Color Harmony #3: Subtle Blended (summer)

Color Archetype #2: Lively Bright (Sp... Color Harmony #4: Earthy Rich

Color Harmony #3: Subtle Blended (summer)

Grace Kelly

The colors in the palette of someone with Subtle Blended coloring reflect the softness and ease we associate with summer. That description “subtle blended” says it all. (Hat tip to artist Judy LaMar who came up with the name for this color Harmony.)

Nicole Kidman

The Subtle Blended palette colors are not “in-your-face.” They are gentle. But woe be the person who has it as their primary color Harmony. The fashion industry hardly recognizes you. (Sorry, but it must be said.)

That’s because they are the rarest of color types. The good news is that they are unique. The bad news is that they have to hunt around a bit to find things in their colors. Add to that the qualities of their ideal textiles (iridescent, opalescent, shimmering) and their style design lines (cascading, draped, s-curved, ovals) and you’re looking at sheer clothes that work best in the summer and for more elegant occasions. Think: afternoon weddings.

I personally think that’s why a lot of Subtle Blended women in the entertainment industry dye their hair either platinum or black. Maybe it helps them to be cast beyond what the delicacy of their coloring would suggest. Still, you’ll find redheads, brunettes,and blondes among the summer color types.

Tilda Swinton

Tilda Blonde The terms John Kitchener uses to describe Subtle Blended types are glowing, fluid, and multi-faceted. It’s the most meditative of all the color harmonies. It lacks hard edges. That means you won’t find any strong contrast in these palettes. These colors seem to, well, blend together subtly. We’ve already described Tilda Swinton as an Angelic archetype. In coloring she is also subtle blended, regardless of whether her hair is platinum or its natural reddish.

Joan Cusack

One of my very favorite Subtle Bended types is Joan Cusack. I have loved her J Cusack WG since she appeared in Working Girl wearing this wonderfully wild 80’s makeup and hair (on the right.) Her true persona clearly reflects the very iridescent and pearl-like qualities of a Subtle Blended (on the left). And she definitely can wear pearls well.

But don’t mistake the gentle looks of a Subtle Blended person for weakness. On the contrary, they tend to be very strong individuals. Case in point, Lady Gaga. Yes, Lady Gaga is a Subtle Blended. And the photo of her wearing this green leather jacket is a good demonstration of that. Colors that are grayed-down are best worn by Subtle Blendeds, as is this green. Gaga in Green

Lady Gaga

Gaga has the typical SB’s oval-shaped face. Although she has gone from brunette to platinum, you don’t get the sense that this is a “tough” person. Strong, yes, but not edgy in the way a Striking Contrast color type is. Although both are considered “cool” color types, SC colors are saturated; SB colors are, as we said, subtle and blended.

So – full disclosure. I have a bad case of “Subtle Blended envy.” I just find it such a refined and delicate palette (I have only 10%.) When I have made shopping mistakes it’s often because I was hypnotized into buying something in SB, which is my tertiary color harmony. I say that as a cautionary tale. We have to be careful to pay respect to our true, primary coloring, as it best reflects who we are. As one of my favorite memes goes: appreciating someone else’s beauty does not diminish our own.

How much Subtle Blended do you have? Write me at andrea@shoppingfortherealyou.com.

[Note: Amazon has only a few dozen copies of the beautifully-printed first edition of Shopping for the Real You. We won’t be doing another run at that quality. AND, they’re now discounted 20% – the next edition will, unfortunately have to be 20% more. If you have been thinking of buying it for yourself or as a gift, I encourage you to do so quickly as the inventory is going pretty fast.]

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