My "Twenty"for the Fall Capsule Wardrobe Challenge: Twenty Twenty September...
Planning to join in on the Twenty Twenty challenge? It will be a great chance to road-test your soft autumn capsule wardrobe for early fall, or if you're not a soft autumn, your wardrobe for your season. In addition to gathering together what I hope are good soft autumn colors for my capsule, I am also paying attention to what honors me as a dressing your truth type 3.
Only 16 of the 20 are pieces I currently own. The others (like the warm khaki cardigan in this picture on the left) are from Coldwater Creek and I am hoping to have them within the next week or so. Here are the one I have...
However, one of those 16 pieces is in my "maybe" category (I decided that after creating the collage), so I have added/ordered 5 pieces from Coldwater Creek.
If all of them come in with time to wear them before the challenge ends, I will not wear the off-white, ivory-colored pullover. If there are any that don't make it, I will try the ivory top again.
The Goodies I Am Hoping to Acquire for My Soft Autumn Fall Capsule Wardrobe...
Burnt Umber Cardigan
Burnt Umber Tank Top
Honey Bee Cardigan
Honey Bee Tank Top
By the way, if you are a soft autumn or a dressing your truth type 3 like me, check out the "Back to Fall" sale Coldwater Creek is having from now until September 5th. It's a BOGO sale for tops!
Fall Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette that Soft Autumn/Dressing Your Truth Type 3/2s Can Wear...
For some, the warm days are beginning to come to an end. Here in GA, the warmth will continue! And I have been putting together some outfits that will see me through the next month even though, technically, we'll be moving into the next season...
Brown pullover
Camel pants from Lands End
Lots of chunky T3 jewelry
I think it will be hard to wear this outfit only once during the Twenty Twenty challenge, since it's so easy and is one of my favorites! And it honors me as both a soft autumn and a dressing your truth type 3.
Though I had a blast at the conference, and ended up taking
with me exactly what I most wanted to wear, an amazing thing happened while
there that has eclipsed both of those experiences. You may have heard already
that I was draped while there in the colors for all four types and I discovered
that I am a dressing your truth type 3, not a dressing your truth type 2!...
Why I Got Draped at
the Dressing Your Truth Conference…
Though I dove head first into all things type 2, from the
very beginning, I was pairing everything I wore with brown to make the colors
more palatable to me.
(Do you notice in those pics, I have kind of a grey cast to my skin? I never noticed it before, but have recently learned that that is what happens when someone who is not a type 2 wears type 2 colors.)
So, as I was saying, I was determined to make it work but at the same time, was
constantly drawn to the type 3 colors and outfits I saw.
And after a few months of participation in the discussions
on the Dressing Your Truth forum, I began to realize that I was different than
the other type 2 women. They were a kinder and gentler group than I and that
disparity started to nag at me. I couldn’t relate to some of the things they
said.
Why was that, I wondered. Was I a bad type 2? When was I
going to feel the type 3 calm I kept hearing about and why hadn’t I felt it
yet?
In general, I began to feel like something was wrong in my
type 2 experience and I got tired of dressing like one. I was still trying to
make it work, but I was losing steam.
Then I discovered color analysis and dove into it, hoping to
discover some colors I could wear that I would like better. I did and to my delight, they were
much warmer. But that seemed to conflict with being a type
2.
How did I resolve that conflict? With cheating and rebellion
(very type 3 of me as I later found out). I decided to wear the warmer soft
autumn colors I had been told I could wear when I was analyzed.
But then it became time to plan for the conference. I couldn’t
wear those warm colors there, could I? Hence my difficulty deciding what to
pack!
One of my lovely type 2 forum friends, when I admitted my
conflict, encouraged me to pack what I wanted to (tiger lily), even if it wasn’t
“type 2.” And she suggested that if I were so unhappy w/ the type 2 colors and
style, I might not be a type 2, something that had not occurred to me.
When I got to the conference with my renegade coral and
tiger lily capsule wardrobe, she informed me that she had asked one of the
Dressing Your Truth experts to drape me and she did indeed do so that first
night.
Before that even happened, the type 2 women I met told me that just experiencing
my energy confirmed for them that I was not a type 2, but they thought I was
probably a type 1, instead.
We were all surprised to discover that I was a dressing your
truth type 3!
But Why Didn’t I Know
I Was a Type 3?...
Or, in other words, what the heck’s the matter with me?
Well, the first thing you should know is that I am a
secondary type 2, and many of us live in our secondaries, so we recognize those
characteristics and descriptions more when we hear them. As children, many of
us are rejected for being ourselves. Sounds too simple, maybe, but it’s true!
We then may make an unconscious decision to be whatever will
meet with the approval, and if we do that long enough, we come to believe that
that’s who we are. Our first try is often our secondary nature, and if that
works, we live there.
I also think that being a secondary type 2 softens your
features, which may make it difficult to see the angularity and asymmetry
characteristic of type 3s. Being overweight probably did that as well.
Now that I know I am a type 3, the evidence that I am, in
terms of character & personality traits, has been flooding my mind for days.
