Pantone and Seasonal Colors Color analysis Pantone and Seasonal Colors

The Great Dress Debate

Color is subjective Your perception and interpretation of color are highly subjective and, quite often, very different from someone else’s. Also, eye fatigue, age, and other physiological factors can influence your color perception.  As a result, it is difficult to objectively communicate a particular color to someone without some kind of standard. Once this standard is determined, there must be a way to compare one color to the next with accuracy.

Hue, Saturation, Brightness Hue: color and hue are synonymous and can be used interchangeably. Red, yellow and blue (RGB) are the primary colors.  Green, orange and violet are the secondary colors and tertiary colors are a mixture of two secondary colors.  Saturation: The vividness or dullness of a color describes its saturation or CHROMA. In other words, it indicates how close the color is either to grey or the pure hue.  Value: (Brightness) The lightness or darkness of a color is called its value.  Lighted values are tints, darkened values are shades and medium value colors are described as mid-tones.

History of Pantone In 1963, Lawrence Herbert created an innovative system of identifying, matching, and communicating colors to solve problems associated with producing accurate color  matches in the graphics art community.  His insight that the color spectrum is seen and interpreted differently by each individual led to the innovation of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM (PMS), a book of color standards in fan format.  It is the only world-wide standard for specified color from design through to print.

Pantone in Fashion Looking back…http://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2016 Present…http://www.pantone.com/fashion-color-report-fall-2016#hero Looking Forward…http://www.pantone.com/fashion-color-report-spring-2017

What does this have to do with fashion?

Color analysis German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) realized the connections between different colors and created “color psychology”. Between 1919 and 1933, Johannes Itten concluded that portraits look better when certain colors were used in conjunction with specific hair and skin tones. He then created four different color palettes corresponding to the four seasons, each of which included four different complexions. These made it much easier for students to paint more attractive portraits. Reference: http://www.colormepretty.co/categories-2/4-season-color-analysis/

Color analysis California-based color theorist Suzanne Caygill(1911-1994) took the next step by combining Itten’s “season theory” with Goethe’s “color psychology”. Her own theory asserted that humans carry information about their personality and style in their natural coloration, and that through personal traits such as skin, hair, and eyes we can relate personal colors to those found in nature. This theory proved to be extremely popular and became the foundation for many color professionals. Psychologist Carole Jackson wrote the book “Color Me Beautiful”, which became wildly popular in the 1980’s. In it, she simplified Caygill’s seasonal system (which used sixteen different personalities per season), and reduced it to a single personality per color season. This made it vastly more straightforward for everyday women to shop for appropriate clothes, accessories, and makeup. Reference: http://www.colormepretty.co/categories-2/4-season-color-analysis/

Step 1. Determine whether you are a COOL or a WARM type Skin undertone is determined by three elements: hemoglobin, carotene, and melanin. While skin overtone can change based upon factors such as sun exposure, illness, or blood pressure, your undertone is defined by genetics and will never change. Vein Test - Green veins mean WARM, blue mean COOL.

Step 2. Determine whether you are a LIGHT or DARK type Define the brightness (light or dark) of your eyes and your natural hair color.

Step 2. Determine whether you are a LIGHT or DARK type COOL undertone - Eyes and hair = DARK –> Winter

Winter colors

Step 2. Determine whether you are a LIGHT or DARK type Eyes and hair = LIGHT –> Summer

Summer Colors

Step 2. Determine whether you are a LIGHT or DARK type WARM undertone - Eyes and hair = DARK –> Autum

Autumn colors

Step 2. Determine whether you are a LIGHT or DARK type Eyes and hair = LIGHT –> Spring

Spring colors

Tips for all colors Black makes you look slimmer but is only recommended for winter types, all the other types, choose other dark colors. To convey authority and power, wear your dark colors: black, dark grey and navy blue. (Why do you think the police and other authorities are wearing navy blue or black uniforms?)