All things EARTH...

[Member123]

Debbie,

On my monitor….

 

well, definitely the grays are different.

 

But… the shorts have a blue undertone, maybe a kind of lilac undertone. I don't think that they are warm…

 

I can't really tell what the undertone is for the top. It's a tossup whether it's a white undertone, or cream. If it's cream, then that would tend to make it fall more on the warm spectrum… but I can't tell.

 

I checked to see if it might be in our local store so I could make a quick run to have a look see. But, no such luck. Sorry.

[Anita Latte]

Debbie...I think you need to keep searching for that elusive Fire Gray. It looks warmer because it is with that blue/gray but I don't think it crossed the line into Fire.

[Anita Latte]

Jinx!

[aoknkentucky]

Thanks for helping me decide. Guess I really don't need that top after all. I have too much downtime on my hands today and have been looking at a few sales.

 

Thanks also to everyone that mentioned seeing broomstick skirts while out and about. I've been wearing my maxi skirts and dresses, but I think I'll pull out my broomstick skirts and see what might work with my Missoni Converse low-tops. DH is waaaay too conservative to think this is a good look, but I'm feeling a little sassy lately and a quirky outfit (for me) satisfies this particular fashion itch. It's cheaper than buying something new, even if the something new is on clearance.

[mousey]

Now that we've booked our Christmas cruise I'm on the lookout for a few new things. I took the DS shopping (as promised while he was in Argentina if he got to a certain grade point average...which he did! Yea! So, we headed out to the outlets in Camarillo because the DS likes the Ralph Lauren Polo brand. Wow...did we all luck out! Unbeknownst to us they were having an end of summer sale and everything in the store was 40% off...plus...the DS got an additional student discount of 15%!!! It was awesome! He ended up with 7 shirts, a reversible bucket hat, and a swimsuit. He's ecstatic about his lucky break. I ended up with a really cute zip-up, thick fisherman's cotton cardigan with a mock turtle neck and slanted side pockets with gold zippers on them. It fit me so well and goes perfectly with a pair of long stripped, slinky, palazzo pants that I have and haven't worn yet. It makes a great outfit for one of the casual nights in the MDR. I'll wear it with a pair of brand new, white, Chuck's style tennis shoes that I plan to buy for the trip. The DH ended up with a green, long-sleeved, light weight sweatshirt. We were laughing so hard because we said there is NO WAY we can all wear our new RL clothing to dinner in the MDR, or any place else for that matter, at the same time. LOL! Another funny thing, after she rang up the DS's purchases, which I paid with cash, and I asked her to ring mine and the DH's stuff separately which we paid with our credit card, she said to me, "Aren't you a student also?" I said, "Yes, I'm taking a wind chime making class at our local library." (I said that as a joke). She laughed and said, "Well then, you'll be getting a 15% student discount also." I thought she was being so nice and then when I got in the car and looked at the receipt..she had given me an AARP discount! The DH, DS, and I had a great big laugh over that.

 

I wish I could get into the eye thing you guys are doing because it's so cool but I still haven't learned to post pictures. I tried about a month ago and I just didn't get it right. I'll get around to trying it again eventually. LOL!

 

Since I haven't been posting as much with all that's been going on with my recent illness and driving my cousin to her radiation appointments...I've lost track of who's going where and when. So, who wants to chime in as to where they are going and when for the rest of 2015?

 

I'll start,

I'm going to AZ the middle of Aug. to move the DH into the new condo he will be living in for the next two years while at the U of A, to FL in the middle Oct. for Dad's 90th Birthday & My parent's 70th Wedding Anniversary joint party that the SIS and I are planning. Also in Oct. we'll be taking a short trip to Vegas for the DH's job, and then in Dec, we'll be on the Christmas cruise. So that's my up-to-date schedule. What's yours?

 

By the way, love all the clothing that has been posted recently. Loving the maxi skirts especially! I'm taking three of mine on the cruise in Dec.