Dressing Your Truth
Type 3: This is Quintessentially Me…
Here’s a video I watched for the first time a few nights ago
that defines me so well it makes me wish I had seen it much sooner.
This is quintessential, Jeanine in her natural habitat, a
day in the life! Had I seen this video when I was just beginning to question my
type, would I have recognized it as the defining characteristic that it is? I
don’t know.
When I told my son about it and started that last “if” question, he
cut me off before I could finish (in typical excited type 1 style) and said, “you
would have thought you were a 2/3 even sooner!” The wisdom of children!
One word used to describe type 3s is “sure” and I tell you, I
was SURE I was a type 2! But now I know I'm a tiger lily princess :).
Anyway, I’m not sure it makes much sense to play Monday
morning quarterback, but I think my doing so is a natural part of my grief in
realizing I have lost a year to trying very hard to be a type 2. The line from the Barry
Manilow song about all the wasted time
has been playing on the radio in my head for days.
(3) Create a Type 3/2 Soft Autumn
Fall Capsule Wardrobebased on the principles I describe in my book, The Capsule Wardrobe Book, and get it ready for road-testing in September.
Notice how that goal changed a bit? :)
I have a friend who figured out how to match the Dressing Your Truth types to the 12 seasons and as it turns out, soft autumns would be dressing your truth type 3s with a secondary 2. Just like me.
Most, if not all, of the colors are the same and the color card you get when you complete the Dressing Your Truth online course is not a color-matching guide, anyway, it's meant to be used to test if a proposed purchase harmonizes with those colors.
But what the conference reminded me is that dressing your truth is about more than knowing which colors to wear. It's about 5 different criteria and color is only one of them. The course also tells you how to express who you are in the design lines you wear, in the fabric choices you make and the shape of your jewelry.
And I feel like it's important for soft autumns and other seasonal types to know those things as well.
So this blog will shift a
bit as I begin to dress my truth as a type 3. Creating my fall capsule wardrobe
will look very different than it would have if I were still thinking I was a
type 3. As always, I will share my experiences with you. And I will share some things about dressing your truth, too, in case you want to express yourself in more than just color.
Join me for the Twenty Twenty Wardrobe Remix coming up in September! I have tentatively picked out my own twenty pieces and will be trying to gradually bring my outfits into line with not just being a soft autumn, but being a dressing your truth type 3, as well.
On Wednesday, I will be linking up with Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday. And hey, if you're visiting from there, say hello and let me know you stopped by. Comments are like apple pie a la mode to me :).
People have been asking me, now that I know I am a type 3,
why I ever thought I was a type 2.
I completely understand that because with
all the information that now is flooding into my head about why I really am a
type 3, I have been wondering myself how I could have missed it.
What I have come up with so far is that my features are
softened because of my secondary type 2, I was living in my secondary (type 2) and thus, more aware of those
traits than the type 3 ones, and I had a judgment about type 3s and so avoided
even considering it. Didn’t even bother to read the material about it.
My Instincts Were Talking to Me, Though...
From the very beginning, I wore most of my type 2 colors
with brown and even posted about how I was trying to warm them up a little. And
over time, I began to notice that I wasn’t like the other type 2s.
Eventually, I decided that I must be a secondary type 3, but
still didn’t consider that I might not be a type 2 until someone else suggested it. A
few times. Insistently. And set up an appt. for me to be draped while at the
conference.
And thank goodness she did because that’s how I came to know
that I am actually a dressing your truth type 3. Which means I get to wear all
those wonderful warm, rich colors I was already beginning to wear because I had
been color analyzed as a soft autumn.
Celebrate Your Beauty: The First Annual Dressing Your Truth Conference...
Here's one of the outfits I chose for the conference. On Friday, they wanted us each to wear our favorite outfits for the Parade of Fashion (by dressing your truth type) and the dinner/dance.
Dressing Your Truth Sale: Up to 75% Off...
If you're interested in finding out your own dressing your truth type, this is a great time because for the next few days, the whole Dressing Your Truth store is on sale, including the online course.
This special edition of 3 in 30 comes to you from Utah!...
(1) Get certified as a color analyst. DONE! It feels weird not to still be devouring information.But I am thrilled to have completed the training!
(2) Decide once and for all on the six outfits I will take on my trip to Utah for Celebrate Your Beauty, the first ever Dressing Your Truth conference. Well, to be honest, I have about 4 outfits planned & will choose the rest while I am at the conference (which I can't wait to tell you about next week).
(3) Create a fall capsule wardrobe based on the principles I describe in my book, The Capsule Wardrobe Book, and get it ready for road-testing in September. I have the colors planned (camel, khaki, chocolate for the neutrals and coral, tiger lily, brown, and cream for the accent colors) and some of the pieces picked out already.
I have the Twenty Twenty Wardrobe Remix coming up in September and have tentatively picked out my own twenty pieces!
How to Plan a Soft Autumn Capsule Wardrobe for Early Fall...
