Stores that carry "FIRE" season clothing

[Joby]

Our Lowe's had all of the color chips, so I got one of each :o

 

I was curious about some of the lighter colors of the chips and wanted to see what the thought was on these.

 

Here is a link to my photos: http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=9229631028/a=14627401028_14627401028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

 

I used Anita's FIRE set of:

 

tangerine tango

nectarine

apricot ice

citrus

green flash

jasmine green

pool green

peacock blue

turkish tile

dewberry

[Member123]

Do you have to have a snapfish account to be able to see your album, Kim?

 

So frustrating to see 17 photos and not have access to them. Maybe it's about time for me to get one of those gmail or yahoo or whatever email accounts, I guess.

 

So, I went to Lowe's. I just spoke with Anita and asked her.... what IS it about plucking every single Pantone chip out of the display that makes you feel like you're doing something naughty?

 

Actually, they were out of 3 of the colors. I'll have to put them in numeric order and I'll let you guys know the ones that I am missing.

 

Now, I can play too! yeah!

[Joby]

Yes, you have to sign up on snapfish. it's also where I put our Tanzania photos if you saw them. It's free and easy to sign up--no problems with spam or anything.

[Member123]

Kim! Thank you for reminding me. I didn't realize that I'd already registered on snapfish. I guess I was so excited to see Tanzania photos that I didn't really care at the time!

 

LOL. Your kitty is cute. Trying to be helpful?

[Anita Latte]

I've been making myself crazy with these color chips on and off all day. I realize that the afternoon light in my one room keeps moving in and out of the clouds...and I think this is affecting the photos. So I decided to just start making comparisons with my own two eyes and seeing what happens.

 

So for you FIRE ladies out there. Get your color cards and add the following chips and take a photo or two:

 

FIRE:

 

Nectarine

Tangerine Tango

Dewberry

Deep Periwinkle

Primrose Yellow

Apricot Ice

Peacock Blue

Pool Green

Turkish Tile

Macaw Green

Tender Shoots

 

I tell you what. I haven't taken a photo of my different color families yet. I just made haphazard piles of color chips and it seemed a bit easier to see when a color was off...

 

Anyway...that's my current FIRE pile, but I'd love to see a photo with the color cards for comparison. Kim I took a look at your photos...and the ones with the color cards where you can see the bright greens pretty ICE...they aren't Granny Apple Green, they are Neon. I'd be curious though to see which chip matchs Mom's one green dress best...

[Member123]

I've been making myself crazy with these color chips on and off all day. I realize that the afternoon light in my one room keeps moving in and out of the clouds...and I think this is affecting the photos. So I decided to just start making comparisons with my own two eyes and seeing what happens.

 

So for you FIRE ladies out there. Get your color cards and add the following chips and take a photo or two:

 

FIRE:

 

Nectarine

Tangerine Tango

Dewberry

Deep Periwinkle

Primrose Yellow

Apricot Ice

Peacock Blue

Pool Green

Turkish Tile

Macaw Green

Tender Shoots

 

I tell you what. I haven't taken a photo of my different color families yet. I just made haphazard piles of color chips and it seemed a bit easier to see when a color was off...

 

Anyway...that's my current FIRE pile, but I'd love to see a photo with the color cards for comparison. Kim I took a look at your photos...and the ones with the color cards where you can see the bright greens pretty ICE...they aren't Granny Apple Green, they are Neon. I'd be curious though to see which chip matchs Mom's one green dress best...

 

Just quoting Anita so I can get a list of her potential FIRE colors. So, this is what I did. I just sat in front of my bathroom mirror and stared at my face: eyes (kind of puffy this morning because I had some binge eating of chips last night... <last time before cruise I swear!>...) and I have a small irritated patch of dehydrated skin on my nose.. and just stared at my lips. Then, I pulled my hair away from my face and made sure that I wore a "for sure" FIRE top. Then, I just started putting the chips right underneath my chin and just staring at what happened to my skin tone...

 

And...

 

most of the chips were awful. Just awful.

 

There were only a few where I felt like my skin tone evened out; where my lips actually got color in them. My eyes ... well none of them really helped the look of my eyes today... but these chips did as well as my "for sure" FIRE top. So,

 

Peacock Blue *

Deep Green

Ambrosia

Jasmine Green

Pear Sorbet

Otter

 

I'm going to scroll up and put an asterisk by the ones in my list that are the same as Anita's List. Uh. Oh.

