Over the last several years I have started to really fall in love with fashion, especially lately, but I have struggled trying to figure it out on my own for myself. I know what I like on other people, but I feel like whenever I try something on or try out a new outfit it just don’t look right and it never looks as good on me as it does on the blogger I saw wearing it. Anyone else struggle with this??

A lot of you know about my ONE resolution for this year to learn to take care of and love myself, so one of the steps that I created to meet that goal is to learn exactly HOW to dress so that I feel beautiful and confident. I absolutely believe that dressing well for your unique looks makes you look thinner, younger, more radiant and beautiful, and it gives you confidence and makes you feel good about yourself!

If I’m being perfectly honest though, I really just didn’t know where to start. I know what I like when I see it, but like I mentioned before, things never seem to work for me the way they work for others and I know it’s because I’m NOT other people… I am ME. I have unique colors in my skin and hair, I have facial features and a body style that is unique to ME. So the big question here really became, how do I find things to wear that aren’t just looking great on the fashion sites I follow, but actually look good on me?

And then… my friend Sarah called me. Bless her.

Sarah got me in touch with the amazing people behind Personal Style and Colors, an incredible company with a team of experts that meet with you individually and work with you to find the best colors and styles to compliment your personal, unique looks. When they offered to meet with me and help me figure out my style and colors I jumped all over that. OBVIOUSLY. Who could say no??

When I first went in, I was under the misconception that there are warm tone colors and cool tone colors and then there is a list of colors that fall into those two categories- because pretty much EVERYTHING I’ve been able to research myself online breaks up the “best colors for you” into those two categories. As much as it seriously pains me to admit it, I was wrong. (Don’t make me say it again!)

Mariah and Brook from Personal Style and Colors started pulling out swatch after swatch of color, held it up to my skin and next to my face, and rapidly started throwing together a custom palette of all the colors that work for me. Rather than just warm and cool tone fabrics, they break up their colors into 4 core groups. Each person has their own unique combination of colors that make up the percentages they have from each group. For example, when my color palette was finished up, we determined that I was about 70% Lively Bright, 25% Earthy Rich, 5% Striking Contrast, and 0% Subtle Blended.

No surprise there, nothing about me is subtle. Ever. 😉

It was actually rather incredible to watch Brook and Mariah at work, and to see all of the colors that really worked for me that I had never tried. More importantly, they were finding the colors that did NOT work for me. Colors that I’ve worn a LOT of before and always wondered why I didn’t look quite right! I have always thought  with my fair skin that I am super cool-toned and that everything with cool undertones work for me- again I’ll admit that I was wrong as much as that physically hurts to say. I really hate being wrong haha. I was shocked at how warm a lot of the colors were in my palette!

P.S. If you want some awesome examples of how dressing in the right colors really does change your entire appearance go check out their website here  🙂  They have some great before and after examples!

Next they broke down styles of clothing based on my facial features and body type. Did you know that the structure of the bones in your face can determine what styles of clothing you look good in, and even what color combinations look good together on you??  Because I didn’t. Yes, IT’S A REAL THING! The 7 different styles they have for fashion are  Romantic, Angelic, Youthful, Natural, Dramatic, High-Spirited, and Classic. Just like with the colors, it is broken down into percentages based on your looks so that it is 100% custom to you. For me personally, I was 60% Romantic, 15% Natural, and 25% Dramatic, with a bunch of zeros in the other categories.

The incredible value of this is that now I know exactly what colors and styles to look for, which means I ACTUALLY HAVE A CHANCE at shopping for myself. Seriously! You have no idea what an accomplishment this is, ha! I’ve literally been a jeans and tee kind of gal my whole life until I had babies, at which point I graduated to leggings and long shirts. It’s not a pretty sight. I’m so excited to finally have this knowledge about myself individually so that I can start dressing myself the way I deserve.

Finding your own colors that work best on you is absolutely essential to really dressing to showcase who YOU are. Don’t just think about it in terms of “warm” or “cool” tones because it is so much more than that. You want make sure you are in good lighting and then take a good look at the color of your skin, eyes, hair, freckles, bone structure, etc. and find colors that compliment them and make them stand out. The colors you’re wearing should enhance YOU, the color shouldn’t be what stands out and wears you when you walk in a room if that makes sense. This is something that I never could have done on my own, so having the expert trained eyes of Brook and Mariah with Personal Style and Colors was a must.

Here were all of my final color swatches!

It’s seriously one of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do and when I left, I felt SO positive about myself and truly beautiful, which is not something I say often or lightly. They make you feel like a QUEEN when you’re getting your consultation, truly. Khaleesi status. Investing time, money, and energy into yourself is one of the most invaluable things you can do and I believe working with them to determine my personal style will change how I shop and dress for the rest of my life. If you’re in Utah at all, make sure to look them up and schedule a consultation, and if you’re not in Utah then I’d say it’s well worth the trip here.

PERSONAL STYLE AND COLORS WEBSITE

XXOO Sunny