A colour consultation ... what is it all about?

On Sunday I was invited by Claire Thomas of Imagine Your Style to attend a colour consultation with her, 

Claire is really lovely, she has a beautiful studio in her garden at home near Maidenhead and it definitely represents her sense of style.  It is calm, welcoming and comfortable.  It is decorated in beautiful neutral colours and has plenty of natural light, perfect for analysing your colours!

Claire in her pretty home studio

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​We started by having a general chat about my existing style, colour choices and my lifestyle and weekly routine.  I am a stay at home mum / and blogger of course so a lot of my wardrobe needs to be casual and comfortable but I still like to look smart and I like to dress up when I can.

Claire then asked me to sit in a comfortable chair in front of her free-standing mirror and she first of all put a white cape around my shoulders to cover up the colour I was wearing that day so she could start with a blank canvas.  She asked me if I had any idea what my colour palette might be?  Now I had a very brief colour consultation many years ago and I have since had style and wardrobe consultations with my friend and stylist Katherine B so I had a good idea - I feel that I am 'Autumn'.  Claire explained though that as well as the four seasons there are many other variations and overlaps which we would explore further during the consultation.

Claire has an extensive collection of fabric samples and she drapes each one in turn over your shoulders to assess how the colour reflects on your face and features.  She has a good eye for colour and could clearly pick out colours that suited me and 'lifted' my natural complexion and eye colour.  With her encouragement I could see what she meant!

Each colour that suited me she put to one side to form a collection of colours for us to look closer at later on.

I think I had a pretty good feel for what suited me but I was surprised to see the softer more muted shades of Autumn coming through.  I was also encouraged that I did have many of the colours already in my wardrobe.  I asked about how to adapt the colour palette for summer as many of the colours were naturally more suited to the cooler months.

Claire was also able to advise me on wearing black!  We all love black, it is classic, smart and reassuringly slimming.  I have had this conversation in the past with Katherine B as well and Claire was also able to reassured me.  I can wear black but I should add in an accent colour from my own pallet to take away the harshness on my face.

What I found interesting was that the colour ideas didn't just help me with clothes, Claire explained that I would find the ideas useful for choosing make-up too and made a few suggestions for lipstick and blushers.  I also tried on some jewellery and it was interesting to see the difference between gold and silver on my complexion.

This is my favourite colour!

​At the end of our consultation I came away with a 'wallet' containing small swatches of my colour pallet and Claire followed up the next day with a full report and suggestions that I can incorporate into my wardrobe.

My colours and my colour wallet

I had a very enjoyable morning with Claire.  I have already taken a quick look in my wardrobe to see how close I am to her suggestions.  And I'm not far off but then I wasn't starting with a blank canvas completely, I already had a good idea of what I should wear but it did highlight a few things for me:

• I never wear a white shirt.  I buy them and I never wear them!  Now I know I shouldn't wear white, I am better in soft white or oyster.​
• Gold jewellery is better for me but I shouldn't be afraid to mix silver and gold together.
• I can wear black but add another accent colour closer to my face, like a scarf or gold necklace.

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I am looking forward to using this new knowledge to continue to pare my wardrobe down, to make less mistakes when buying new clothes and to build my capsule wardrobe.  It is money well spent and you will save yourself money in the long run as you will not be making the same errors (how much have I wasted in the past on white shirts for example)?

If you would like to have a consultation with Claire then do take a look at her website:

www.imagineyour.style

And follow her on Facebook - Imagine Your Style.  Claire also runs a separate Facebook group which is a closed group for ladies only, What's my Style?  Details can be found by going to her main Facebook page.

Love from
Michelle xx
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