 

The only chip that looks even remotely similar (of the chips on my list) to my Color Cards is: Jasmine Green. And Jasmine Green is the closest color to my Gianni Binni green dress.

 

OK. The light has drastically changed in front of the mirror so I can't really go back and see why I didn't choose some of Anita's colors and why maybe she didn't choose the colors that I thought made a difference. Oh, I also need to check to see if I have all those color names because there were 3 empty slots in the display case at Lowes.

 

Whew. Will this ever become easy and stop making me crazy?

[Joby]

I've been making myself crazy with these color chips on and off all day. I realize that the afternoon light in my one room keeps moving in and out of the clouds...and I think this is affecting the photos. So I decided to just start making comparisons with my own two eyes and seeing what happens.

 

So for you FIRE ladies out there. Get your color cards and add the following chips and take a photo or two:

 

FIRE:

 

Nectarine

Tangerine Tango

Dewberry

Deep Periwinkle

Primrose Yellow

Apricot Ice

Peacock Blue

Pool Green

Turkish Tile

Macaw Green

Tender Shoots

 

I tell you what. I haven't taken a photo of my different color families yet. I just made haphazard piles of color chips and it seemed a bit easier to see when a color was off...

 

Anyway...that's my current FIRE pile, but I'd love to see a photo with the color cards for comparison. Kim I took a look at your photos...and the ones with the color cards where you can see the bright greens pretty ICE...they aren't Granny Apple Green, they are Neon. I'd be curious though to see which chip matchs Mom's one green dress best...

 

I'm confused, what are you talking about the greens being neon--my color chips or my FIRE color card greens?

[Joby]

Has anyone mentioned the color chip--nude? It looks like it could 'go' with my peaches on my color card.

 

Pam, I just looked at otter and it doesn't seem to go nwith anything on my cards. it doesn't have that clear brown look to my eye. It seems to be a muted brown with a gray'ish tint??? More like an EARTHY brown?

 

We're about to lose any sunlight here. I think tomorrow is supposed to be nice here. I'll take more photos then. For now, it's just looking and comparing color chips for me in inside light.

Edited August 24, 2013 by Joby

[Anita Latte]

I'm confused, what are you talking about the greens being neon--my color chips or my FIRE color card greens?

 

The color chips...

 

In the photo the Green Flash and the Jasmine Green seemed to go a bit Neon and not really go with the cards. Problem being that I think these are the closest to Mom's dress. And it turns out that, yes, Jasmine Green is very close to Mom's dress. Green Flash wasn't in her store.

 

But the problem is that this is all relative...in a way. I took another round of photos based on my new little piles and I told Mom that I'm wondering if there are just very few clear colors in this selection. This is extremely difficult to do, I must say. And I'm finding that there are several colors that seem like they could go both ways, like Tangerine Tango, KWIM?

 

What is so odd is how the colors change when you try to photograph them. What you think is going to be a purple color is blue. What is supposed to be a turquoise or teal color is blue. And this makes me think that the surrounding colors are having a negative impact on this color...like, if it showing blue, is it really a cool color instead? And the influence of the warm colors are bringing forward that blue undertone to the color...and that it's really cool because it has this blue undertone? IDK. It's making me crazy.

 

I remember that I bought some shirts for Mom and they were purple colors and when I tried to photograph them, they looked blue in the photographs, but I was pretty certain that they were warm purples. I think the purples that Curt often picks out on the awards show gowns are often counterintuitive...not quite what I would expect of a warm purple, KWIM? But I wonder if this phenomenon is simply what happens to these photographs also...and IRL, the purples are really wonderful warm looking purples that just photograph looking much cooler than they do to the naked eye.

 

All I know is that it's enough to make your nuts!

[Member123]

Information taken from the Pantone site:

 

Sometimes colors affect each other in unexpected ways. For example, most colors, when placed next to their complements, produce vibrating, electric effects. Other colors, in the right combinations, seem quite different from what you'd expect.

 

The most striking color illusions are those where identical colors, when surrounded by different backgrounds, appear to be different from each other. In a related effect, different colors can appear to be the same color when surrounded by certain backgrounds.

 

When you look at a colored object, your brain determines its color in the context of the surrounding colors.

