Monthly Musing ~ Colour Me Happy

Redheads don't go grey, they just fade away.

Isn't that the common belief?  It seems true from my experience as I've turned from a real redhead in my 20's to faded copper in my mid 30's and now heading towards a rosy-blond as I knock on the door of my 40's.

This fade has driven me to a mini colour crisis.  My natural penchant for muddy autumn hues that were once brilliantly contrasted by my brighter red hair are now all a bit same/same with my dulled down copper-top. 

Photos of me from early 2011/2012 showing much deeper colour to my hair!

So I sought the help of Nina from Style Gorgeous.  Fascinated by colour analysis and what works best with your natural colouring, I've always found it hard to figure out my own colours.  Nina had me fill in a questionnaire and email her some no-makeup selfies (don't let that put you off!) and then we scheduled a video call session.

During this session we viewed a few different colour wheels and Nina said that I was a 'Clear Spring.' 

Also during this month I've casually played along with the Wear Happy Colour game hosted by @katiekortmanart.  Outfits are put together and instagrammed based on the weeks main colour and their complementary/split complementary and analogous partners.

So based on all of the colour cramming this month, what have I learnt?

• Wear Happy Colour made me realise that the tops in my wardrobe are a lot more colourful than the bottoms. I need to remedy this!
• The colour that I have in my wardrobe doesn't cross seasons very well i.e. it was hard to put together a colour themed outfit from seasonally appropriate clothes.
• Nina helped me realise what items I'm missing in my wardrobe that would help pull outfits together.
• I pulled out items I already own that fit my new colour wheel and had fun dressing up my mannequin to document possible outfits (and again find out what items were missing.)
• Nina and I went through my fabric stash to see what fabric worked for my colours (and style personality) and made plans on what garments the fabric could be turned into.

Playing dress-up with the mannequin was a lot of fun and a great way to document outfits.  I felt a bit like Cher from Clueless!

Conclusion: I'm now feeling a new energy towards sewing and my wardrobe.  Having previously felt that a 'capsule wardrobe' or planned sewing wasn't for me, I can definitely see the benefit of sewing garments with a complete outfit in mind.  I'm going to have fun experimenting with a few new-to-me colours and seeing how they integrate with some of my much loved pieces.

Making plans for a shirt dress out of this gorgeously bright check fabric.  And making sure it will work in a few outfits!

I definitely recommend doing some sort of colour/wardrobe analysis as a great way to inject new enthusiasm into your wardrobe and sewing.  While this post has nothing to do with lingerie making, I think the same could apply to bra making too!  Have a look at some new to you colours and combinations and get experimenting!

Happy Sewing, Helen xxx