Stay at Home Style: Choosing color with care.

“The effect of color on human beings and their lives is a vital, dynamic force which cannot be ignored.” — Suzanne, “Color the Essence of You”

We often choose our clothing for the day based on our activities (business casual for the office or yoga pants for the gym) or we may base our choice on how we “feel”. Do we feel like wearing fabric that is cozy and comfy or cool and crisp? Do we want to feel alluring or sporty, romantic or dramatic?

But are you also aware of the way the color of the clothes you choose to wear affects your sense of well-being, your attitude, your behavior, your motivation and your interaction with others and your environment?

Color is vital. It is a directional force. It can be healing and it can be inspiring. If you tune into the way color affects you, it will nourish and soothe you, excite and motivate you. Your color choices should change as you change and they can even motivate you to change.

There’ve been many studies done to measure the psychology of color on humans. Cool colors like blues, greens and lavenders are proven to have a calming effect on most people. Whereas reds tend to increase blood pressure and heart rate and stimulate activity - it can even increase our appetite.

Our views toward certain colors may also be shaped by the culture in which we grew up or live. In North American culture, white represents purity but in some other cultures it is the color for mourning.

Our beliefs about certain colors are also shaped by the way they’ve been marketed to us. While black was once a color largely associated with grief and loss, fashion designers have now reframed it as sophisticated and slimming or practical and universal. And too often we simply embrace these associations with certain colors without thinking about how we, ourselves, feel about a particular hue. We may think about how our color choices affect others, but we are unaware of how a color affects us and our mood and behaviors.

Suzanne Caygill proposed that there is “an intuitive and instinctive impulse in every human being toward a constellation of colors in the universal order to which she or he is cosmically related”. This is the heart of Seasonal Color Analysis — to help you find alignment with everything in the universal color system that is native to and belongs to you.

While we are staying at home, we have the perfect opportunity to explore our relationship with color. When you go out for a walk, note what colors you are drawn to and how they make you feel? Notice what are you inspired to do when the sky is gray and misty or when it’s clear and blue?

Pay attention, when you walk into a room, at how the color of the decor affects you — does it spark energy or cause you to relax? Do you know what colors motivate or demotivate you?

Have you consciously chosen particular colors for your home decor, your clothing and accessories, or your garden that support and nourish you or have you just gone with colors that are on trend?

Is your wardrobe filled with colorful choices or have you clung to the safety of neutrals? Are you aware of the impact on your mood when you put on a particular color or color combination?

Is there a color that calms you and makes you more ready for sleep? Then when you shop for sleepwear, look for it in that color. Is there a color that gives you energy and uplifts you? That will be the color for your work out clothing. When you combine fabric, feel and color in your clothing choices for the day, you give yourself an incredible gift of support at every level.

In this series we’ve been talking about rituals that can uplift us during these challenging times. And one of the most powerful rituals I’ve experienced is that of mindfully choosing color in addition to fabric and function. Some days my skin tone color supports my need for authenticity and some days my high shade reminds me of the need I have to increase my presence and energy. My quiet color can soothe me when I’m stressed and my eye color can aid in my communication. By choosing my colors intentionally, I become more in tune with myself and my unique connection to the universe.

What rituals involving color are part of your life?

If you want to explore the effect of each of the colors on your palette on yourself as well as others, be sure to join us in The Winter2021 Color Fan Club. In six months you’ll gain incredible insight into how each of your colors affects you as well as others. — But hurry, enrollment for this course closes January 31, 2020.