Choosing the Best Prints for Your Coloring and Body Type

Prints are fun, and beautiful prints are everywhere right now. However, the wrong colors in a print, or the wrong print for your body type, can look worse than the wrong solid color. You need to pick the right prints.

One quick way to determine what colors you should wear is to look at the veins on your wrist.

If your veins look blue, your skin tone is cool. If your veins look aqua, your skin tone is warm.

Another test is to look at yourself in a mirror in natural sunlight and drape two pieces of scarf-sized fabric, one orange and one royal purple, loosely around your neck one at a time.

People with warm skin tones will look vibrant with the orange fabric next to their face but gray and ghostly with the purple one.

People with cool tones will look vibrant with the purple fabric next to their skin but jaundiced and ill with the orange fabric.

Determining whether your skin tones are warm or cool is the first step in choosing the right colors. The next step is to consider your natural hair color and your eye color.  

If your skin tones are warm and your natural hair color is strawberry blonde or a light shade of red while your eyes are a lighter shade of blue, green, or brown, your color season is spring. You will look best in the lighter, brighter shades of citrus colors, yellows, oranges, lime, chartreuse, aqua, and neutrals like ecru and light beige.

If your skin tones are warm and your natural hair color is a darker shade of red while your eyes are a darker shade of green or a tawny brown, your color season is autumn. You will look best in the autumn colors of dark or burnt orange, rust, olive, moss green, teal, mustard yellow, and golden brown.

If your skin tones are cool and your natural hair color is light brown or blonde while your eyes are a lighter brown or blue, your color season is summer. You will look best in pastel or lighter brighter shades of blue, pink, violet, and true greens or blue-greens, and in winter white and light grays.

If your skin tones are cool and your natural hair color is black or a darker shade of brown while your eyes are a darker shade of brown or blue, your color season is winter. You will look best in rich jewel tones such as sapphire, royal blue, amethyst, royal purple, true reds, cranberry, wine-colored reds like burgundy, ruby reds, fuchsia, true greens, emerald, forest green, pine greens, taupe, black-browns, gray, pure black, and white.

When you’re shopping for clothes, look for prints in which your season colors predominate.

Your body type determines whether you should buy print tops or print skirts and slacks and whether the print should be large or small, bright or muted. The general goal is to create balance.

If you have the hourglass figure of the T-type, you already have balance. You can safely wear a print dress or a print top and skirt with a contrasting belt to accent your waist. However, you will tend to put on weight evenly over your entire figure. If you have gained weight, you may want to choose a smaller print or muted print rather than a large or bright one.

Those with A-type figures have broad shoulders and narrow hips. They tend to gain weight from the bust to the abdomen. If this is your figure type, create balance by wearing a solid-color top and a print skirt or slacks. Look for tops and dresses with interesting details or low cuts in the back.

If you have a G-type figure, you have broader hips and tend to gain weight in the hips, rear, and thighs. Wear print tops and solid-colored slacks and skirts. Look for tops with interesting shoulder and neckline treatments.

Those with P-type figures have a straight up-and-down, 1920s flapper look. You can create the look of a T-type hourglass figure with looser cut print tops and slacks or skirts, or a slim solid top with a print, cropped jacket. Add a dark, contrasting belt at the waist.

Remember that large, vivid, or horizontal prints and light colors make the area they cover look larger. Dark or muted colors and smaller or vertical prints are slimming.  

If you are considering a print with diagonal lines, pay attention to where it draws your eyes. Those with hourglass and slim, boyish figures should use diagonal lines to draw attention toward the waist.

Those with narrow shoulders who tend to gain weight in the hips and thighs should draw attention up and out from the waist to their shoulders, neckline, and face.

Those with broader shoulders who gain weight from the bust to the abdomen should draw attention down and out from the waist and abdomen.

In general, consider where you want to focus attention and choose clothes with interesting prints accordingly.