In the world of fashion advice, there is plenty of good, no shortage of bad, and an abundance that makes little to no sense. In the case of the latter camp, I've always placed the supposed rule that redhead shouldn't wear the colour red.
Granted, if you have extremely pink undertones to your skin, red can sometimes bring them to the surface all the more, but even then a cool red with strong blue notes to it should be safe as safe can be for you to wear.
I'm not a natural redhead (and I don't just mean because I'm a wig wearer). As a child my hair was Scandinavian blonde and rather pretty, however by puberty it had morphed into the most dull, unattractive shade of mousy light brown you'd ever seen and by the age of 16, I'd begun to colour my locks. The first box of hair dye I ever bought was a vibrant red from Clairol's budget-friendly Herbal Essences line. Though the shade was a touch loud, I admit, I knew instantly once I saw the results in the mirror that I'd found my hair colour and that longings that I'd had to be a redhead my whole life were not in vain!
Though I did dabble in other hair colours over the years, and may very well again (last year I was in a blonde mood, this year - much to Tony's delight I'm sure, as he rather fancies brunettes - I'm feeling a warm, vibrant shade of brown), but more often than not for the past (nearly) 15 years of my life, I've had either red or auburn hair and I've worn red fashions on regular basis that whole time.
In fact, as person after person kept mentioning to me in their comments here last in year in particular, it seems as though red has become my unofficial signature colour over the years and I rather love that fact.
A powerful, bold, romantic, strong, classic, regal and even alluring hue, red can be gentle or wild, sophisticated or sexy, luscious (like a strawberry) or understated (think a cool burgundy). It goes with so very many other colours that it more than earns itself the title of being a quasi-neutral. I wear red with navy, green, black, mustard, teal, turquoise, pink, brown, white, grey, denim blue, cream, purple - really, come to think if it, there are rather few colours that I don't partner it with.
{A small selection of some of the many, many outfits featuring or including red that I've worn here on my blog in recent years. Though I do tend to gravitate most towards red during the icy winter months and then again come the sizzling hot days of summer, I truly wear red all year around and have no qualms with calling it my signature colour at this point in my life.}
I have red shoes, red bags, red jewelry, red scarves, red hair accessories, a red snood, and all kinds of red cosmetics (with red lipstick being my go-to shade all year round). Red is kind to my pale skin with its subtle pink notes, as well as to my green eyes which seem to pop all the more when in its prescience. Red makes me feel alive and elegant, feminine and stylish.
Interestingly, and I don't think that this is a coincidence, red is also the "parent" form of my all-time favourite colour: pink. It is, in many respects, the more "grown up", if you will, version of pink so the fact that I gravitate towards it so much does not surprise me in the slightest. I didn't intentionally set out to make red my signature colour, but over the years, perhaps because of the positive feedback that I often received when I wore it, I've done just that and suspect that it will always be one the most frequently worn hues in my wardrobe - no matter what shade my hair is.
Last September I chatted about the importance of colour in your wardrobe (vintage or contemporary), as it's a subject that has resonated deeply with me on the fashion front. Even when I'm in the mood for dark, goth-like fashions, I don't eschew colour. I just let it hang out in my closet until the next time I wake up and feel like I'm in the mood to sport a rainbow again.
Though one certainly does not have to by any means, I think there's a lot of merit to uncovering and then proudly wearing your own signature colour (or two). Some good hints to follow when determining your own signature colour(s) is as follows:
-Do you like and look good in more shades of a given colour than not?
-Do you receive a lot of compliments when you wear this colour?
-Do people often stop and ask you where you got that (insert name of garment or accessory) when you're wearing it in a certain colour?
-Does this colour compliment and highlight your skin, hair and eye tones?
-Do you feel self-conscious or right at home in this colour?
-If for some utterly bizarre reason you could only wear two or three colours again for the rest of your life, would you be happy to select this colour as one of your choices?
-Do you already own a lot of this colour or would need to go on a shopping spree in order to fill your wardrobe with it?
-Do you enjoy wearing both clothing and accessories in this colour?
-Does this colour have any strong significance to you on personal level?
-Is this colour associated with anything positive or negative in your culture and/or faith?
-If you wear vintage styles, does this colour tend to call to mind the decade(s) that you sport most often?
-Do you feel like you can easily mix and match this colour with others that you enjoy wearing?
-If you asked your best friend/significant other/mother/etc what they thought your signature colour was, is there a good chance that they'd say this one?
{Legendary fashion editor - and highly opinionated stylista if ever there were - Diana Vreeland was very well known for making red her signature colour. As seen in this photo, she even decked out her entire living room in shads or ruby, crimson, vermilion, cherry, and poppy - to name but a few. You certainly don't have to take your signature colour to that level, but you're more than welcome to, if your heart so desires. Image source.}
If the answer to most or all of these questions in "yes", than chances are, my dear, that you have struck upon at least one of your signature colours and that it embracing it further will only stand to serve you well on the sartorial front.
Though this might seem rather obvious, I do want to state for the record that a signature colour is not a uniform and that you do not have to wear it every day by any stretch of the imagination. By the same token, your signature colour does not even have to be your favourite colour (in this order, my favourite colours are pink, burgundy, turquoise/aqua, teal, and pine green). In fact, you may find that you use it more as accent hue as part of a larger signature colour palette or simply your wardrobe as a whole.
Your signature colour can change over time or you can put it on a shelf, so to speak, and pick it up here and there as you please. What sets it (or them) apart is that you know, boom!, that's my colour. I love it and it loves me. I know that even on those days when I stand in my closet and feel like I have nothing to wear, I'm not happy with some element of my appearance, I'm in a foul mood, I'm sick, I'm tired, I'm in between personal styles at the moment, whatever it may be, this colour is going to be a beckon of fashion hope to me in an otherwise (temporarily) dark moment.
Embrace your signature colour. Make it your own and be known for it. Out of all the shades and hues, tones and variants in the rainbow, this is the one that you've carved out a special place for in your heart and outfits alike. Rock your signature colour, find new and exciting ways to weave it into your wardrobe, and always remember that it's there for you when you need to ensure that you look like a million stylish dollars.
