Page 94 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2024

THE BOOK
THE POWER OF COLOR Finding Your Best Shades and Exploring Your Unique Style
story by Lynn Lofton
If you've ever noticed that some colors look better on you than others, it might be that those colors are part of your seasonal color palette. According to those in the makeup and wardrobe sectors, everyone
falls into one of the spring, summer, fall, and winter categories.
The factors determining your season include skin tones, eye color, and natural hair color.
Jerrilyn Lanier Duckworth, who transitioned her image consulting business into a photography and theatre costume design business,
expresses the palettes as warm, cool, and neutral. “It’s not hard to find yours,” she says. “It's as easy as taking a white towel and a cream towel and draping each around you.”
It should sit like a cape, she says. If you look better in the white towel, you are cool-toned. If you look better in the cream towel, you are warm-toned. If both towels suit your complexion, you have neutral tones. “This should place you in
a color category. Warm-toned folks have gold and rosy tones to their complexion. A clothing color palette of peach, gold, and red works well for your color palette.
“If you want to explore the cool end of the spectrum, you can work with warmer cool tones such as violet and olive. Cool-toned folks have blue and olive tones to their complexion. A clothing color palette of saturated hues will complement the skin. This includes lighter pinks, icy blues, lavenders, and emeralds. Darker staple colors like navy work well for cool-toned folks.”
Neutral-toned folks can wear a mixture of many of the colors listed above because they may have many different tones in their skin present, she says. “Identify your colors and see what clothing choices balance out your complexion.”
However, Crystal Cagle, owner of Moxie Shop in Ocean Springs, does not always advise following the rules. “At Moxie Shop, we embrace the belief that seasonal color restrictions need not define individual style,” she says. “We advocate for our customers to select colors and styles that bring them joy and instill confidence and beauty.”
This fashionable lady adds that while acknowledging that certain hues complement individuals, she rejects the notion of constraining wardrobes based solely on such guidelines. “Ultimately, it's about personal preference and curating a wardrobe that not only reflects one's unique style but also uplifts and empowers,” she said.
Duckworth thinks color palettes are important. “You should want to find a color palette that complements your skin tone. Certain colors may wash you out or look harsh. Finding a color palette to complement you will help in choosing makeup and clothing,” she says.
She travels the U.S. designing costumes and giving lectures at theatres and universities. This includes discussing the best colors to wear and what complements skin tones. “Working in the world of theatre, I consult with performers all the time about their image and the character image we are crafting. We discuss color palettes for their costumes and makeup,” she says.
The color trend Duckworth sees for 2024 is Pantone's color of the year, Peach Fuzz. “It’s a warm color which may suit warmed-toned people well. Fashion is trending towards preppy dressing and quiet luxury. I can see the pastel-like color being thrown into the mix with other pastels and lighter colors for spring and summer dressing,” she said.
94 | February 2024 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living