It's that time of year again. You have several Holiday parties to attend and dress up for this month. Your wardrobe plan includes shopping for or reaching into your closet to grab your go-to staple piece -- the little black dress, also known as the 'LBD'.
The LBD fashion rule has been shared with women for decades -- own a simple, yet elegant little black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. To this day, I have not met a woman who does not own a black dress or considers a black dress a must-have wardrobe staple.
When we begin exploring the benefits of color analysis, the key question that comes up is should you have a little black dress in your closet, whether black is in your seasonal color palette or not?
As an image consultant who specializes in color, my answer is actually no if the specific color and tint of black is not in your color palette. If you choose to wear a little black dress when your seasonal color palette does not include black, you could be making yourself appear older, unbalanced, dull and highlight skin imperfections quite simply because you are not wearing a color that aligns with you.
It is time to customize the LBD rule for you!
Here are two easy steps to follow to determine if and how to customize the LBD rule for you:
1. Determine if black is in your color palette:
A color analysis consultation will guide you on what colors are best for you and what color flow palette you are in. If you are a True Winter or flow of Winter, black or a variation of black is in your palette. The LBD rule does work for you if this is the case. Make sure you are wearing the black that corresponds to your color palette (e.g. brown-black, true black, blue-black etc.). If the color black is not in your palette, read on to step #2.
2. Determine the most neutral and timeless color that aligns with you:
The main purpose of the LBD rule is to offer long lasting neutral versatility into a woman's wardrobe. If black is not aligned with your color palette, this can still be achieved by substituting the color black with a color or colors that work best for you. In step #1 you would have found out your color flow palette and star colors. Select the most neutral or timeless of these star colors for your own customized LBD rule.
I am a True Summer and therefore a little black dress is not in harmony with my coloring. My LBD rule is actually an LND and LCD rule which stands for Little Navy Dress and Little Charcoal Gray Dress. Both of these customized rules offer me the timeless versatility that a little black dress would offer me, but instead, now I give off my best energy by wearing colors that work best for me.
There's no time like the present to customize the LBD rule for you to position your color choices to give off your best at your next Holiday party.
I hope this blog post inspires you to wear your authenticity!