Edited July 27, 2015 by mousey

[Anita Latte]

I had to do this.

 

There has been a bit of discussion about all this...and so I decided to do a test run on myself as a sort of demonstration...and also to be able to offer the best advice possible on how to take photos that are actually helpful.

 

So here we go.

 

You need to take 4 photos, one each in the following representative colors:

 

1. Black...ICE

2. Heather Gray (typical tee shirt fabric)...AIR

3. Bright Coral (the orange-y kind of peachy pink)...FIRE

4. Rust...EARTH

 

These colors are chosen specifically because most versions of these colors represent the element they are supposed to. Other colors, Army Green, for example, can have variations that make it more Air than Earth, however, most Rust colors, or other forms of Burnt Orange (think college football) can't be anything but Earth.

 

When you pick out your clothes, or whatever fabric you can find in the representative colors (tablecloths, scarves, sheets, towels, etc.), make sure that you have a "crewneck"...that the fabric is under your chin. If you have to, wear the shirt backwards (excellent for a V-neck) or simply drape the item all around your shoulders.

 

Do not wear makeup or any sort.

 

Face a NORTH facing window.

 

If possible, get a solid colored background behind you.

 

You can take selfies. Try your best to hold the camera at the same distance each time. Try to include your upper chest in the photo so that we can clearly see the fabric.

 

Take all the photos in one quick session, changing shirts and snapping photos so that you can get the greatest consistency possible in the 4 photos.

 

Take a close up picture that clearly shows your eye IN FOCUS. I found that keeping my camera on the widest angle but holding it close to my eye gave the best photo. It can actually be helpful to see your skin up close too.

 

So here's my test:

 

 

Whenever I do this...I always look like I need a latte...and that's why I named myself Anita Latte...Sigh. But I share this because we don't need pretty pictures. It is especially helpful to have the facial expression be the same thing in all the photos...even if it's like my lovely expression here.

 

I am an Earth...and I think it's pretty clear here.

 

The Fire coral is wearing me. You can see the influence of that bright color all over my face. It totally overwhelms my skin tone. I may appear to have even skin here...but when you compare the tone of my skin to the others...you see that I have skin that is just reflecting the shirt.

 

I have lost my coloring in the gray and if you really stare, you can see where the yellow and red pigments in my skin are. They aren't blended at all...and on my monitor, I kind of look an overall yellow.

 

The black is better than the gray because it gives me a bit more coloring but it completely overwhelms me. I'm lost in the black shirt. It's a dull black tee shirt that I'm wearing and so I COULD see how people say that Earth is the most likely to get away with some black. I COULD see how a bit of makeup could help this look.

 

And then there's the Rust. And there's my lovely Earthy self...I have natural skin tone that is generally blended. You can still see the different, natural variations in my skin...but overall...looks like fairly healthy skin...even with the droopy eyes. And my eyes...they have become the focus of the picture...the first thing that your eye is drawn to when you look at the photo. And my natural hair color (my hair is untreated) is complemented by the Rust also.

 

Here's the 4-picture collage that helps to identify your season.

 

The final check is the eye...is it a "muted" or "clear" eye?

 

 

 

That's a muted eye. If I understand my study properly, those of us with muted eyes have more collagen in the one layer of our eyes which affects the way that the light is filtered through the eye and why our eyes lack that kind of vibrancy in a clearer eye.

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

Melody...I swear, if you were to ever do this...you could lose your confusion.

[Anita Latte]

I leave Sept 21 on Enchantment of the Seas for a Bahamas cruise.

[Sailor_Sally]

Mousey , I am off in a week to Pennsylvania for My Mom's 99 th birthday then in October we are going to Tennessee with my daughter , SIL & two grandsons . Next may we are doing a trans Atlantic then four days in London. I have been spending my time booking flights , rental cars , hotels & condos .

[laurspag]

Anita, that was perfect. I can fully relate to the fire color picture, because you may recall that one dress I wore on my last cruise. I said that it was a beautiful dress, but the dress was wearing me. In other words, you don't see the person, you are focused on the color they are wearing. The color doesn't compliment you, it competes.

