I'm a summer, too. I love winter colors, but they tend to wear me rather than the other way around.

megan, it's really interesting to read your posts regarding the colors - I never understand this stuff, but you explain yourself so clearly, that I can almost follow the logic behind the train of thought. Thank you.

Someone needs to come and tell me the right colors because I am utterly incapable of deciphering for myself.

Hair color is really not a good indicator, especially if you dye it. It's really all about skin tone.

A good basic test if you don't know your skin tone for sure (and I certainly couldn't tell--for example, my veins looked blue (cool) and green (warm) to me) is the gold/silver test. Gold looks better on warms, silver on cools.

Holding up bright orange (warm) and then magenta (cool) to your face is also a good way to know for sure. Be in good light and do not wear makeup.

We need to set up a fund so megan can come to all of our houses and pick out colors.

I just looked at a bunch of pictures of myself on flickr to see if I could figure out the color thing somewhat...I wear a lot of black. Also, blue.

Yes, but our attitudes toward intellectualism (both pro and con) are hugely, hugely tied up with class in the US.

True, but I think that it is intellectualism in particular that explains Bush. Otherwise, he lead as privileged a life as anybody could.

Light/medium/dark skin doesn't matter as much as whether there is a cool (blue) or warm (yellow) tone to it.

Definitely yellow, so I am thinking fall which I never would have thought due to thinking it brings out the yellow in my skin.

But if it's possible to be a winter/fall mix, that's what I am. My best colors are winter ones--black does wonderful things for my skin tone and makes my eyes (dark brown) just pop, and white, burgundy, navy, teal, and forest green are almost as good. (Purple I can't wear. At all. It makes me look jaundiced. Same thing for ivory, beige, and almost all pastels.) But I can get by with dark browns, olive greens, and even burnt orange, and I tend to pick make-up in fall colors rather than winter, because it feels like the slightly browner shades match my skin, hair, and eyes better.

This is me exactly except for purple.

Also, I'm thinking this is a perfect example of me overthinking. :) Off to invite the NY friend to my facebook place holder.

We need to set up a fund so megan can come to all of our houses and pick out colors.

Yes, please.

Well, I haven't actually looked at Color Me Beautiful since I was a teenager, but I would've sworn there's a deep forest green in the winter section. And it's the only green that looks really good on me, though I can get by with dark olives. Emerald, kelly, and lime are all hideous on me. But if it's possible to be a winter/fall mix, that's what I am.

I totally believe people can cross categories as no one "system" could really capture all the nuances of people's coloring.

We need to set up a fund so megan can come to all of our houses and pick out colors.

As PixKristin can testify, I am so down with this concept.

Also, a compliment from Nilly is like the bestest gift ever for one's day.

Yes, but our attitudes toward intellectualism (both pro and con) are hugely, hugely tied up with class.

Part of what is screwed up about them. An anti-intellectual dumbass pork-rind chewing multi-millionaire is working class, while (to take an example local to me) an adjunct professor earning $15,000 per year teaching comparative literature is part of the elite? Really? (And I know that is not what anyone is arguing. But it is genuinely believed by a large part of the U.S. population, and it is a valid reduction to absurdity of the idea of social class trumping economic class. And yes, in this case we have real life public opinion to show that the slope really IS that slippery.)