For our Twenty Twenty Wardrobe Remix Challenge, Claire and I are asking you to choose twenty
clothing pieces for the month of September that you will use to create twenty different outfits during twenty weekdays in September. Which means you get weekends off!
Obviously, you will need a
combination of tops, bottoms, dresses and cardigans or jackets but how
much you need of each may depend on the weather where you are and the
activities likely to come along during the month.
If the weather is transitional, you may want to make your fall capsule
wardrobe layer-heavy, so you can take a layer off as it warms up and put
it back on when it cools off again. So you might need more cardigans
and shirts to mix-and-match than someone who will have all cold all the
time! :)
Best Colors for a Soft Autumn Capsule Wardrobe...
(1) Neutral Colors: If you are a soft autumn, your best neutrals for a fall capsule wardrobe are colors like camel, chocolate brown, stone, golden brown, rose brown, taupe and cocoa.
(2) Accent Colors: For warm soft autumn colors for early fall, you could choose from light gold, coral, light moss, moss, and rust.
For color suggestions for the other seasons, check out the website for our challenge at Twenty Twenty Wardrobe Remix.
Soft Autumn Color Palette for Inspiration...
This is actually a warm autumn color palette from Jane Fardon but soft autumns would just need to choose the softer colors among them.
Next week, I will tell you what my twenty choices are for my own fall capsule wardrobe.
Celebrity Seasonal Color Analysis: Nicollette Sheridan...
Yesterday, I watched movies all afternoon with my son, and the first one was Honeymoon for One, on the Hallmark Channel, with Nicollette Sheridan. I noticed how good she looked in the colors she was wearing and identified her as wearing light spring colors.
However, she does dye her hair and I am not sure that they didn't just match that when choosing her outfits.
Comparison of the Light Spring Color Palette to the Soft Autumn Color Palette...
They are both blended seasonal color palettes, with both warm and cool colors, but the light spring color palette has brighter colors with more yellow as an undertone. The soft autumn color palette has softer and deeper colors that are more golden.
Recent Soft Autumn Outfits (before I got my hair done)...
I wore the outfit with the brown pants to get my hair done the other day. As usual, I didn't do much with either makeup or jewelry...
That shirt is almost the exact color of my skin, which means it creates almost no contrast at all, so adding makeup or a scarf might have made the outfit even better. I love that shirt! As you'll see because in the pictures below, I'm wearing it again...
Today's Soft Autumn Outfit (after I got my hair done)...
It's awfully curly, I know, but will be less so by the time I go to Dressing Your Truth conference later this week.
My goal was to create a collage that included every single outfit I wore. But that proved impossible. Or, at least, it seemed so! You can tell, I'm sure, that some of them are hiding behind others, and of course, I picked the ones I liked least to hide most. Wouldn't you?
Soft Autumn Color Palette with a little assist from Soft Summer...
Though most of the outfits are soft autumn colors, I did borrow a few from the sister, soft summer color palette, and when I did, I mixed those colors with soft autumn ones. Remember that if you are a soft season, you are a blend of warm and cool, and can wear colors from both palettes.
Soft Autumn Insights: My Insights from the Soft Autumn 30-Day Challenge...
(1) I think the main thing I have learned is how much better I feel emotionally in the soft autumn colors! In many ways, they feel like home.
It wasn't a very dramatic change from what I was doing already as a dressing your truth type 2, because type twos also wear soft and muted colors. And I continued to keep in mind the other principles for dressing your truth type twos, so the primary difference was that some of my colors were not just soft but also warm.
And what a difference that made to how I felt inside and to how I felt about how I look!
(2) I also learned that rather than low contrast and low saturation, I probably need something closer to medium for both. And I suspect that that is because I am African-American, a woman of color.
I know many color analysts suggest (and I agree) that some within a season will need the darker end or the cooler end, etc., which proves that it's possible that some colors in your palette will work better than others. And I think that for women of color, that is even more the case. If you have darker, deeper coloring, try that end of the continuum first in your palette.
(3) Another insight is that it can be difficult to make changes when you think that others may not approve. Be prepared to encounter that yourself. It can feel like you have a crowd with you as you gaze at yourself in the mirror. Do I dare to wear that new color?
I encourage you to give it a try, and let your internal (or external) audience take care of themselves.
Change of Plans: Soft Autumn Outfit for the Friday Night Dance...
First of all, I found out the dance at the Dressing Your Truth conference, Celebrate Your Beauty, is on Friday night, not Saturday night.
Secondly, I have changed my mind already and am going to wear my favorite dress, also coral, instead of the one I had planned. What I was going to wear is on the left. What I now plan to wear is on the right...
New Plan for this Soft Autumn Blog...
For the remainder of this month, I will either be preparing for a trip or recovering from it. Though I will still be blogging, right here, at Seasonal Color Analysis for Women of Color, I won't be posting on weekends and may miss a day or two.
Wednesdays will probably be wordless, with soft autumn outfits for fall. Speaking of fall, start thinking along with me about your early fall capsule wardrobe! The Twenty Twenty September Challenge starts in just a couple of weeks.