 

Such a good demonstration, Anita! And the eye picture was fabulous. I'm going to try and take another of mine.

[laurspag]

Mousey, I go on a long weekend to Lake Placid in mid September. Then I have to wait all the way until June of 2016 for my next cruise. Honestly, can I wait that long??? :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[awhfy]

Anita, I think I see what you mean. I don't have any North facing windows (Colorado, cold). I'll see what I can come up with. I'll have a hard time finding anything the color rust in my house!

 

Mousey, we leave on 10 November for Galveston & then a 9 night Western Caribbean on Royal's Liberty on 13 Nov. Melody

[laurspag]

My eyes are definitely muted, and greener than I thought.

 

[laurspag]

I know that picture wasn't the best, but my eye color and the fact that it is muted stands out.

 

Melody, do you think you may feel differently about color now that your hair is a different color? By that I mean, do you feel you need to brighten up the colors you wear as an offset? I can't say I've seen you in earth colors so I would love to see you do the pictures with different colors on.

 

Margaret, it was so good to hear from you. I was thinking about you and I'm happy to hear that everything is going well for you. Your go to outfit looks fun and comfy, but it looks put together and polished too. It doesn't get any better than that.

 

I decided to try this cute dress from kohls. It is really nice and figs great. But it's a very fire red. I wish I could just mute the color because it would be perfect. Unfortunately, it will have to go back.

[awhfy]

Anita/Laurie. What color background should I try for? I'm going to give this 4-picture thing a shot

[laurspag]

Anita I was thinking white. Do you agree?

 

By the way, here is the fire dress. I'm not ready to take it back yet.even the trim is gold. . I know that once I see a picture of me in the dress, I will let go.

 

http://mobile.kohls.com/product/prd-2135257/jennifer-lopez-pleated-sheath-dress-womens.jsp

 

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[Anita Latte]

I would think darker on the background.

 

I tried taking photos in indirect light in my bathroom against my white door. The background was too close to me and the light was too much and the white was too reflective. It worked much better for me to be in more indirect light with a darker background further behind me.

 

My dark background is actually a brown blanket draped over the top rail of our canopy bed. It was about 3-4 feet behind me. I think it helped to have the background literally be more in the background and not in focus and so close to my face.

 

If you are standing right in front of a window, then there may not be anything too close to you. The important thing would be for there to not be another window or source of light in the background.

 

Melody...We only had one North facing window in one of our Colorado houses. I understand, pick a window that doesn't have direct light coming in. So pick an east facing window in the afternoon and/or a west facing window after the sun is up but before the light would directly come through the window.

 

If you have the option on your camera...pick the proper lighting setting. Even though I wasn't in sunlight...it was a brighter day here today and I picked the sunshine setting as opposed to the shade setting. Play with that setting to get the best representation of color possible.

 

Also Melody...Do you have any Thanksgiving/Autumn themed table linens? If if they are a pattern...it's likely to be a good Earth one...that might work instead of the Rust color.

 

If you post your photos here, I can make that 2 x 2 collage to really be able to see the differences in the photos.

[laurspag]

Once. A while back, I had a gray dress blazer for work. At the time, gray was the go to color for women's work suits. This particular gray was different ...it didn't go well with my other gray items and didn't seem right with black either. This was back before I knew anything about colors. I'm pretty sure it was earth gray. I don't think I have seen it since. Warm grays are really hard to come by, I think. I admit I don't look for earth gray because it isn't exceptionally warm.

 

 

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[laurspag]

Good point, Anita. Now that I think of it, I always have trouble with the pictures I take in front of my closet doors, which are white.

 

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[Anita Latte]

I've been needing a new pair of nicer sandals. I saw a pair today on a further reduction clearance...I hope they work! The pictures I've seen aren't consistent...the sandals are a teal blue...but not sure they are Earth:

 

 

I have high hopes though because I think the teal/blue looks good with the gold and the brown. Fingers crossed!

