DESPERATELY SEEKING YOUR COLOURS – TONAL CONTENTMENT VS TONAL RESTLESSNESS PART II AND III

PART II

Sometimes, unfortunately, a minority of post-PCA clients feel strongly that something isn’t working as it should.  When the discontent is profound, and especially if it spans the whole palette, the first and most important thing to consider is that the tonal placement arrived at is not their best.  Because the 12-Tone palettes are carefully controlled, a wrong placement may be more immediately obvious and less forgiving than in other systems where there is less control in terms of hue, chroma and value and where the client may have more luck with some colours given than with others.
Incorrect placement happens. 

It is critical to acknowledge this, and examine this possibility with care.   This article has been inspired by the personal communications and observations of 12-Tone palette users who have asked for help with a sense of dissonance, and these experiences and perceptions have much to teach all of us who care for the discipline of personal colour.  It is difficult to help individuals sort out their tonal alignment concerns over the internet, and can be almost impossible when the analyst or trainer hasn’t been privy to the original experience, but a number of things can contribute and need to be considered.

Many clients are self-assessed, and for reasons of geography or other factors, many of them do not have any other easy option.  Many of them are successful, but often not without considerable experiment, and the internet can make this trial and error very public; the viewer often has no real way of knowing where those posting about their tone are at in this journey or of knowing how accurate the placement is.  Sometimes people generalize from a friend’s experience or experiences, or from someone who “looks like them”.   Photographs can mislead, amateur colour tests can use colours that really belong to another tone, professional tools can be misused by those not trained in their use, family and friends can weigh in, group dynamics on online forums can influence the decision, wishful thinking can cloud anyone’s judgement, and so on.

As we have noted, no two people use an individual season quite the same way, and these subtle distinctions also be confusing – a client may not love her tonal housemate’s favourite lipstick on herself, although others may see it as fantastic compared to anything from the other 12 palettes.  A small quirk of skin chemistry and/or individual preference may therefore introduce doubt.

Still more seriously, mis-drapings occur.  This is of greatest concern because here the client is paying for an opinion which should be reliable, and may invest much more, emotionally and financially, and struggle harder to discard the dissonant result.

Draping is a learnt art that requires calibrated tools.  Some have a more experienced eye, while others take time to learn to “see” – new neural pathways are laid down as a new skill develops and PCA is no different.   The full SciART/Twelve-Tone draping sequence, used with skill, builds in checks and balances and devil’s advocacy, but if this is compromised by a suboptimal environment or inaccurate drapes or foreshortened in any way, whether by speeding up the process or by allowing early impressions to sway subsequent observations or even short-cut them, then there is a risk of getting off course.

Although many clients retain an instinctive understanding of their natural tone and are quick to recognise flattering versus unflattering changes, many factors can interfere with this.  An analyst therefore needs to be aware of unconscious signals of approval or disapproval given by the client and be aware of the possibility of being misdirected by these:  the effects themselves must drive the process.
Moreover, the optical effects made by the drapes can be more subtle in some individuals, and the client needs to be able to perceive them as well in order to truly accept and feel ownership of the verdict.   Acceptance and patience are essential on both sides, and it helps if clients understand from the beginning that their experience may be very different to that of others they may be aware of.   Some results unfold very quickly and easily, others need more careful consideration to call, and everyone can be fallible.  Errors are more likely if either analyst or client are rushed, tired or otherwise compromised.  It is important that both practitioner and client approach the draping with an open mind and are able to enjoy a relaxed, unhurried and unfatigued session.  PCA is an inherently visually tiring process, as for much of it we are seeing disharmony.   If it were easy for most people we’d all be getting it right without any help at all!

More subtly, the result can be unequivocal and accurate but the client may not be convinced for reasons which lie outside the SciART/Twelve-Tone draping process.   This situation is difficult, as complex psychological issues and learnt preferences may be at play, as may the pressure of peer and family dissent.  The client may want a result that SciART/Twelve-Tone analysis by its very nature should not give:  validation of something that does not harmonize with her natural colouring as SciART/Twelve-Tone interprets it (and we will discuss this possibility a little more fully later).

Hair Dye and Contradiction

Hair is a significant colour block, and it is convention to cover it in order to take any permanent or semi-permanent changes “off the table”.  Our culture tends to teach women that more saturated and stronger colour is inherently better, that grey should be covered, and that the natural highlights and sun-streaks of youth should be perpetrated into middle- and advanced age.   Not everyone admits to altering their hair colour and many view highlights and colour as “patching up” nature, though sometimes the natural hair tone has been long forgotten.  If the hair is undyed, PCA of course can proceed without covering it, as discussed in a previous TCA note (“Should Hair be Covered During Analysis?”, Saturday February 12th, 2011), but the cap used is, in part, a tactful way around this sometimes sensitive question.

When dyed hair is revealed, it may not harmonize with the underlying skin/eye tone, something that is never true of natural hair colour in health, including during and after greying.  If the client continues to over-ride her natural tone with a warmer, darker or otherwise visually contradictory and dominant effect, even if subtle, this large colour block around the face can interfere with the effects of a correct palette as the viewer perceives disharmony between the larger colour areas first and foremost.   As the human eye makes very fine distinctions, a genuine sense of dissonance and disconnection from the palette can result as the eye tries to resolve the “argument” between skin tone and hair colouring, and the client can feel “neither here nor there”.

This may be a contributing factor in the “I don’t feel that I fit anywhere in SciART” concern that is sometimes seen.  For example, an individual may be restless with their palette if their hair is coloured more strongly than they are, and covet a higher-chroma tonal palette, often the adjacent warmer tone as hair colour is often warmer than the natural base.  Sometimes however a shift in hair tone is a deliberate and knowing choice, as will be discussed later.