 

If we accept the fact that the color of our prints comes from the light, we start thinking a little more about the color of light. We know for example that paper and ink come in all different colors. White paper is not white paper – there are all sorts of shades of white paper. There are well-defined methods for measuring and describing this paper variable. We can measure the whiteness and/or brightness of paper. Even office copier paper has brightness measurements listed on the packaging. We see the same thing in ink. There is no such thing as cyan. Cyan on an inkjet printer varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Cyan printing ink can change from batch to batch and from vendor to vendor. Again there are well-defined means for measuring and quantifying the color of ink.

 

What about light? Light also comes in all different colors. Isaac Newton is credited with first discovering that white light is composed of all colors. Knowing how color behaves when we combine more than one color together, it makes sense to discover that some white light might have more red than other white light. Measurement of various light sources quickly shows that this is true.

 

Let’s assume the amount of red light is significantly different in one white light source compared to another. If we know that the color in our print comes from the light, then it follows that these different light sources will give us different colors of red on the same exact print. This in a nutshell is why light matters so much when viewing color prints. This concept applies to all color prints: photographic prints, inkjet prints, posters, signs, proofing, packaging print, publications and commercial print. The color is in the light.

 

So, if I'm analyzing this information correctly, then I would say that

1. If you look at a color by itself (oooh pretty!), you might think it's FIRE. Using Tangerine Tango as an example.

 

2. Place Tangerine Tango next to Tomato Puree. Hmmm, Tangerine Tango could be EARTH.

 

3. Place Tangerine Tango next to Formula One. Yep, Tangerine Tango is definitely FIRE.

 

4. Place Tangerine Tango next to Nectarine. Hmmm, Tangerine Tango could be EARTH.

 

Back and forth. Back and forth. And if you take Tangerine Tango outside in the natural light... outside in dappled shade... under the lighting in the bathroom... under the lighting from the nightstand lamp... well, it all changes.

 

I just don't know if I have the skill set to do this, frankly.

[Member123]

and from my previous post, I think this is why we have started to rely so much upon our pictures.. and why the color parties that we did a while ago showed us such fantastic information.

 

I have a dirty little secret. I have never been able to use the Color Cards. I just have never developed the skill. I wish that I could.... but wishes don't make dreams come true. I just don't have the eye for it.

 

What I have been able to do... is to tell the effect that a particular color has on my skin tone... whether it "brightens" me or makes my skin appear to be more evenly toned and more golden than blotchy... if it diminishes the darker color under my eyes... if it makes some patchiness seem to smooth out... frankly, if it makes me look older or tired. (more tired). Anyway, I've been able to do that. So that's what I've been working with... and find that it works for me.

 

I thought that I'd be able to help with the color chips and I so WISH that I could get better about this... but I just... am about... to. give. up. on that idea. I think that I won't be able to get this methodology to work for me.

 

For example, I can't explain why the Otter works for me... but I've tried it again, and I know that it does. On its own, it looks like it has a yellow undertone, BUT I can get it to look like a gray undertone if I put it up against the Ralph Lauren brown wall that I have in the house. That Ralph Lauren wall is definitely a warm, golden brown... I searched high and low until I found it.

 

Puzzled. Frustrated. Pulling Out My Hair! Laughing. Cause at the end of the day, this is FUN.

[laurspag]

I remember those pants, Anita's Mom! I was born in 1965, and those kind of pants were around right up into the 70s. Now, being the youngest of 4 girls, I got all the stuff my sisters grew out of. We didn't have a lot, so they were often out of style when I got them. Those kind of pants are definitely groovy!!!!

 

I started to pick up all the pantone cards today in Lowe's, and one of the clerks was looking at me like I was a hoarder. Then my husband looked at me like he was scared. I got to thinking he thought I was going to re-paint the house in all those saturated colors, so I put them back. I chickened out!

 

Some of the earth colors were amazing to me. Anita, when I looked at your first grouping of pictures by season, I really felt like they were mostly right where they belong. There was one or two I was unsure about. Truthfully though, I have the same issue when I'm buying clothing sometimes too. I found a sweater today and the color was nice and muted. It seemed to coordinate really well with a teal sweater that was a good earth color. I couldn't say it matched a card, but it felt warm and muted. A part of me wanted to call it a dusty aqua, almost.

