Tabitha Dumas

A lesson in contrast. Are you wearing the right prints?

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Have you ever seen a beautiful blouse walk into the room and then notice there was a woman wearing it? Or have you admired a perfectly put-together outfit and wondered, “How did she do that??” It often comes down to the art of contrast. I offer you…

A lesson in contrast.

Every woman has a certain amount of contrast between her skin, eyes and hair.

You might have noticed that some ladies “pop” in zebra print while it overpowers others. Or you’ve wondered why a certain floral blouse looks fabulous on your best friend but does nothing for you. 

It’s about contrast.

I consider myself a “medium contrast” which is why this outfit works well for me. The orange/blue/white is a medium contrast combination. Paler or darker colors would make me seem unbalanced.

A lesslon in contrast- low, medium and high
A lesson in contrast: me in medium contrast as a DEEP
As you can see below, low contrast means that the hair and skin blend into each other. High contrast means there is a sharp different between the skin and hair.

My LIGHT ladies are often low…and my CLEAR ladies are often high.

SOFT, DEEP, WARM and COOL are commonly medium. Most women are, in fact, medium contrast.

If you’re wondering whether YOU are a LIGHT, CLEAR, SOFT, DEEP, WARM OR COOL Color Code, you can read more here OR find out when you Discover Your Signature Color or take advantage of Phoenix Color Analysis, now available virtually as well.

A lesson in scale and contrast from tabithadumas.com

How does this extend to what you wear?

It’s important to choose PRINTS that complement your level of contrast. If you have low-contrast coloring, wear a low-contrast print. If you have high-contrast coloring, wear high-contrast prints. 

This is a visual of what I mean from my Polyvore account. Notice how the intensity increases.

b6e9be833b70735a887fa121eece2b11

Here are examples of contrast done correctly.

The blond with fair skin and light eyes (a LIGHT) is wearing a low-contrast print. The SOFT in the middle is wearing a medium-contrast print and it also creates a medium contrast between the print and the solid. Our CLEAR beauty on the right is wearing a high-contrast polka dot, and even high-contrast red lips!

A lesslon in contrast- low, medium and high

Technically, low-contrast ladies can wear low to medium contrast prints. High-contrast ladies can wear medium to high contrast prints. The medium gals can have fun experimenting.

~~NEW!~~ Contrast for polka dots depending on your Color Code. Notice LIGHT gals should wear a low contrast polka dot in a LIGHT outfit. SOFT gals can wear medium contrast (white with black would also work as long as the proportions were the same). CLEAR can go high contrast with the pieces of the outfit.

polka dots for your color code and a lesson in contrast levels from Tabitha Dumas Phoenix image consultant

This is me as a Deep Color Code wearing a medium contrast polka dot that is deeper over all than if it were white with black.

Lesson in contrast from Tabitha Dumas Signature Color Style Phoenix Image Consultant

The same concept also extends to your outfits.

YES, there are low-contrast and high-contrast outfits!

Below are examples of those “put-together women” who are doing contrast correctly. Again, the contrast of their prints…AND how the print contrasts to their solids…coordinate with their coloring. Even the shoes are the right contrast! Amazing, isn’t it?!

A lesslon in contrast- low, medium and high

Here are more examples of outfits with the correct levels of contrast. 

Notice the contrast in each models’ coloring, and how they accessorize.

A lesson in contrast. Low, medium and high. Which one are you- from tabithadumas.com, image consultant3
All outfits are from Chico’s

This is something to keep in mind when you’re shopping or getting pictures done.

Wearing the right level of contrast in your prints and outfits keeps the attention on your beautiful face.

This is another outfit that suits my medium intensity coloring because it has medium contrast. A softer print (or a strong zebra) print just wouldn’t work as well. 

A lesslon in contrast- low, medium and high
A lesson in contrast: me in medium contrast as a DEEP

I hope you enjoyed this lesson in contrast!

What do you think? Are you wearing prints and outfits that work for your coloring? 

Are you ready for more like this??

Read on about scale and proportion.

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Comments

  1. I just love your site Tabitha and today I received my signature color. I’m going to have some fun with coral this spring!
    I linked to your site in my blog today. It is a health and well being blog with little changes for our body, mind and spirit. Today we were focusing on feeling good and having fun with fashion!
    I hope some of my readers stop by and see and read your amazing tips! We Christian women need your kind of encouragement!
    Keep it up! May God bless you richly!

    Reply

  11. I have noticed that in video cameras, exceptional detectors help to {focus|concentrate|maintain focus|target|a**** automatically. These sensors with some cameras change in contrast, while others use a beam involving infra-red (IR) light, particularly in low lumination. Higher standards cameras often use a mixture of both techniques and may have Face Priority AF where the photographic camera can ‘See’ some sort of face while focusing only upon that. Many thanks for sharing your thinking on this site.

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  12. I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. kudos

    Reply

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