The scientists who dealt with the topic “colour” already in former centuries included colour recommendations for clothing in their theories. The author and colour-theoretician Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) made reference to colours in clothing in his book “On the theory of colours”. The Swiss painter and arts pedagogue Johannes Itten (1888-1967) showed in an experiment with his students that everyone prefers those colours in painting that are most advantageous for them regarding their clothing. He is considered the founder of colour type theory.
Colour consultation is hence not completely new. In the 1940s, the American Suzanne Caygill developed a system of colour consultation, the general features of which are still valid today: the distribution into the four season types spring, summer, autumn and winter. These four types, however, were only a basic framework for Suzanne Caygill. She divided every skin type into many different subtypes and also included a person’s charisma, voice and posture, next to the colour scheme, when allocating a type. In order to determine the colour scheme, the colour of the skin, eyes and hair were mixed precisely in oil colours. These were then the basis for the selection of the suitable fabric colours.
Suzanne Caygill allocated the following key qualities to the colours of the respective season:
Spring: clarity
Summer: softness
Autumn: satiety
Winter: contrast
This description makes it clear that this system is very individual but also very complex. Suzanne Caygill herself trained only few students.
It was another American who made colour consulting more popular and accessible to everyone: Carol Jackson. She founded the international corporation “Color me Beautiful”. Carole Jackson reduced Suzanne Caygill’s system to the four basic types of the seasons, mixed types were not included at the beginning. She held pieces of fabric in different colours next to a person’s face in order to allocate a type. When it’s the “right” colour, the skin seems smoother and “healthier” and the eyes shine. When it’s the “wrong” colour, however, the face seems pale, skin blemishes and wrinkles become more pronounced.
Carole Jackson used the following words to characterize the season types:
Spring: clear, warm (yellow), fresh
Summer: blue, pink, soft
Autumn: warm, rich, earth- and gold-coloured
Winter: clear, blue, lively, icy, bright
Carole Jackson’s method is still being used by most colour consultants, just the way her simplified system of the four seasons is still the most widespread. The corporation “Color me Beautiful” repeatedly extended and added to this colour consultation system, mixed types were included, and eventually the reference to seasons was dropped completely.
Very different colour consultation systems have been developed over the last few decades. In the end, they all aim at making the individual person’s charisma shine.
The scientists who dealt with the topic “colour” already in former centuries included colour recommendations for clothing in their theories. The author and colour-theoretician Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) made reference to colours in clothing in his book “On the theory of colours”. The Swiss painter and arts pedagogue Johannes Itten (1888-1967) showed in an experiment with his students that everyone prefers those colours in painting that are most advantageous for them regarding their clothing. He is considered the founder of colour type theory.
Colour consultation is hence not completely new. In the 1940s, the American Suzanne Caygill developed a system of colour consultation, the general features of which are still valid today: the distribution into the four season types spring, summer, autumn and winter. These four types, however, were only a basic framework for Suzanne Caygill. She divided every skin type into many different subtypes and also included a person’s charisma, voice and posture, next to the colour scheme, when allocating a type. In order to determine the colour scheme, the colour of the skin, eyes and hair were mixed precisely in oil colours. These were then the basis for the selection of the suitable fabric colours.
Suzanne Caygill allocated the following key qualities to the colours of the respective season:
Spring: clarity
Summer: softness
Autumn: satiety
Winter: contrast
This description makes it clear that this system is very individual but also very complex. Suzanne Caygill herself trained only few students.
It was another American who made colour consulting more popular and accessible to everyone: Carol Jackson. She founded the international corporation “Color me Beautiful”. Carole Jackson reduced Suzanne Caygill’s system to the four basic types of the seasons, mixed types were not included at the beginning. She held pieces of fabric in different colours next to a person’s face in order to allocate a type. When it’s the “right” colour, the skin seems smoother and “healthier” and the eyes shine. When it’s the “wrong” colour, however, the face seems pale, skin blemishes and wrinkles become more pronounced.
Carole Jackson used the following words to characterize the season types:
Spring: clear, warm (yellow), fresh
Summer: blue, pink, soft
Autumn: warm, rich, earth- and gold-coloured
Winter: clear, blue, lively, icy, bright
Carole Jackson’s method is still being used by most colour consultants, just the way her simplified system of the four seasons is still the most widespread. The corporation “Color me Beautiful” repeatedly extended and added to this colour consultation system, mixed types were included, and eventually the reference to seasons was dropped completely.
Very different colour consultation systems have been developed over the last few decades. In the end, they all aim at making the individual person’s charisma shine.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Colour and Image Consulting
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