 

I still need to take it out of the bag and try it on. It may look completely different to me at home with different lighting.

[aoknkentucky]

I feel your pain, Pam. I truly do.

 

I don't want to muddy the water more (oh yeah, pun there) but I have another exercise. I have lots more questions than answers when it comes to our colors. I submit that MAYBE we have more than one FIRE color wheel. Try this:

 

Dark: Haute Red, Tangerine Tango, Citrus, Green Flash, Peacock Blue(maybe not), Princess Blue, Dewberry and Navy Blue

 

Medium: Tender Shoots, Solar Power, Emerald, Blithe and Deep Periwinkle

 

Bright: Poppy Red, Nectarine, primrose Yellow, Jasmine Green and Pool Green

 

Light: Ecru, Apricot Ice, paradise Green and cockatoo

 

After reading Pam's post from Pantone, i came up with this. Its another version, sort of, of the first list I gave. I e just stated it differently. Maybe I'm still off track. Please, let me know. Do these separate wheels harmonize as Fire?

Edited August 25, 2013 by aoknkentucky

[Joby]

we will call this pantone #2 w/ color cards. Same photos just taken at 4 different angles/directions.

 

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=9233788028/a=14627401028_14627401028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

 

color chip names starting with browns:

 

bleached sand (looks maybe too gray?)

rain drum

 

citrus

 

tangerine tango

 

sweet lavender

dewberry

deep periwinkle

 

cockatoo

pool green

 

peacock blue

turkish tile

blithe

princess blue

 

jasmine green

green flash

 

nude

apricot ice

nectarine

 

barely blue

ecru

glass green

 

primrose yellow

solar power

[Joby]

and from my previous post, I think this is why we have started to rely so much upon our pictures.. and why the color parties that we did a while ago showed us such fantastic information.

 

I have a dirty little secret. I have never been able to use the Color Cards. I just have never developed the skill. I wish that I could.... but wishes don't make dreams come true. I just don't have the eye for it.

 

What I have been able to do... is to tell the effect that a particular color has on my skin tone... whether it "brightens" me or makes my skin appear to be more evenly toned and more golden than blotchy... if it diminishes the darker color under my eyes... if it makes some patchiness seem to smooth out... frankly, if it makes me look older or tired. (more tired). Anyway, I've been able to do that. So that's what I've been working with... and find that it works for me.

 

I thought that I'd be able to help with the color chips and I so WISH that I could get better about this... but I just... am about... to. give. up. on that idea. I think that I won't be able to get this methodology to work for me.

 

For example, I can't explain why the Otter works for me... but I've tried it again, and I know that it does. On its own, it looks like it has a yellow undertone, BUT I can get it to look like a gray undertone if I put it up against the Ralph Lauren brown wall that I have in the house. That Ralph Lauren wall is definitely a warm, golden brown... I searched high and low until I found it.

 

Puzzled. Frustrated. Pulling Out My Hair! Laughing. Cause at the end of the day, this is FUN.

 

Pam,

 

I think I'm just the opposite of you--I depend on my color cards and can never make up my mind when I try something on or it's next to my face. I can talk myself into or out of sooo easily when looking in the mirror. I also need more than a chip next to my face to tell ANYTHING. Usually, I can make a better call by looking at a color against my hair. If it seems to go with my hair, it seems to be a better choice for me???

 

I think that's why I'm so attached to my color cards and afraid to veer off the colors on it, because I don't have the confidence to just look in the mirror and go, "yeah, that looks good (or bad) unless it's an obvious choice like gray or black or white....

Edited August 25, 2013 by Joby

[Joby]

we will call this pantone #3.

 

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=9233879028/a=14627401028_14627401028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

 

it adds to the red/orange side:

 

poppy red (looks like it has pink in it?)

haute red

 

it adds to the grren chips:

 

macaw green

tender shoots

 

make any difference? thoughts?

Edited August 25, 2013 by Joby

[Joby]

Didn't CJW mention one time that the reason he used pantone colors on his cards was that they looked the same no matter what/where they were taken?

 

For instance, if I took my FIRE color cards and put them next to a piece of clothing and took a picture, both the card color and the clothing color would photograph the same? So, if it matched in that particular light, it would match in any other light the photo was taken in? I hope this makes sense, I'm not sure I'm writing it the way I'm thinking it :eek:

 

Good Lord, I've had to edit all my posts today!