 

I'm not sure if I am going to keep the maxi skirt I posted before...I have to see how well it coordinates with my wardrobe.

[Member123]

This thread has been such fun lately. You ladies!

 

Mousey. I am working on my wardrobe right now for a Panama Canal cruise, leaving for San Francisco on 17th September. I'm trying to get some outfits together that will still look good for hot.. well, HOT… and humid weather.

 

Then, we have Thanksgiving with Anita.

 

Then, we have (I think) a Caribbean cruise in February. Followed by the BIG cruise… blowout celebration for birthday and anniversary… of taking the TransAtlantic from Ft Lauderdale to Rome and spending some time in Rome, Positano, Florence, Milan, and Venice. Coming home by way of Philadelphia.

 

Lots and lots of wardrobe planning in my future.

[awhfy]

Ok, I'll give it a shot (lol) tomorrow or Wednesday. Anita, I have a photo collage program that I can place 4 pictures into. I'll have my daughter help me, she's really into color

[aoknkentucky]

I looked up soft autumn and found many colors I already have in my closet! Even my burgundy was there! How do you know if you are an autumn or a "soft" autumn? I don't want to change just to suit my personal color choice. or maybe it doesn't matter?

Thanks for the tip! Seeing those colors makes me very happy!

Lauri

 

Lauri, I don't explain color theory nearly as well as Anita, but I will attempt to explain what I understand. Autumn or EARTH is warm and muted and runs the gamut from light to dark. Soft autumn are the lightest of warm and muted colors leaning maybe toward cool summer's warmest muted tones. A little cooler warm, if you know what I mean. On the cusp, maybe, but maybe not? True Autumn is strictly warm and muted. Dark Autumn is the darkest warm and muted tones that may lean toward Dark Winter's warmest muted and dark cool colors. If our colors reside on a wheel, one color group blends into the next.

 

I may be the only one in our color conversations that feels this way, so I haven't talked about it much here. I have never been able to "see" what color does for me. DH and all the EARTH and FIRE friends here that have met me understand what the right colors do for me. I occasionally see glimpses, but I've never experienced and been able to keep steady the big "Ah ha" moment. I do know that I have a light peach scarf shot with gold threads that everyone oohs and ahhs about. It is my base-line for everything I purchase. Because I knew several items I was purchasing was definitely FIRE, I should have felt wonderful when I wore them, but I didn't. I did as much research as possible for several months and concluded that I needed a more defined palette because I couldn't do it for myself. I spent the money to be analyzed in the 12 color system. When she told me I was LIGHT and bright and warm Light Spring, and I realized that my scarf was the epitome of exactly THAT, I jumped wholeheartedly on the LIGHT, warm and bright bandwagon for any new purchases and haven't looked back. As my darker FIRE items are used up, I'll get closer to what feels and looks better for me. I'm still FIRE. I'm just a light FIRE gal.

 

There's a world of possibilities out there even in our bestest colors. I just needed a little extra help honing in on what mine were!

[lah66]

I had to do this.

 

There has been a bit of discussion about all this...and so I decided to do a test run on myself as a sort of demonstration...and also to be able to offer the best advice possible on how to take photos that are actually helpful.

 

So here we go.

 

You need to take 4 photos, one each in the following representative colors:

 

1. Black...ICE

2. Heather Gray (typical tee shirt fabric)...AIR

3. Bright Coral (the orange-y kind of peachy pink)...FIRE

4. Rust...EARTH

 

These colors are chosen specifically because most versions of these colors represent the element they are supposed to. Other colors, Army Green, for example, can have variations that make it more Air than Earth, however, most Rust colors, or other forms of Burnt Orange (think college football) can't be anything but Earth.

When you pick out your clothes, or whatever fabric you can find in the representative colors (tablecloths, scarves, sheets, towels, etc.), make sure that you have a "crewneck"...that the fabric is under your chin. If you have to, wear the shirt backwards (excellent for a V-neck) or simply drape the item all around your shoulders.

