If you haven’t yet heard, Yellow (and grey) are the Pantone Colors of the Year. As an Image Consultant, I first became familiar with Pantone colors in my first writing job and seeing my graphic designer colleague select colors for our various publications. It was so interesting to see what she put together. Pantone picked a Color of the Year for more than 20 years, influencing development and design in a host of industries such as fashion, publishing, home design, and even industrial design.
As you can see, 2021’s colors are yellow and grey. For my blog here, I am concentrating on yellow, Pantone: 13-0647 “Illuminating.”
Image Consultant Shares Her Feelings About Yellow
I have found that few clients embrace yellow. Many claim they can never wear it; others say it’s too bright, and well others just say “no.” My experience with yellow really started more with home design. When I was a teenager and we moved to a bigger house, I picked a warm yellow for my bedroom. Now, years later in my second home, I still painted a couple of rooms yellow. To me, it signifies warmth, cheerfulness, and optimism. It is part of my favorite flower: the daisy. It’s the “friendly” flower!
Matching Yellow With Cool Skin Tones
Anyway, so can everyone wear yellow? That is a loaded question. It depends, of course, on the shade of yellow and where you wear it in your outfit. Those with more cool skin tones such as Winters, Summers, Cool probably cannot wear a warm yellow, especially near their faces. Now they can wear some yellow accessories such as a yellow purse, earrings or bracelets, yellow flats or belt.
There is a very cool shade of yellow they could wear, especially if it is part of a yellow and white print that dilutes it somewhat. Consider also wearing it as a bottom in pants, skirts, or even shorts. As an Image Consultant, I recommend pairing it with one of your good colors such as cream, white, light blue, or even royal blue.
The depth of yellow should be directly related to the depth of warmness in your skin. Someone who’s more neutral can wear yellow but maybe not the darkest or brightest shade of it. Some people have told me their skin turns an ash color when they were yellow. Here is an example of a more cool yellow, a very pretty dress from Saks Fifth Avenue.
Yellow For Warm Skin Tones
For those of us who are warmer skin-toned, yellow is natural. I like yellow better than gold for people with Spring coloring, but deeper autumns can really rock any shade of yellow. The more the better for them since warm colors really flatter their coloring. Here is an example of a warm color of yellow in a men’s polo from Nordstrom.
Yellow And Gray?
As an Image Consultant, I do like the pairing of yellow and grey together. Although not everyone can wear grey, a color I consider to be cooler. I do not look good at all in grey. I wished I did because it is a wonderful neutral that meshes with so many colors. I will wear grey pants–but wear them sparingly.
The best way to see if a yellow is cool or red is to compare two shades. It will be quickly apparent which one is warmer.
An Image Consultant Can Help You Find Your Colors
Warm skin tones? Cool skin tones? Which one are you? If you’re not sure, having a Color Analysis by a certified Image Consultant can tell you. This service is essential to finding which shade of yellow (and other colors) make you pop. This is a popular service that can be easily added to other services too! Contact Beth Divine Style to learn more.
Keep it sassy, Indy.
Beth Divine, MA, AICI-CIC
Personal Stylist and Image Consultant
