I never really believed in the season thing.

I can't remember what prompted me to do it, because it's totally the type of thing I normally think is a crock of sh*t. However, I can't tell you how much it improved my wardrobe and self-confidence. My sister was a bit sad when we determined she was a fall because she hated the idea that mustard yellow might be one of her best colors, but within weeks of buying a few pieces with that in mind, she was a total convert. She said everyone noticed.

"Springs" are pretty rare, which is probably why Trinny and Susannah just have the three categories. You can get a general idea of what you are here: [link]

I basically took everything out of my closet and held it up to my face in good light, alternating between what I thought were warm and cool colors. I made four piles: definitely better, definitely worse, okay, and "I have no f*cking idea". In the end, every single piece in the better pile was a summer color, and everything in the okay pile was a winter color.

If you can find it, the Color me Beautiful book from the 80s has a lot more sample colors in each category. I also recommend an old book called Flatter Your Figure. The fashions are completely outdated, but it gives you a good method for objectively determining your "problem" areas.

Color me Beautiful

Hee. This book was my mom's Bible when it came to season thing. Megan, I agree with you. I honestly think that it's the reason I haven't ended up buying a ton of clothes that make me look pale and pasty over the years. Not that I never buy outside of my season, because I definitely do, but I'm very careful about warm-toned colors because of my early brainwashing.

Man, this conversation is making me all nostalgic.

Kristin and I have the same mom.

I def. buy things out of my season, but I do tend to stick with warmer tones because I do look better in them. My one standard cool color is navy. I can't wear black near my face, but I can do navy okay so it ends up being a staple color (along with chocolate brown).

My very fuzzy memory of Color Me Beautiful was that none of the color schemes they suggested looked right on me, or fit with the colors that I wear most and look best in. I looked good in a couple colors in each category, and gawdawful in most of the rest.

Of course the take home message might have been that the 80s was not my decade. My wardrobe has fared much better in the 90s and the 00s.

I think I don't wear orange well. But I realise that I very rarely look in mirrors, so it's just that I don't like orange much. I like jewel tones, I like black, and I like the effect of a lot of winter white when my hair's freshly dyed.

I suck at fashion rules--not because I'm some sort of fashion maverick, but because I'm forgetful and lazy and shop randomly.

I didn't cry too much at the ER. But it was stupid stupid stupid and I just don't know how to handle them.

And UPS ignored my note asking them to deliver my box to a neighbour, so I'm one more night sans new phone deliciousness. Oh, and trampy shoes. I ordered those too.

Okay, not trampy because I saw them and thought of Steph's BF. But on me, they'll look trampy.

I'm glad you're home, ita, but I'm sorry that you had to deal with the suckfest that is the ER.

I used to wear a lot of summer colors when I was younger, but over the years I had accumulated a lot of fall colors in my wardrobe. Because that's my favorite season I guess, and I had been dying my hair red as well. It was quite surprising when I really looked at myself. And then I tried colors I would never have thought of, like aqua, and it was a total revelation. Especially once I was buying "cool" make-up. And Trinny and Susannah's color charts really help mitigate the things I have that aren't my best colors with colored scarves, etc.

The unexpected benefit of investing all that time learning the color thing? Almost everything in my wardrobe works together, because it's all in the same color family. I'm now on a radical budget and was happy to realize that I didn't feel I needed new clothes--I can't remember the last time I felt that way.

Oh ita, I'm so sorry.

Not that I never buy outside of my season, because I definitely do, but I'm very careful about warm-toned colors because of my early brainwashing.

Sometime around 1982 or 83, my hometown was virtually a Color Me Beautiful Cult. I'm a Winter--my best colors are deep garnet red, dark forest green, navy, and black. But I look awful in purple unless it's verging upon black. It makes me look jaundiced. I can wear Fall colors if they're dark, like deep brown, darker olive greens, and the like. No orange, no pastels, and absolutely no yellows or golds.

Basically, I pick dark colors whenever I can. Just about the only bright colors I like on me are certain shades of teal and turquoise.

More cat humor!

Both of these YouTubes have sound (fair warning!), but they are each hysterical in their own ways.

The first is the cat humor musical equivalent of Dick in a Box: Mean Kitty.

The second is a faux interview: Bobo: An Intimate Portrait.

Hec will not be amused, but I imagine many of the rest of you will be.