” from an excerpt Chapter of “Always In Style” By Doris Pooser. Doris Pooser – Personal Introduction If Only….. “If only!” How many of you have an “if only” list? Mine was long. If only I were shorter, if only I didn’t have such long arms and legs, if only my complexion were better, if only my face didn’t happen to be so square, or if only I could look like my friend Mary. I didn’t just say “if only.” I tried to change me. I frosted my hair to get rid of the red, contoured my jawline with dark foundation to make my face look oval, slouched to make myself look shorter, and spent years embarrassed about my complexion. I even tried to dress like my friend Mary. I tried to wear the silk blouses with soft bows that looked so wonderful on her. The harder I tried, the more frustrated I became. It’s hard work trying to be something you’re not – trying to look like someone else and knowing that it’s impossible. I finally decided to take a good look at myself, accept myself, and start over. I analyzed my body size and shape and compared it with others. I noticed the characteristics of clothing that complemented all of the different body types. After testing my observations on hundreds of others, I realized that each woman has her own individual style, which is determined by her unique body size and shape, her facial shape, her coloring, and finally her personality. You don’t need to try to change any of these things. You do need to identify your unique characteristics and work with them. I now accept and emphasize my square jawline, wear clothing that balances my long arms and legs, taking advantage of my height, wear makeup and colors that complement my coloring, and save a fortune at the hairdressers, since I no longer change my hair color. It is so much easier and so much more fun being me. I also received far more compliments. I now have my own individual style; it’s very different from Mary’s. I can enjoy her look without envying it because I now enjoy mine. And that’s what this book is all about: showing you how you can develop your own truly individual style.
Always In Style is sold exclusively at Amazon. For further details or to purchase please click on the respective names below: Book Books that correspond with the chapter “Power Of Color” of “Always In Style”. Alive with Color by Leatrice Eiseman Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson Other books by Doris Pooser The Essential Guide to Hair, Makeup & Skin Care: Always in Style Thank you for your kind support and patronage! Shirley-Ann Pearman Sewing Places |
