I've always gone for the colors I feel the most comfortable wearing—brown, black an earthy tones, nothing flashy. But then the Interwebz came and ruined everything: I learned I should be wearing hues that match my skin tone, and those are the opposite of everything that I own. The idea of wearing light pink, baby blue and canary yellow gives me grumpy face, but one look in the mirror proves the Interwebz was right. Am I going to change my whole wardrobe? Nope, but I will pay more attention to the colors that smooth out my skin and make my eyes look brighter. No matter how much we like wearing certain colors, it's not worth it if it turns us a sickly yellow.
Skin tone is broken down into two categories: warm and cool. Look at the veins around the inside of your wrists in the daylight over something that is pure white; green veins mean warm and blue veins mean cool. Jewelry is also helpful; if gold looks yummy on your skin, you're warm; and if silver pops against you, you're cool.
Take it further by matching your hair and eyes to find your skin tone season. The use these tips to dress yourself:
SPRING (WARM): Hair is light to medium brown, red, strawberry blond or golden blond. Eyes are blue, blue-green, blue-gray or turquoise. Springs should choose pale or bright colors. Off-white is flattering, but dark colors are overwhelming.
SUMMER (COOL): Hair is blond, ash blond, or an ashy, medium brown. In any case, your hair has no highlights. Eyes are blue, blue-gray or blue-green. Summers look best in pastel, muted and neutral tones. Pure white is best, but other bright colors are too harsh.
FALL (WARM): Hair is auburn, red, light to dark brown, or blond with golden highlights. Eyes are hazel, green, brown or a dark teal. Falls do well in rich, earthy colors such as burnt orange and forest green.
WINTER (COOL): Hair is one solid shade of black or dark brown. Eyes are brown or a deep blue. Winters should wear very rich colors—think dark blue, red and pure white.
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