Edited August 25, 2013 by Joby

[Joby]

ok, this grouping has some known clothing colors from places that were agreed upon were FIRE colors along w/ color chips and color cards.

 

the photos are all captioned--chico's, athleta, j.c. penny's, etc.

 

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=9232654028/a=14627401028_14627401028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

[snuggles]

Boy, have I got some catching up to do..been busy planning Alaska and Bahama trips, so neglected here...sor...rrrrr....ry!

[Joby]

Girls,

 

We're off the first page now :( what happened to our lively conversation? What did anyone think of the photos I last posted with some Pantone chips next to the FIRE color cards?

 

Any of you EARTH gals see anything we FIRE gals don't????

[laurspag]

Joby, I wanted to get all of the colors when I was in Lowe's yesterday, so that I could sort them out and look at your notes and the other comments people have made here. Unfortunately, they were out of a lot of the colors.

 

I quickly grabbed some colors that I thought were earth, and I will list them here. I will then go back through the comments here, and see how they line up.

 

I grabbed:

 

Oasis

Palm

Burnt orange

Chili

Picante

Bossa Nova

Fired brick (this one puzzled me a bit)

 

There were very little left, so I don't have the option of seeing the colors up close and in person. I think the ones I grabbed were all earth, as I don't see them in your group.

[MJC]

I feel your pain, Pam. I truly do.

 

... I submit that MAYBE we have more than one FIRE color wheel. Try this:

 

Dark: Haute Red, Tangerine Tango, Citrus, Green Flash, Peacock Blue(maybe not), Princess Blue, Dewberry and Navy Blue

 

Medium: Tender Shoots, Solar Power, Emerald, Blithe and Deep Periwinkle

 

Bright: Poppy Red, Nectarine, primrose Yellow, Jasmine Green and Pool Green

 

Light: Ecru, Apricot Ice, paradise Green and cockatoo

 

After reading Pam's post from Pantone, i came up with this. Its another version, sort of, of the first list I gave. I e just stated it differently. Maybe I'm still off track. Please, let me know. Do these separate wheels harmonize as Fire?

 

 

I think this is a great idea for helping to see color, which is very complex. I had written a long post after Pam's post about her down the rabbit hole exercise, about color theory blah blah and of course I lost it before I could post it. I will try to remember some of my thoughts.

 

First, and I hope I'm not misquoting the CJW quote, but two items in a Pantone color may always look true to the eye, and may match in a photo, but the color of that photo may be off when compared to real life. A camera "sees" differently than the eye and, especially on auto, may make color adjustments to create "balance" according to its own set of rules (you can see this in Anita's pictures where the color of her table doesn't stay true from photo to photo). For example, if you take a picture of a bunch of blue things, your camera will say "too much blue" and adjust to create a better balance. This is exactly what an underwater camera does to make your fish pictures come out better. To counteract these auto settings, you can learn to use the more advanced features, or you can simply add other colors to the photo to give the camera a better idea of what the balance should be. It also helps if you can take your pictures in full spectrum light (outdoors) against a white background.

 

A color will also affect perception of the colors around it. This is really what makes Curt's system so great and why we notice a difference in our skin if we are wearing the right or the wrong color. So, when Pam puts two chips next to each other and they look one way, and she puts one of the chips next to another and it looks different, that is a very natural phenomenon. There is a reason why museums put paintings on white walls, and why a white or black background may give you a truer color in your photographs. Color affects color.

 

Here is an interesting excerpt on color theory:

 

 

 

 

"most color effects are due to contrasts on three relative attributes that define all colors:

1. lightness (light vs. dark, or white vs. black),
   
2. saturation (intense vs. dull), and
   
3. hue (e.g., red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple).
   

Thus, the visual impact of "yellow" vs. "blue" hues in visual design depends on the relative lightness and intensity of the hues. "

 

So, to go back to the groupings in the CC post above, I think what is so helpful is that you have grouped them by categories 1. and 2. What I have noticed about my favorite EARTH colors is that any particular HUE has a range of both LIGHTNESS and SATURATION that works for me and gives my wardrobe some variety. If a garment edges just too far into saturated I am moving too far from muted to bright and away from EARTH and into FIRE territory. (I hate how they use the word "dull" in the quote above, I think "muted" is much more pleasant!) In the range of LIGHT to DARK I tend to have a preference for the darker EARTH colors, but that is just a preference. I think the spectrum of 1. and 2. is what was confusing to Pam when she was comparing just two similar chips, because one was always going to be lighter or darker, or more or less muted, than the other, even though both may have been FIRE.

