Do you know what your colours are? The fashion trend of the 80s is back thanks to a social media surge, so Seven Sharp tasked their “low-end fashion” reporter Lucas de Jong to give it a go.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not fashionable. My wife helps or tries to help when I’m in the mood to let her help.
Most of my wardrobe was inherited from a fashionable Wellington-based cousin who moved to London early last year.
He knew colours. I couldn’t care less. But people do care — people like Sophia Au from AEGI.
“Getting your colours done is really about finding the right colours for you and feeling confident wearing them,” she said.
Her Sydney-based consultancy has been brought to New Zealand to help launch Specsavers’ new glasses range.
Perched in a Newmarket studio with one of those ring lights that scream, “This is for social media”, I felt like I was about to waste everyone’s time. Au, however, made it very clear – everyone has colours.
The concept is simple: What colours, whether in clothing, hair or accessories, suit you best.
“We go through fabrics for clothing colours,” said Au. “We go through makeup and hair recommendations, and throughout all that, we also throw in some theory.”
If you nail that, the promised rewards are monumental. You can look younger, remove imperfections and even change how your face is perceived with stronger jawlines or lighter under eyes.
After a quick scan of my face, Au pointed out I’m probably a “summer”.
You’d think there are four seasons. You’d be wrong. There are 12, so being a summer is just the first stage.
As Au flipped through different colour swatches on my chest, it was easy to see why she was a professional. While I could see colours that maybe “suit” me, she was all about the detail.
“Not looking at the colour, just looking at the effect on your face. It’s making your skin look glowy, like it’s glowing from within. But when I flipped it to the next one, it’s more dull.”
One colour highlighted my under eyes. Another framed my face well. Some just made me look red.
But Au was a master at saying insulting things about my image that didn’t seem insulting.
“Don’t ever wear this colour”, was said a fair bit.
After twenty minutes of nodding and smiling while pretending I knew what she was talking about, I started believing it.
It turns out I’m a “light summer”. Pastel pinks, blues and greens with crisp whites suit me the best.
And without sounding overly confident – I think they do. I could see an improvement.
Au’s given me an electronic tag I can scan to remind me what colours work next time I’m cruising the high street, which, if you ask my wife, needs to happen soon. We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.
I’ve since texted my cousin and told him I’m learning and have taken my first step to being “fashionable.”
I also asked that he only buy “light summer” colours from now on because I’m looking forward to shopping in his wardrobe again.
