Range of colors best suited for a “Winter”.
SEASON TICKETS House of Colour can help you determine the best hues for you. Written by Bridget Williams / Photos by Molly Sensenbrenner Though you may recall having gone to a color analysis house party in the 80s, a brief cottage industry inspired by Carole Jackson’s book “Color Me Beautiful”, the seeds of the movement were planted much earlier by German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). He created “color psychology” after realizing the connections between different colors. Swiss painter Johannes Itten took things a step further when he proposed that portraits look better when certain colors were used in conjunction with specific hair and skin tones. Itten devised four seasonal color palettes used by his Bauhaus students to create more aesthetically pleasing portraits. In the silver screen era, the transition from black and white to color films signaled a marked interest in color analysis, when the hue of an actor’s costume became an essential tool in character interpretation. This brief history lesson underscores that there are reams of scientific and anecdotal evidence that thoughtful wardrobe color choices can literally help us put our best face forward. So, if “all the world’s a stage,” as Shakespeare wrote, I thought it best to overhaul my personal costume department by seeking out the services of Meghan Tinker, who along with her business partner Nikki Snow, have established House of Colour (HOC) franchises in Louisville, Indianapolis, and Nashville. Founded in the UK more than three decades ago, HOC is well-known for delivering accurate color and style analysis. Meghan, who greeted me at her door with a bright smile and an even brighter 76 slmag.net
pink jacket (that looked fabulous on her), has a strong background in sales and entrepreneurship, said she’s always been interested in fashion. Through her decade-plus of work with Stella & Dot, she had numerous clients ask for style help, which piqued her interest in honing her sartorial skills with more formal education and ultimately led her to discover the HOC via Instagram. “I’d heard of seasonal colors and did online color quizzes like everyone has, but it was their before-and-after pictures that really made the difference,” said Meghan. She added that the extensive onsite training she received from HOC and the emphasis on individual consultations really sets the company apart. Working out of a light-filled studio in her home, Meghan offers personalized and small group color analysis and style services. I dipped my toes into the rainbow with a two-hour color analysis session. Meghan began by briefly discussing the history of color analysis before moving on to applying the principles. I sat facing a mirror, and after pulling my hair away from my makeup-free face, Meghan moved around a circular rack containing 300+ scarves and began layering a few dozen on my shoulders. There was no dog-andpony show needed to see, as she whisked one after the other from my shoulders, how my skin and eyes reacted—from dull to dynamic— in response to the color laid below. Lines and shadows appeared and then faded away with the next scarf. Similarly, my eyes seemed to magically morph from brown to green.