 

I don't have a Lowe's near me, so I can't get my chips. :( I am enjoying all your pictures, though!

[Joby]

Joby, I wanted to get all of the colors when I was in Lowe's yesterday, so that I could sort them out and look at your notes and the other comments people have made here. Unfortunately, they were out of a lot of the colors.

 

I quickly grabbed some colors that I thought were earth, and I will list them here. I will then go back through the comments here, and see how they line up.

 

I grabbed:

 

Oasis

Palm

Burnt orange

Chili

Picante

Bossa Nova

Fired brick (this one puzzled me a bit)

 

There were very little left, so I don't have the option of seeing the colors up close and in person. I think the ones I grabbed were all earth, as I don't see them in your group.

 

Laurie,

 

I remember a few posts back when you talked about going into Lowe's with your DH and feeling odd collecting all of the Pantone chips. I had a similar feeling when I got all of mine too :o I did feel like a hoarder but, they are really a help when I have a bigger sample to look at and I can move them around unlike our color cards.

 

Did you compare the Pantone chips with your EARTH color card? If so, how did they compare?

[Joby]

I think this is a great idea for helping to see color, which is very complex. I had written a long post after Pam's post about her down the rabbit hole exercise, about color theory blah blah and of course I lost it before I could post it. I will try to remember some of my thoughts.

 

First, and I hope I'm not misquoting the CJW quote, but two items in a Pantone color may always look true to the eye, and may match in a photo, but the color of that photo may be off when compared to real life. A camera "sees" differently than the eye and, especially on auto, may make color adjustments to create "balance" according to its own set of rules (you can see this in Anita's pictures where the color of her table doesn't stay true from photo to photo). For example, if you take a picture of a bunch of blue things, your camera will say "too much blue" and adjust to create a better balance. This is exactly what an underwater camera does to make your fish pictures come out better. To counteract these auto settings, you can learn to use the more advanced features, or you can simply add other colors to the photo to give the camera a better idea of what the balance should be. It also helps if you can take your pictures in full spectrum light (outdoors) against a white background.

 

A color will also affect perception of the colors around it. This is really what makes Curt's system so great and why we notice a difference in our skin if we are wearing the right or the wrong color. So, when Pam puts two chips next to each other and they look one way, and she puts one of the chips next to another and it looks different, that is a very natural phenomenon. There is a reason why museums put paintings on white walls, and why a white or black background may give you a truer color in your photographs. Color affects color.

 

Here is an interesting excerpt on color theory:

 

 

 

 

"most color effects are due to contrasts on three relative attributes that define all colors:

1. lightness (light vs. dark, or white vs. black),
   
2. saturation (intense vs. dull), and
   
3. hue (e.g., red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple).
   

Thus, the visual impact of "yellow" vs. "blue" hues in visual design depends on the relative lightness and intensity of the hues. "

 

So, to go back to the groupings in the CC post above, I think what is so helpful is that you have grouped them by categories 1. and 2. What I have noticed about my favorite EARTH colors is that any particular HUE has a range of both LIGHTNESS and SATURATION that works for me and gives my wardrobe some variety. If a garment edges just too far into saturated I am moving too far from muted to bright and away from EARTH and into FIRE territory. (I hate how they use the word "dull" in the quote above, I think "muted" is much more pleasant!) In the range of LIGHT to DARK I tend to have a preference for the darker EARTH colors, but that is just a preference. I think the spectrum of 1. and 2. is what was confusing to Pam when she was comparing just two similar chips, because one was always going to be lighter or darker, or more or less muted, than the other, even though both may have been FIRE.

 

I don't have a Lowe's near me, so I can't get my chips. :( I am enjoying all your pictures, though!

 

Too bad you can't get the Pantone chips. If you want, I could go to Lowe's and get them and mail them to you, it wouldn't be a problem at all :) You could join in and physically do the puzzle playing too.

