Case Study - The John & Selina Show; Part 1 Selina

The John & Selina Show is a well-loved, weekly feature of John William's (Screw Work Let's Play) 30 Day Challenge (30DC) - which I'm currently taking part in.

For those who don’t know, The “Screw Work Let’s Play” concept is about finding the kind of work which feels like "play" to you, basically because you enjoy doing it so much that you would do it for no pay, just for the sheer fun of it. Immersing myself in the field of colour analysis, by creating and writing posts for this blog (with a few case studies), has been my chosen “play project” for the 30 days of November.

Whilst watching and listening to the “John & Selina Show”, as well as taking in their valuable messages, I couldn't help but to check out their colours at the same time! So I'll start with Selina :-).

Now I’ll say from the start, that, as you can see – Selina is a beautiful lady; she looks lovely in whatever she is wearing and whatever the colour. So colour analysing her, and suggesting her “best colours”, is a little like adding the teeniest bit of sparkle to an already perfectly iced cake! But, here goes.

Analysis:
I wasn’t sure initially where Selina’s colouring lay, so a little detective work was required in hunting down the clues. Also, not having access to quite so many clear photos taken in good light as for the “celebs”, (where hundreds and thousands are available via a simple "Google") has proved a little more challenging in finding her seasonal colour analysis category. 

Anyway, my thought process went like this:

1 Dominant colouring category – my first thought is that Selina is one of the “Deeps”, as the main (dominant) characteristic I see is depth of colouring (i.e. a dark look), through her hair, brows and eyes. So that brings to mind “Deep Autumn” (Dark, and Warmth to her colouring), or “Deep Winter” (Dark, and Coolness to her colouring). 

My initial hunch is that the Winter category is not at all right for her. However, in some of the photo’s, Selina’s skin seem to have a "softness" of colouring about it - so initially I was open-minded to considering the “Soft Summer Deep”, or the “Deep Winter Soft “, categories, very much as outsiders to my favoured "Deep Autumn" first choice.

2 The biggest clue from the various photo's I came across, came from this cute, childhood picture of Selina:

Apparently it was early evidence to Selina (during her own career search) that she enjoyed talking!  It was also evidence to me that:
- deep red (warm-coloured) hair;
- deep/dark eyes;
- warmth to her skin;
- warm coloured (orangey-red) clothing, which looks good on her as it tones in with her natural colouring,
   
... meant that none of the cooler seasons were right, so I could disregard the “Winter” and “Summer” categories altogether.  Also, her colouring appears too dark for a "Spring" category, and the shade of the red dungarees and checked shirt (above) would have looked drab on her if she were a "Spring".

So, my view from this photo is that Selina is an "Autumn" - either a "True Autumn", or a  “Deep Autumn”. 

3 I then asked Selina some colour-related questions:

Q What’s your hair colour?
A Brown with reddish tones (and toffee-coloured highlights, which start halfway down the length of my hair).

Q What’s the colour of your favourite item of clothing? (... usually a clue of a “best colour”).
A Orange.

Q The colour of an item hanging in your wardrobe, that you don’t wear (or infrequently wear) as you don’t feel “right” in it? (... usually a clue as to "not" a best colour).
A Black.

Q The colour of an item that you are frequently complimented upon whilst wearing? (... also usually a clue of a “best colour”).
A Forest Green.

Q Have you had your colours analysed before?
A Yes, about 7 years ago, and I was an "Autumn" (... I found out that this was under the old 4 seasons system, and not the 12 that I refer to. The 12 seasons system refines each of the 4 seasons into 3 distinct categories - each with their own palettes, so providing a more accurate assessment of "best" colours).

4 So, from all the above information, I honed Selina's category down to either a "True Autumn", or a "Deep Autumn.

For a "True Autumn", the dominant characteristic that you notice is "warmth" i.e red hair, warm-toned eyes and skin - the likes of Sarah Ferguson, Katherine Tate, Marcia Cross of Desperate Housewives.  The depth of colouring i.e. the level of darkness is medium, ie not dark/ deep.

For a "Deep Autumn" the dominant characteristic that you notice is "deepness" or "darkness" of colouring, whilst the secondary characteristic you may notice is "warmth" - for instance, the likes of Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lopez. It is a blend of both the Autumn and Winter seasons, which is why the "warmth" element is more subtle than that of a "True Autumn"

Although there is "warmth" to Selina's natural colouring when younger, her hair is a fairly darkish red tone. From her more recent photos, she has "deep/ dark" colouring which I notice first before seeing the warm colours coming from her hair, skin, and eyes.

Conclusion:
So my conclusion is that Selina is a Deep Autumn, and her original "Autumn" analysis can be refined further to give a more accurate palette of colours from which she may find her "best colours".

Deep Autumn "best" looks:
- deep, darker, rich colours, with overall warmth such as deep browns, tomato red, burnt orange, rust, deep olive - the most vivid colours of the Autumn palette;
- black is OK, but is best worn alongside warmer/ brighter colours;
- better alternatives to black are dark, deep rich browns, tomato red, plums (think mulled wine), midnight blues, pine/ forest greens (... which is why Selina has received compliments whilst wearing forest green);
- an overall dark look, or dark with light, but a 100% light look isn't flattering.

Some double-checking:

This is the best photo I could find of Selina in closest to "Deep Autumn" colours:
- the orange top (very warm colour) looks fantastic on her, with her colouring. No wonder it's Selina's favourite colour;
- the dark scarf with it's orangey tones, around her hair, suits her. A "Deep Autumn" can wear black, but it's best worn with a "warmer" colour such as the orangey print to warm up the black (... which is probably why Selina's least favourite colour is black if worn as black alone).  If Selina were a "True Autumn" rather than a "Deep Autumn", then the black head scarf (even with it's print) would have looked at odds with her hair colouring and the skin tones of her face.

I chose this photo, as I like the darkness (depth of colouring) of the brown vest top on Selina. Again I think this supports the Deep Autumn category.

I like the colours of the headscarf on Selina - deep, spicy, earthy colours, and excellent for a Deep Autumn. White is not colourful and warm enough - there are better choices of T-shirt  colour for Selina, but the sunglasses hanging there (by chance, with I'm not sure what the rusty-red brown object is? :-)),  provide the "darkness" of tone and warmth that is needed to balance the white with Selina's colouring.

I included this, as it's a fun picture. I'm not sure what to say about the colourings though. The black provides "deepness" of colouring to the overall colour balance, as do the black lines within the leggings, which a "Deep Autumn" needs. The colouring of the face mask is maybe too much of a "blue-red"  ie cool, as it appears to be a fushia pink, whereas a warmer/ orangey red would suit better. The leggings are not her pallette colours, as the colours overall are not "warm" enough (.. for instance the cool toned pink). She still looks lovely though :-).

Finally, Selina looking beautiful in orange again, plus bronze-coloured (or dulled gold) jewellery is also spot-on for a Deep Autumn.

Overall
I still think Selina suits the "Deep Autumn" palette. I'd like to see some photos of her (in due course :-)), in deeper (darker), richer, warm colours, which should really enhance her own exotic, deep colouring to it's maximum.