Do not wear makeup or any sort.

Face a NORTH facing window.

If possible, get a solid colored background behind you.

You can take selfies. Try your best to hold the camera at the same distance each time. Try to include your upper chest in the photo so that we can clearly see the fabric.

Take all the photos in one quick session, changing shirts and snapping photos so that you can get the greatest consistency possible in the 4 photos.

Take a close up picture that clearly shows your eye IN FOCUS. I found that keeping my camera on the widest angle but holding it close to my eye gave the best photo. It can actually be helpful to see your skin up close too.

So here's my test:

Whenever I do this...I always look like I need a latte...and that's why I named myself Anita Latte...Sigh. But I share this because we don't need pretty pictures. It is especially helpful to have the facial expression be the same thing in all the photos...even if it's like my lovely expression here.

I am an Earth...and I think it's pretty clear here.

The Fire coral is wearing me. You can see the influence of that bright color all over my face. It totally overwhelms my skin tone. I may appear to have even skin here...but when you compare the tone of my skin to the others...you see that I have skin that is just reflecting the shirt.

I have lost my coloring in the gray and if you really stare, you can see where the yellow and red pigments in my skin are. They aren't blended at all...and on my monitor, I kind of look an overall yellow.

The black is better than the gray because it gives me a bit more coloring but it completely overwhelms me. I'm lost in the black shirt. It's a dull black tee shirt that I'm wearing and so I COULD see how people say that Earth is the most likely to get away with some black. I COULD see how a bit of makeup could help this look.

And then there's the Rust. And there's my lovely Earthy self...I have natural skin tone that is generally blended. You can still see the different, natural variations in my skin...but overall...looks like fairly healthy skin...even with the droopy eyes. And my eyes...they have become the focus of the picture...the first thing that your eye is drawn to when you look at the photo. And my natural hair color (my hair is untreated) is complemented by the Rust also.

Here's the 4-picture collage that helps to identify your season.

The final check is the eye...is it a "muted" or "clear" eye?

That's a muted eye. If I understand my study properly, those of us with muted eyes have more collagen in the one layer of our eyes which affects the way that the light is filtered through the eye and why our eyes lack that kind of vibrancy in a clearer eye.

I hope this is helpful.

Melody...I swear, if you were to ever do this...you could lose your confusion.

 

This really helps a lot, Anita. When I finally get around to taking more pics, I will use a darker background. I wonder if the white of the door behind me was casting too much light. Your pics are so obvious that you are an earth but mine were just confusing. We have had 90 degree days so the pics did not get done! Soon, I promise!

Lauri

[lah66]

Lauri, I don't explain color theory nearly as well as Anita, but I will attempt to explain what I understand. Autumn or EARTH is warm and muted and runs the gamut from light to dark. Soft autumn are the lightest of warm and muted colors leaning maybe toward cool summer's warmest muted tones. A little cooler warm, if you know what I mean. On the cusp, maybe, but maybe not? True Autumn is strictly warm and muted. Dark Autumn is the darkest warm and muted tones that may lean toward Dark Winter's warmest muted and dark cool colors. If our colors reside on a wheel, one color group blends into the next.

 

I may be the only one in our color conversations that feels this way, so I haven't talked about it much here. I have never been able to "see" what color does for me. DH and all the EARTH and FIRE friends here that have met me understand what the right colors do for me. I occasionally see glimpses, but I've never experienced and been able to keep steady the big "Ah ha" moment. I do know that I have a light peach scarf shot with gold threads that everyone oohs and ahhs about. It is my base-line for everything I purchase. Because I knew several items I was purchasing was definitely FIRE, I should have felt wonderful when I wore them, but I didn't. I did as much research as possible for several months and concluded that I needed a more defined palette because I couldn't do it for myself. I spent the money to be analyzed in the 12 color system. When she told me I was LIGHT and bright and warm Light Spring, and I realized that my scarf was the epitome of exactly THAT, I jumped wholeheartedly on the LIGHT, warm and bright bandwagon for any new purchases and haven't looked back. As my darker FIRE items are used up, I'll get closer to what feels and looks better for me. I'm still FIRE. I'm just a light FIRE gal.

