Friday 10 April 2015

Project 333 - á la 7 Steps to Style

It's April and I know that I should have been sorting out my Spring 33, but I've been too busy trying to summarise my 7 Steps to Style journey. This hasn't been an easy task, mainly because Imogen's system contains so much amazingly helpful information!

I now know that I'm an Enigmatic, which means that my best colours are warm, smoky and deep. Out of the 52 colours in my swatch, I have nine signature colours and another nine enhancers.  I have shown these in the photo below, and obviously these will be my best colours when shopping, but there are loads of other possibilities out there and all I need to do is check that they blend with my swatch.

When buying clothes I also need to bear in mind that I'm an H shape as well as being petite and that I have combination features, so outfits with purely curved lines or straight lines won't suit me as much as a mixture. My lifestyle is mainly casual now that I have retired, which I have to admit suits my style personality perfectly!

If you're wondering what the Spring 33 mentioned above refers to, I am also taking part in Project 333. As part of this I have selected a wardrobe of 33 items of clothing, shown below, to cover the 3 months of Spring.  At the moment it's not particularly warm where we live in Spain, plus we are visiting London next week, so I have included a few warmer clothes that hopefully will be packed away before the end of June!

 

 

 



My style recipe has evolved since I started 7 Steps in November last year and currently it is "Colourful casual chic, with a little bit quirky and a Parisian influence", which may (or may not!) be the final version. I think it is patently obvious when you look at my wardrobe above though that colourful and casual are very much an integral part of my style.

I  have several greens and blues in my swatch, as well as reds, pink, purple, coral and teal (plus a few colours I'm not so keen on), so that makes me happy. My best neutrals are charcoal and chocolate brown, navy is another option and, although I shouldn't wear black on my top half, there is a pair of black jeans in my Spring 33 because they are a flattering fit on me and too new to throw away! I can't afford to replace my whole wardrobe so will gradually phase the wrong colours and styles out. Project 333 will be a great help in this respect.

Talking about 33, I only show 32 items of clothing here.  This will allow me to add a dress for any smart events that may occur over the next couple of months. Obviously I hope to pack away my winter coat, long sleeved tops and jeans once the weather warms up and will replace them with lighter tops and trousers. For those of you who think this wardrobe may be a bit limiting, there are nineteen tops shown here and four neutral bottoms, which gives you seventy six different outfits. The skirt can be worn with several of the tops plus add in a cardigan or jacket for cooler days or with the short-sleeved tops and I should be able to wear a different combination every day for the next three months.

Before I go, I should confess that I am bending a few rules here. Strictly speaking my 33 items for each season of Project 333 should include shoes and accessories, but I have excluded those and allow myself 33 items of clothing. Following the 7 Steps of Style I discovered that I am high value contrast and low colour contrast so I look my best in monochromatic outfits - but you know how much I love colour, so that is another rule I occasionally bend!



8 comments:

  1. Hi Sue. An ongoing follower of your blog here. Your colors are beautiful and I'm enjoying watching the process of your pulling it all together. I know you dipped into DYT for a time and was typed a Spring? I haven't seen a post on your leaving their system and would be interested to hear any conclusions on your experience there vs what you've found now.
    Thanks,
    Anita

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  2. Hi Anita.

    Thanks for your comments. I'm always grateful for suggestions on blog posts, so I'll make a note to write one about DYT vs 7 Steps to Style. Yes, I was typed as a Spring (I even had a confirmation from Carol when I made a video call during one of the on-line discussions!) I then went for a colour consultation where I was typed as a Jewel Winter (plus Natural Gamine) and finally followed the 7 Steps to Style system, where I discovered that I am Enigmatic,

    More to follow!

    Sue

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  3. Sue,
    Interesting. I'll be looking forward to your follow up. What is Enigmatic in the color world? Does it translate over to seasons? I'm not familiar with the 7 Steps to Style system although I follow Imogene and Inside Out Style Blog.
    Thanks for your reply!
    Warmly
    Anita

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  4. Hi Anita

    Enigmatic is warm, smoky and deep so the closest season is Autumn. I've just returned from a holiday visiting friends and family in the UK, so once I've caught up with emails I'll be writing a few posts.

    Warm regards.

    Sue

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