Karla: a “Dusk Summer”

Karla is the sixth client we (personal stylist Margo Passadore and I) took to Nordstrom in downtown Portland for a “Before and After” photo shoot. She is a marketing manager at a large hospital system in Portland, and also a gardener, runner and cook. She’ll do her 10th Hood-to-Coast race this year.

As a professional woman in this more casual age, she wears a lot of separates she can mix and match. As a Dusk Summer, one of the darkest and highest contrast of the Summer types (think Andie McDowell), her palette is both grayed down and shaded with black, but she can also combine light and dark colors to echo her level of contrast. Cream is Karla’s “white” and navy or wine are her most flattering versions of “black.”

Karla’s “Before and Afters”

Before I (above, left)

Her wide hips are exaggerated with the front tucked shirt that drapes over her hips, and the skinny pants and much narrower lower leg. [Note, however, that these two tricks can work in your favor if you have a rectangular or inverted triangle body shape.]
The splashy print top and the magenta pants are too bright for her more subdued coloring.
Dark busy sandals draw attention to her feet and make her look shorter

After (above, middle)

The top is navy, not black as it might seem in the photo.
The boat neck of the top and sleeve hem at chest level helps create width at shoulders and bust to balance her hips
The viewer’s eye always goes to contrast and horizontal lines, which works in her favor here because the contrast is placed at her waist, which is small.
The white boot cut pants have a slimming seam down the front, visually lengthening her legs. A boot cut also balances the width of her hips. [Note: the fabric is thick enough that her undies don’t show through – often an issue with white garments.]
The metallic shoe is a great neutral, which blends with the pants and doesn’t chop off the long leg line.

After (above, right)

The wine color of her blouse is another flattering dark neutral for Karla, and its V-neck frames her face and draws your eye up. Because the top and pants are a similar dark value, the eye perceives one long slimming line.
The sleeves are an excellent length for anyone who wants to cover their upper arms. In Karla’s case they end at her slim waist.
While the pants are tapered, they aren’t tight and the fabric has movement. The top floats nicely over her hips and comes in at the waist giving her an hourglass shape so the tapered pant isn’t problematic. (These fabric details are hard to see in this photo.)

Before II (left and middle)

See comments from the first “before” photo of magenta pants, PLUS

The length of the sweater overpowers her, and worse, from the back her butt looks huge and her legs like little stubs. [Note: view your backside in the mirror before buying anything!]
With an untucked top and long sweater she looks short and wider almost all the way to her feet. The sweater’s hip-side pockets only add to the width.

After (above, right)

V-neck blouse and sweater create a nice line and draw your eye up towards her face. Tucking in the blouse shows that she has a waist, which looks smaller because only a few inches are showing across the front.
The soft pattern of the top and the light-weight sweater are both appropriate in a business environment – the sweater provides coverage without being too warm. The cardigan’s vertical opening and angling adds length and the soft drape adds a feminine touch, especially good for a Summer.
A pencil skirt works well not to add more volume on the bottom of a triangle, however, it must be bought to fit your widest part, then other parts altered to take them in, making sure the fabric doesn’t pull, creating lines. The fabric should be heavy enough to lie flat.
Again, neutral color shoes keep her feet from being another line and shortening her legs.

If you enjoyed this post, and missed the first seven, read them here:

If you have questions or are considering your own color analysis, I’d love to hear from you: 360-903-3659, or email me here.

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