 

There's a world of possibilities out there even in our bestest colors. I just needed a little extra help honing in on what mine were!

 

That makes sense, how the colors blend together as in, dark summer to light autumn. That is a good explanation!

 

So, were you dressing as a fire and then found out you were really spring? And when you started wearing Spring you finally felt like you were "home"?

 

I just want to make sure when I hit 50 next winter, that I am the best 50 I can be and that means wearing the right colors! If we can't figure it out here, I would be willing to spend some money on a professional evaluation. It will pay off in the long run!

 

I think I balked at earth because I tend not to like those colors (rust, green and mustard) on me. But right now I am wearing a medium blue background, orange and beige floral shirt and I bet those are all earth colors! And I have received compliments when I wear this! But I also get compliments when I wear a dark navy blue/silver striped shirt! And that is probably fire? Ice? those people with pink skin not golden, like me! I have a long ways to go in learning this color thing!

 

Thanks for your advice. I need to find something rust in my house so I can take my earth pic!

 

Lauri

[aoknkentucky]

That makes sense, how the colors blend together as in, dark summer to light autumn. That is a good explanation!

 

So, were you dressing as a fire and then found out you were really spring? And when you started wearing Spring you finally felt like you were "home"?

 

I just want to make sure when I hit 50 next winter, that I am the best 50 I can be and that means wearing the right colors! If we can't figure it out here, I would be willing to spend some money on a professional evaluation. It will pay off in the long run!

 

I think I balked at earth because I tend not to like those colors (rust, green and mustard) on me. But right now I am wearing a medium blue background, orange and beige floral shirt and I bet those are all earth colors! And I have received compliments when I wear this! But I also get compliments when I wear a dark navy blue/silver striped shirt! And that is probably fire? Ice? those people with pink skin not golden, like me! I have a long ways to go in learning this color thing!

 

Thanks for your advice. I need to find something rust in my house so I can take my earth pic!

 

Lauri

 

Yes, Lauri, definitely find something with fall/autumn/EARTH colors even if it's a Thanksgiving tablecloth like Anita said. I'm sorry if I was confusing in my explanation, but spring is FIRE. ICE is winter and AIR is summer. Hope that helps. You may automatically gravitate toward your best EARTH colors, but for me it was super hard to stay on this color wagon that I attempted to climb on after the age of 50. I found out in February that I just needed to dial down the warm and clear to a light instead of bright version of warm and clear. For me and maybe me alone of the spring/FIRE ladies here, my TMIT or The Most Important Thing is light. We've talked about cheating our colors when we can't find the exact right match and many ladies here have mentioned they think they look best in their darker colors. For some spring/FIRE people that would mean they could cheat as long as it was bright. Or, they could cheat as long as the color was warm. For me, if I am going to cheat, it needs to be light. So for autumn/EARTH ladies, you could cheat as long as it was warm or muted, but whether it was a soft color or dark color would depend upon whether you needed lighter or darker colors. Does that make sense?

 

Anita talked about chroma, value and tint. Did I get that right, Anita? I never could keep those straight in my head, but light v. dark, warm v. cool, and clear v. muted is language I can finally understand. I hope I haven't made this even more complicated, Lauri, but when you said you didn't care for some of autumn/EARTH's colors, I wanted to show you that autumn isn't just baby poop green (color name by Anita) and rust. I have major EARTH envy. The only non-EARTH room in my house where I can take pictures is an ivory bathroom with a north facing window. It's not that I don't have some dark colors in my palette, because I do. It's just that my palette is lighter in general. This has taken me a really long time to be able to see my spring/FIRE colors automatically. Now that I'm looking for light versions, it finally clicks. I love my colors.