LIMITS OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: ©Color Me Fabulous Deborah Boland 2015. All Rights Reserved The author and publisher of this book and the accompanying materials have used their best efforts in preparing this material. The authors and publisher make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents of this program. They disclaim any warranties (expressed or implied), in merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. The authors and publisher shall in no event be held liable for any loss or other damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. As always, the advice of a competent legal, tax, accounting, or other professional should be sought. This manual contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. You do not have the right to copy or distribute this guide. 2 © 2015 Fabulous After 40 All rights reserved. www.fabulousafter40.com Table ofContents Limits of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty 2 About Deborah Boland 5 Overcoming Abundant Black Disorder 10 Add a Pop of Color 10 Try a Print 11 Other Ways to Weave Color into Your Black Wardrobe 11 Jewelry 11 Accessories 12 Make-up to Balance 12 Other Ways to Climb Out of Your Black Rut 13 Colors that Enhance Your Natural Coloring 15 Color Analysis 15 How Color Analysis Works 17 Step 1 – Are you Warm or Cool? 18 Step 2 - What Season are You? 20 Summer 21 Autumn 24 Winter 27 Spring 30 3 © 2015 Fabulous After 40 All rights reserved. www.fabulousafter40.com 12 ColorSystem 33 Wearing Colors that Aren’t in Your Seasonal Palette 33 Other Benefits of Identifying your Color Palette 33 How to Use Color to Flatter Your Figure and Proportions 34 How to Use Color to Express Your Personality 38 How to Use Color to Express Yourself and Communicate a Message 42 How to Use Color to Look Modern 51 The Newest Trend: Color Blocking 54 The Neon Trend – Can you Wear it After 40? 56 What about Pastels? 57 Nude and Blush 58 Are You Ready to Go Beyond Basic Black? 59 Special Thanks 60 4 © 2015 Fabulous After 40 All rights reserved. www.fabulousafter40.com About Deborah Boland Deborah Boland is the publisher of Fabulous After 40®, a global online style magazine delivering daily beauty and fashion tips to help mature women Tweak their Chic®. Prior to launching the site, Deborah was an award winning Television Producer and Host as well as a top media image consultant. Now, as chief “Glam Gal” at Fabulous After 40, Deborah believes that life is too short to be Frumpy! She’s on a mission to help women 40+ look stylish and feel confident, because when you look good you feel good and life is so much more fun! Color me Fabulous: The Colors You Need to Wear to Look Age-Amazing™ is one of several eBooks in Deborah’s Tweak Your Chic® style series that teaches you how to dress to look vibrant, sexy and Age-Amazing™. Other eBooks included in the series are: Jumpstart Your Style: 12 Little Lessons to Dump the Frump After 40 Chic on the Cheap: Tips and Tricks for Building a Wow Wardrobe on a Budget Mother of the Bride: Secrets to Looking Fab When You Are the Mother of the Bride or Groom 5 © 2015 Fabulous After 40 All rights reserved. www.fabulousafter40.com Color It’s the first thing people notice, and it communicates a powerful and lasting message about who you are, how you feel about yourself, and what others can expect from you. Color has the power to make you look healthy, vibrant, youthful, slim and beautiful. It can also make you look sick, tired, burnt out, old, fat and unattractive. As a style expert who specializes in helping women 40, 50 and beyond look Age- Amazing™, I love Color! It’s a fabulous fashion tool that I’m thrilled to teach you more about because I’ve seen it work magic, helping thousands of 40+ women dump the frump and step up their style, instantly! Are you ready to go over the rainbow? Let’s get started! “Color is life; for a world without colors appears to us as dead.” - Johannes Itten, the founder of color theory 6 © 2015 Fabulous After 40 All rights reserved. www.fabulousafter40.com What is ABD? Abundant Black Disorder is a problem that can occur at any age but tends to peak once a woman hits midlife. If you feel like you’re too visible or you look too fat unless you wear black, black and more black, then it’s time for a color intervention. Most women who suffer from ABD aren’t even aware that all that black in their Does this look like your closet? wardrobe is cramping their style and undermining their looks. A wardrobe full of dark, black clothes and little else? But here’s the truth. Too much black is dreary and boring. It can make you look Then join the club because thousands of tired, drained, and years older than you women all over the world share this common actually are. How so? fashion dilemma. After all, when it comes to clothing, who doesn’t love black? Black is chic, it’s sexy, it makes you look thin, and you can wear it practically anywhere. But the reality is, when it comes to building a stylish wardrobe that makes you look fabulous at 40, 50 and beyond, it’s easy to fall into a “black hole.” If your closest is full of more black clothing and accessories than a widow, and every time you go shopping you can be overheard asking, “Does this come in black?”, you’re suffering from a common wardrobe dysfunction I have nicknamed: ABD. That’s short for Abundant Black Disorder! Like most women, these gals could use some color in their wardrobes to perk up their style. 7 © 2015 Fabulous After 40 All rights reserved. www.fabulousafter40.com As we age, our skin changes. Wrinkles appear and our skin starts to get pale and dull. Dark spots from sun exposure surface creating an uneven complexion. Our hair and eyebrows also start to lighten and fade away. In other words, we start to look worn and washed out. Wearing black, especially near your mature face limits the amount of light on your face and saps the color from your skin. Black is notorious for emphasizing age spots, lines and wrinkles and reinforces nasty dark shadows, especially under the eyes. The result is a sharp and unflattering contrast between your face and black. If you’re really honest with yourself then you’ve probably noticed that head-to-toe black doesn`t look as great on you as it used to. In fact, it probably looks downright harsh. If black is so unflattering after 40, then why do so many women keep buying it and wearing it like there’s no tomorrow? Most would say it makes them look thin, but the reality is any dark neutral can do that. Black can drain you after 40. Color adds energy and energy is youthful. In my experience, the reason most women suffer from ABD is because there’s something deeper going on. If you constantly dress in black after 40 it sends the silent but powerful message, “Please don’t notice me. I’m old.” Could it be you’re going overboard with black because you’ve lost your confidence, feel like an old lady and secretly want to disappear into the crowd? 8 © 2015 Fabulous After 40 All rights reserved. www.fabulousafter40.com If you’re truly serious about wanting to Look and Feel Fabulous at 40, 50 and beyond, then it’s time to emerge from your black cave. Stop hiding behind black and start wearing some color to let your fabulous personality shine. I challenge you to kick your black addiction once and for all. “Ah”, you say, “but black is so easy and so practical!” True! Black is a convenient go-to color but that doesn’t make it the right choice! A heavily black wardrobe stunts your style, drags down your looks and sucks the joy from your soul. You don’t want to look like you already have one foot in the grave, do you? Black is a cop-out. Instead Tweak your Chic® with color. It can make an incredible difference! Should You Abandon Black Altogether? Now, I know what you’re thinking, “How can I possibly give up black?” I want to make this perfectly clear. I’m not asking you to give up black completely.Black has its place in your wardrobe. All I’m trying to saying is, don’t let black hijack your style. Take control of your wardrobe. Stop buying so much black andinstead,add some color to transform your style and make you look and feel Fabulous. Here’s how to cure yourselfof Abundant Black Disorder. 9 © 2015 Fabulous After 40 All rights reserved. www.fabulousafter40.com Overcoming ABD: Inject Some Color The easiest way to look more modern and youthful is to start adding small bursts of color to your dark wardrobe. Why not: Add a Pop of Color You only need the addition of one color to get a fresh new look. The best place to put it is right near your face. A bright, festive shell top or a rich jewel- toned blouse worn with a black suit will make you come alive.