 

I just don't have the understanding of color that you and Anita seem to have. I just try to match and see if it is warm undertoned and clear. I struggle with even those two things! Every time I think I'm getting a handle and a better "eye" for FIRE colors, something pops in and undermines my confidence. I also don't have the fashion sense that many of you have AND the ability to accessorize either. But, I am who I am and my "style" fits in with my personality and lifestyle :eek: I've often thought of doing the style statement exercises that some of you did a while back but, I don't want to invest that much time doing it. I'm more like a 20 minute quiz taker and see the results right then.

 

Thanks for the detailed info.

[aoknkentucky]

Well, Ladies, this has been one wild and crazy week so I feel like I’ve been off the grid for weeks and weeks!!!

 

Kim, I don’t dare chime in about whether I think your Pantone chips are right or wrong, because I’m so lacking in confidence myself. Whether it’s because it is so stinking hard for me to find my colors or because I’m so late to the party, I struggle. And, I struggle mightily! I wonder if FIRE ladies are prone to have more trouble figuring out their best colors? It would be interesting to have CJW weigh in on the percentages of which season category most often asks for help. I think it might be us, because I think that very few individuals naturally gravitate to our bright and clear colors. I’ve personally always liked EARTH colors. I still do, but I’ve proved to myself with photos that unless I want to look GRAY as death, I should avoid muted colors at all costs!!! (I agree with Margaret that muted sounds much better than dull.)

 

Margaret, thank you so much for your post about saturation, hue, etc. You shed more light on the subject for me. If I read your reply correctly, you thought my wheel combinations were ok? I ask because my confidence level concerning the FIRE color chart is so far below any national averages we might create.

 

Black and white are no problem. I know to just skip them. The elusive FIRE gray—forget about ever finding it! I have owned one pair of FIRE gray pants, but they became too large last year. I meant to keep them for color reference, but I’m pretty sure they are long gone now. Emerald turquoise and our FIRE purples are the colors I have the least confidence in finding. I’m unable to see any yellow tone to the emerald on my color chart so I second-guess myself. Purple is my favorite color and I love every purple I see, so I question whether I’m ever choosing FIRE purple. I am most confident about red, peach, turquoise, and green. If I can see yellow in the color and determine that it isn’t muted, I conclude it must be FIRE. Some of Kim’s colors are too pastel for me personally, so I avoid them. My questions is: Why do the EARTH gals always find FIRE colors and all I ever find are EARTH colors?

 

I’m not confident choosing FIRE colors, but I’ve made peace with my system of deducing whether the color is clear and bright enough for me. I don’t like being unsure of myself and I knew that it would drive me crazy if I didn’t get a handle on this! I don’t take my CJW chart with me like Kim. In fact, I had to think long and hard to locate it to make our Pantone comparisons. I don’t really hold the color near my face like Pam does either. If I’m on the fence about a color, I take it home and put it with several FIRE items I already have. Does it blend or is it a stranger in bright and clear land? If I take a picture of me in my cream-colored bathroom, does my face turn gray? If my face turns gray, it is EARTH, and it goes back to the store. For some reason, I can’t hold it near my face in a dressing room and see the gray. I need the camera to point it out for me if I’m on the fence about it. My way is simple and it may not work every time, but I’ve made my peace with that system.

 

I’m trying to call a moratorium on clothes purchases. I have two items on my Fall/Winter list. I want a perfect-for-me cognac leather jacket and matching leather knee-high boots. I’ve looked for two years. I am determined to only buy “perfect-for-me”. I have plenty of “ok” items already in my closet. What I NEED to do is take inventory, purge and determine IF I actually NEED anything else brought in my house. Our children are starting to say we are hoarders. Just for the record, DH and I are not hoarders. (Emphatically, she states this!) I do, however, have an issue letting go of things that have meaning and we have lots and lots of meaningful things in our house. Earlier this summer, Linda talked about cleaning out the attic. I’ve always said DD would just back up a semi-trailer dumpster to our house and start pitching if anything ever happened to me. So, why don’t I just start now and save her the trouble? It’s something she can do while she’s remembering all the good times we shared while she grew up in our house! (GREAT BIG SMILEY FACE GOES HERE!!!)

 

P.S. Kim, I didn't spend 20 minutes on the style statement exercise, but I didn't spend days and days on it either. I answered the question with my first inclination and moved on. I was too impatient to see the results to spend extra pondering time and I think my result was correct. I did, however, put my answers on a separate piece of paper so I can retake the test at a later time.