Lately I’ve been getting lots of good questions and comments from readers so I’m taking a few and turning them into a separate post so that everyone can benefit from the knowledge shared.
The issue of the Clear Spring, or in Sci/Art terms “Bright Spring” , is one that keeps popping up again and again. As I mentioned in my previous posting, different systems will have different interpretations of what constitutes a particular season. Even analysts trained within the same system may still interpret someone’s coloring differently. That’s human nature.
I was trained by Color Me Beautiful when they first came out in the mid 90’s with the 12 seasons. I went on to study the seasons on my own and recently am working with a company that is as close to CMB’s training as I have found, with only a few small exceptions. With both of these trainings and from my own independent study of Munsell’s theory on color, I believe that Clear Springs are those who’s coloring is relatively LIGHT, can have both light or dark hair, but--and this is critical--they have bright sparkling jewel-like eyes. This is the biggest indicator of CLEAR being their dominant characteristic.
When someone commented that they are tired of seeing Springs only as blondes all the time, I said that if anyone has any examples of a dark haired Spring to send them to me. So I got the following link from Dusk:
“Here's an example of an half asian, dark haired, dark eyes bright spring! http://12blueprints.com/the-brown-eyed-spring/ “
MY RESPONSE:
It’s funny you used this example since I was the one who originally labeled her a Deep Winter :-) I still stand behind my analysis of her being a Deep Winter, and I explained it to my client as well after she contacted me about her recent draping.
I have to be completely honest in that I don’t see bright warm colors looking better than deeper cool colors. She looks cute in almost anything, but if we are talking only about what looks
best, I don’t see Bright Spring being the season for her. While I see her skin being neutral (not very warm nor very cool) I do see cooler undertones more than warmer. Most importantly I don’t see the clear jewel eyes that are unique to the Clear seasons.
By my own definition
in my book “Color Revival”, Deep Winters are DEEP (intensity and Dominant characteristic), Clear (chroma) and Cool (temperature). I envision Deep Winters, and all winters actually, similar to a Blue Sapphire: cool deep and clear. Springs I envision as a Yellow diamond: Also clear, but light and warm. (This is all unscientific by the way; purely what I think up in my mind to help me associate seasonal colors.)
This is why I feel that most springs will be naturally lighter in intensity, more so than a Winter, though they can sometimes share the need for contrast and high saturation of colors, as in the case of the Clear Spring.
The blue that the subject is wearing looks better to me than the yellow does. But it is important to remember that in the Deep Winter palette, where it isn’t just about intensity, the season’s contrast level is high…they need dark
and bright colors to balance their coloring. So I can totally see why black mixed with a bright lemon yellow would look great on her, and there are indeed some yellows in my deluxe swatches for the Deep Winter. Specifically, they are called “Lemon Sorbet”, “Daffodil” and “Light Sunshine”. While there will be some warm colors in her palette, the majority are deep and cool. That is how I view the Deep Winter season.
Again, human interpretation is always going to be a factor as well as how they are trained. I do disagree with analysts who say that virtual color analysis cannot be accurate and one
has to be draped to find her right season. Of course clear photos are critical for an accurate analysis, but provided I have them, I don’t feel that seeing them in person would alter my analysis results. I will still look for the dominant characteristic, then the second, and so one, just as I do when I look at a photograph. I’ve seen many woman who had been draped by various companies and they were so inaccurate it was unbelievable. So draping doesn’t
guarantee an accurate analysis; it depends on the system used and that analyst’s experience. And even then, it will ultimately come down to a person’s opinion.
Finally, I don’t understand how someone can say that you can’t tell what colors look good on a person from a photograph
before an analysis, but can show the pictures of them
after the analysis and expect us to see how great they look in their newly discovered seasonal colors? I had heard about a color analyst who swears she cannot even begin to tell someone she meets at parties or on the street what their season is unless they are put in a grey room, their hair is covered, and they are draped for 2 hours, etc. This seems very odd to me.
I can see
that Kim Kardashian looks great in black. I can see her intensity level is high. I see she looks fabulous in royal blues, purples, hot pinks. I see she can looked drained if she wears beige, for example, or she lightens her hair. I don’t need to see her in person to see the effect t those colors have on her. Of course, Kim is an easy example. Most people are not so obvious. But the principal is the same.
By the way, does anyone watch the soap “All My Children”? I’ve been a fan for decades and, I love David Haywood played by Vincent Irizarry. They dress him in black all the time, mainly I believe, to identify him as the evil bad guy character (though I prefer to think of him as ‘misunderstood’ with control issues.) Anyway, one look is all you need to see how black lights him up! Imagine him on my 6 foot high definition plazma tv. He is the perfect example of a Deep Winter. I don’t have to drape him to figure that out. Though I’d be happy to do so if he’d let me! I digress, I'm sorry but I do love it when I can talk about my soap on my blog :-)
I don’t want to discourage anyone else from sending me examples they feel are Springs. It is just because this was a client of mine, I felt the need to address it more in detail. ~
Recent Comments