finding a signature color
by Susan, Zoe Boutique
One of Stylebook’s favorite icons, Coco Chanel, once said “The best color in the whole world is one that looks good on you.” Do you eschew the “color of the year” articles and stick with your favorites? Or do you wish you had a “go to” color for your wardrobe or home? Read on to discover what it is, how to find it, and how to use it!
So What Is A Signature Color Anyway?
We all have certain colors we associate with certain things. Who doesn’t immediately recognize a Tiffany Blue or UPS Brown? (Both of these colors are trademarked as they are such an important facet of their brand). Do your friends and family members have a specific color they associate with you? Sometimes it can be accidental – you find a color you love and incorporate it into everything in your life. Or it can be a conscious choice (we’ll tell you how to find one below).
If you do have a favorite color, how would you describe it? Rather than just “Yellow” is it Mimosa? Is it Lemon? Is it Sunflower? Knowing how to define your preferred hue helps to determine your signature color. (Need help defining it? I’m currently enamored with MyPANTONE, an app on iTunes and GooglePlay.)
How Do I Find One if I Don’t Already Have One?
I was one of those children who LOVED a new box of Crayons! The first thing I did with that new group of 64 colors was to appreciate their sharp points and unbroken little bodies! The next was to pull out my favorite colors and read the names. Back then, I gravitated to all of the greens with the Forest Green as my favorite (my Mom loved a neutral palette at home but my bedroom was done in green!). As I entered my teenage years, the soft pinks of Love’s Baby Soft cologne (oh, you know you remember it) and my trusty ballet leg warmers permeated my wardrobe and decorating choices. And as I’ve gotten older the family of Reds has become my signature.
Our signature color can change (as mine did over time) although we are often impacted by childhood favorites or colors that evoke positive memories. A great way to search for a signature color is to start a Pinterest board full of colors that you like or that inspire you. Start to look at where you gravitate over time. You may find you’ve had a signature color all along!
Once I Find One, How Do I Use It?
If you are still a magazine reader, tear out pages that inspire you (a few years ago, I found pages I had torn out of old Vogue magazines as a teenager – it was fun to see what inspired me then!) or go back to those Pinterest boards to see how others have used your favorite color. You’ll find ways to use it that you had never imagined before.
You don’t need to dress (or decorate) head to toe in your signature color to make it your own. Incorporate it into accessories (a handbag, shoes, a belt) when it isn’t part of your primary wardrobe. Buy stationary in that favorite hue, buy flowers for home or office in that color, or paint a door in your home with your go to shade.
We’d love to know if you have a signature color and, if so, how you use it! Share your inspirations with us on our newest Pinterest board where we are sharing our own color inspiration!
2 Comments
Being blonde-haired and fair, my signature colors are all in the cool, blue family, like cobalt and periwinkle,
usually combined with white or black in clothing. Some blue/white is in my interior design palette for household items like dishes, accent fabrics, wall paint, usually combined with assorted neutrals. I have had Blueberry wall paint for a bedroom and
Palladian Blue (palest seaglass aqua shade) for the den combined with brown leather and whitest white trim paint always.
That’s how I use my signature shades!
My signature color has always been red, for multiple reasons. The first being that it looks great on me. Now, this might sound really conceited, but it’s what everyone else tells me- I can’t see the difference. The second reason is that I feel as if the color itself embodies my personality, lively, fiery, voracious, sharp, and bad-tempered, yet sweet (at times). Finally, it’s my favorite color- I just love it. I get everything in that shade if they have it. Computer mouses, cellphone cases, computer backgrounds, ribbons, headbands, jackets, ponytails, shoes- I even love writing in red ink. So this reply might seem a little enthusiastic, but I just love the color, blood red to candy apple red, I’ll take any shade.