Developing a Different Point of Hue
From the Fashion Police Blotter: A couple of weeks ago we heard from “Color Me Sad,” a colorblind man looking for ways to incorporate more color into his wardrobe and find a workable system to match up outfits.
We asked for your solutions and suggestions, and here they are:
“For many years I was a men’s clothing buyer in Beverly Hills and prior to that a woman’s dress designer. Nobody knew that I was colorblind to certain shades of green. My customers always said my color combinations were ‘interesting and unusual.’
“My advice to the gentleman is to revel in his colorblindness, enjoy his individuality and allow his friends to consider him eccentric. My motto has always been: When in doubt, fake it!”
“Like most colorblind persons I know, I can identify primary colors rather easily but have difficulty distinguishing between somewhat similar colors such as greens and browns, blues and purples, etc. Understanding this, I have taken a similar approach to dressing for daily business wear and casual clothing. First, I have the color of each item confirmed by my wife. For business wear, I stick to basic suit colors such as gray, navy and black, and dress shirts in white and light blue. I can accentuate them by mixing and matching suits and shirts with ties which I hang in groups of similar colors such as reds, blues, golds and grays. Of course, I check with my wife if I’m not sure about a match. For casual wear, I stick to pants, jackets and coats in solid basic colors such as tan, brown, navy, gray and black. Shirts can be solid or patterned but also in basic colors. With casual wear I can be a little more adventurous with mixing colors, but because most of my apparel is in basic colors, the possibility of erring is slim. I regularly receive compliments on my dress, so I (we) must be doing something right.”
“The letter from ‘Color Me Sad’ hit home for me, since I am a partially colorblind female attorney. To avoid fashion disasters in court, I regularly employ these practices:
* “When I buy a suit, I ask the salesclerk if white or black shirts will go with it. If they will, then I’ll buy the suit and wear it with white or black shirts and black shoes. If not, I won’t buy it.
* “I never buy shirts with prints because it’s too difficult to match colors.
* “I stick primarily with black shoes.
* “For casual wear, I always wear jeans with almost any shirt or sweater.”
“I believe I might have an answer for ‘Color Me Sad.’ My husband is colorblind, so as a professional image consultant and member of the Assn. of Image Consultants International, I gave him a color analysis. I draped him in fabric to find the correct cool tones or warm tones that brought out the best in him. I put his best color swatches (30 of them) in a leather wallet so he can take them with him when he shops. If he has any questions, he can ask the sales person if the shirt color matches the color of the swatch. Magic! Also, I did a wardrobe analysis so all his slacks, shirts, ties, jackets are coordinated, so he can get dressed in the dark and still look terrific.”
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Dear Fashion Police: I work in a government office where we’re expected to wear a tie as part of our attire, but a jacket is not required. In warmer weather I like to wear a short-sleeve shirt with a tie. I know the lawyers and accountants in the building always wear a long sleeve shirt/tie combination, but I feel I don’t need to be that formal. Am I committing a faux pas?
--JUST A SHORT-SLEEVE GUY
Dear Just: We have never been fans of short-sleeve dress shirts. In fact, we hate them. Why? Because they look like someone came along with a pair of scissors and hacked off the sleeves above the elbow.
It’s not so much a matter of formality as it is professionalism. A long-sleeve shirt simply looks more professional and put together than a short-sleeve shirt. A short-sleeve shirt says, “Hey, world, I just wanna be comfortable!” Is that what you want to project?
If you don’t like the conservative look of a white or blue shirt, try some subtle patterns or different colors (nothing too loud, such as fuchsia or turquoise). And make sure the shirts are 100% cotton or linen (or a blend of the two), which will keep you cooler than polyester or poly blends.
By the way, if you’re ever tempted to wear a “kooky” tie with cartoon characters on it, or one that lights up or plays music, don’t. You’ll always be known as “The Kooky Tie Guy.” And that’s a fate we don’t wish on anyone.
Write to Fashion Police, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, fax to (213) 237-4888, or send e-mail to socalliving@latimes.com.