The natural skin and hair, however, will validate the correct palette, every time – and vice versa.  The use of hair colouring, like makeup, is certainly NOT inherently wrong from a Sci/ART/Twelve-Tone point of view, and many people enjoy using products and processes that cover the effects of sun exposure (or simulate it), reverse the fading or tinting caused by chlorine, previous treatments or the effects of wear on hair that may be several years old, or which restore the pigment loss of age in a way which works with and for their natural colouring.
Making the Adjustment

As we saw in Part I, SciART/Twelve-Tone PCA is based on a natural order of colour and harmony.  It is a way of looking at the world which disputes and disproves a lot of fashion industry agendas and media editorial and advertising.

In the SciART/Twelve-Tone aesthetic, gradations and distinctions are subtle and thoughtful.  Although all tones have their own versions of accent colours and fashion neutrals, there are no single “universally flattering colours” such as appear in many other systems, and although different tones may have individual colours which look similar to a casual glance, close inspection will reveal important distinctions.

It is recognised that black isn’t slimming or flattering on everyone, and that wearing it below the waist doesn’t mean no-one will notice it.  High contrast is a desirable effect for some, but in excess it is distracting on others.  Some people can soak up a lot of colour (chroma/saturation), others look their very best when the tone is muted.  Some people can cope with non-best tonality better than others (this is a prime source of confusion, especially when judged by photographs).  “This season’s new red lipstick”, hyped as a must-have for everyone, will only be true for one tone, and not everyone in that tone will necessarily love it; others in different tones may “get away with it”, but only if they apply it thinly or blot some of the chroma out of it, or perhaps if their skin chemistry pushes it over some other line.

The satisfied SciART/Twelve-Tone tone customer learns to see themselves and others in a whole new way, and analysts and clients have written eloquently about this process.  Most often the change in perception is almost immediate and comes as a relief, but sometimes it takes time and some growing pains.   In the beginning it can be very hard to decide what is valid doubt (due to real problems with the process or result) versus that which is due to the process of adjustment.  As we have noted before, sometimes it can be hard to separate other doubts from your own.

PCA can be a profound cultural change.  It is like giving up certain foods on health grounds – it can be a relief if the person feels better immediately, but some may struggle to find substitutes and miss the absent options.  This is NOT a criticism of those who find working it out and/or acceptance of an accurate result more difficult than others may, but a sincere acknowledgement that sometimes this is easier or harder depending on the individual circumstances.

Next, we will look in more detail at some of the practical issues people have when applying their colours in the world of retail.

PART III

The client loves his or her new palette.  They enjoy the SciART/Twelve-Tone philosophy.   It all makes so much SENSE.

But at the shops, they’re not as assured as they’d hoped.  In front of the mirror, they (in fact it is overwhelmingly “she”, as women are still the majority of clientele and the most inclined to share their results in public) just don’t have the promised certainty.  S/he is a bit apprehensive.   S/he might admit to feeling a bit boxed-in, or a bit lost.  It was supposed to be the complete answer.  What on earth is going on?

In what follows, we will assume that the client has been correctly placed, whether by self-diagnosis or accurate analysis (see part II for more discussion of this issue).  Their tone is not the issue, but the application is.

Desperately Seeking Your Colours

Many clients are drawn to PCA because they feel overwhelmed by choices.  Or they may be driven by the reverse feeling, a sense that so little seems to work.  Often, and especially for those with some prior experience of colour analysis, it’s a bit of both.   The client wants it all to look great, and for it all to hang together rather than having bits of the wardrobe that don’t work with anything else at all – and in effect this is asking for tighter boundaries, and for some relief from the infinite options.   When we ask “what are my best colours,” then, we are also asking for some meaningful and useful limits.

But when the client ventures back to the shops post-PCA, suddenly those desired limits can feel constricting.  She or he can’t find the right colours, or can’t find them in their style or fit.  They’re unsure whether what they can find is really “on fan or in harmony with it” (and learning to use the palette is a whole other essay see TCI blog “Hints and Tips for Using Your 12-Tone Colour Palette”,  Thursday March 29th, 2012),  and what they do find may not be in their favourite area of their palette, or even close to it (though this can be a good way of being led to new options).  If they happen to be very small or large framed, plus-size, petite, tall, or otherwise have very specific fit or style requirements, it’s harder.    The customer wanted to be more discriminating, certainly, but may find the new “colour menu” restrictive when their personal choices seem to be so sparse.

If the retail industry isn’t catering well to the client at this point, they may be tempted to blame the palette rather than the choices available on the floor (and they certainly shouldn’t be blaming themselves, as the fashion industry might encourage them to do).  They might find themselves making inaccurate matches or picking colours that aren’t truly harmonious, wearing another tone’s colours or a too-saturated or too-muted version, and thus wearing clothes not truly of their tonal range, thinking they are in harmony with their palette, and wondering why something seems “off”.

They may begin looking at another tone, and perhaps at other systems which might seem to offer different options or individualized selections, whether these different systems are considered alone or in combination.  They may learn a lot about themselves and how they wear colour by doing so, but there is a risk of increased confusion if the decision-making process becomes fatigued by excess options and conflicting advice.   At stake are the careful calibration, tonal control and wardrobe integration that drew them to the SciART/Twelve-Tone system and which felt so good in the first place.

In Part IV we will consider some of the ways to cope with these issues, including the importance of using the palette to suit the individual – and acknowledge some important realities about the way so many of us “break out” a little – or a lot.