The first step to understanding style is to develop an understanding of colours.
Our first impressions of someone’s outfit are the colours that they are wearing. However though a combination of colours may work spectacularly for one person it may be completely inappropriate for another.
This is because the colours of an outfit must be coordinated with the tones of one’s individual complexion (which includes the tones of one’s facial features including hair, skin, eye colour and facial hair) to allow the face to appear as expressive as possible.
When the eye is drawn to the face it also takes into consideration the area immediately surrounding the face; an area which includes the shirt, any neckwear and the jacket, in its visual range. It is therefore the colours in this area, which we shall call the outfit’s cynosure, which must be coordinated with the tones of one’s complexion to ensure that the face appears as expressive as possible.
This can be accomplished in two ways:
1) Repeating Tones
2) Harmonising tones (to be covered in Fundamentals: Colours – Part 2)
Repeating Tones
Repeating tones is the simplest approach to ensure the face appears as expressive as possible and involves repeating the tones found in one’s complexion in the cynosure. The repetition of tones reinforces the natural pigmentation found in one’s complexion thus increasing the face’s expressiveness.
For example Yukio Akamine, Japanese style icon, in the photo above has repeated the tones of his skin to increase his face’s expressiveness. Akamine being of East- Asian descent has repeated the yellow tones of his skin in the cynosure through the similarly toned stone coloured jacket and the beige in the tartan plaid tie. This creates a focused appearance within the cynosure and draws attention to Akamine’s face which increases its expressiveness (see also Mike’s Nice Threads photos).
The repeating tones approach can also work for other features of the face including the eyes. Frank Sinatra has repeated the tones of his striking “ol’ blue eyes” to spectacular effect in the photo below.
The royal blue silk tie is the most explicit example of this repetition which being located immediately the under the face draws attention back again to his matching blue eyes. This ensures that despite the otherwise muted appearance of the other elements the natural expressiveness of Sinatra face is not overwhelmed. The same effect can be accomplished with a correctly toned blue shirt. On a side note, observe the brilliantly subtle lapel pin that picks up on the tones of Sinatra’s sun-kissed skin.
The repeating tone approach can also be used to bracket the face between one’s hair and the cynosure in order to allow others to focus on it and thus increase its expressiveness. An example of this is seen with Cary Grant’s iconic bespoke outfit crafted by the tailors of Kilgour, Savile Row in the film North by Northwest (1959).
By sporting a light grey suit and tie of a similar level of intensity to the grey tones found in his hair, Grant is able to bracket his handsome visage and draw attention to it thus increasing its expressiveness. However notice how the intensity of the greys of the cynosure and Grant’s complexion are similar but not identical. This is because Grant’s bronzed skin has the effect of naturally increasing the intensity of the other colours around it. Consequently the colour intensity of the grey in Grant’s cynosure has been adjusted just slightly to compensate.
In summary, the repeating approach is the simplest approach to colours and is the first step to understanding style. I will be covering the harmonising tones approach to colours in Fundamentals: Colours – Part 2. Being the more complex approach it merits its own post, but rest assured it is also the more creatively rewarding one. I also did not wish to make this post excessively long lest I inconvenience those reading this while on the lavatory.
Onwards,
G.B.
(photos via Drakes of London, Rubinacci, Scott Schuman)