Color Me Beautiful

Rating:
Summary: best fashion book I have read
Review: Basically I am so totally in love with this book that I can't buy a sweater anymore without fretting that it is not "my color". It took me a long time to figure out my season, but this book is just so much fun that I had a good time reading it over and over again. Now I love trying to guess the season of almost everyone I encounter. It is my own personal mental game. I would recommend this book to anyone really. The only major pitfall in this book is it features mostly pictures of white women as "examples" of the different types, so this may make it more difficult for black, Asian, or Latina women to find their season, although it does give many written descriptions which should help.

Rating:
Summary: Colors are forever
Review: Fashion styles come and go but we all have to wear colors. Just which ones? I bought this book when it was first published and I consider the color advice as relevant today as it was then. It may be difficult for some to pinpoint their season and this is where a professional consultation comes in. I don't know if anyone is still doing this. I had mine done when the book first came out and you really need to sit in front of a mirror and see yourself draped not just with the "right" colors, but the "wrong" ones to see the difference.

I hate shopping but I can quickly scan racks and racks of clothing for my colors to pinpoint what's right for me. Until this year, with loads of bright colors that I could finally wear, shopping the past few years was dismal. As a Spring, I can't wear black or gray which seemed to be everywhere. At least I saved a fortune! If only designers would do their collections in a few colors of every season so we'd all look good all the time.

Rating:
Summary: Good but Needs Serious Revision
Review: I first read this book when I was 15, and thought it is fun, interesting, and useful. Nine years later I still do, but there are things about it that I found disappointing then and do now. First, as other reviewers have mentioned, it is very obviously geared toward Caucasian women. That perhaps can be explained by the year it was written- but there has been plenty of time to fix it! Second, I thought it was ridiculous (and mildly offensive) that Carole Jackson throws all Asian, African, and Native Americans in the same season, presumably because she thinks we don't have variations in skin/hair/eyes like other peoples do. Of me and my three sisters- all Native American- only one of us fits into the category of "winter" that Ms. Jackson says we all ought to be in. (The other two are summers, and I am a spring.) All in all this is a nice book that is actually informative. But women of many ethnicities will either find themselves figuring their season out all on their own, or being disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Lookin' Good --- With Less Effort
Review: I have similar coloration to the author -- black hair, white skin. I have looked like a million bucks since I started wearing her recommended colors. I never look bad or sickly.

Basically, I stay away from anything orange, brown, or ochre, or anything sickeningly sweet. I look good in black, white, pure and cool-toned colors.

It makes clothes shopping easy and enjoyable. The tips are also helpful for interior decorating. It can also help with buying clothes for a family member with different coloration, so that they can look good too.

The fashion advice is kind of lame, since it was writen in the 70's. I also enjoy wearing casual clothing, which she say is wrong for my "type" ( But right for my lifestyle! )

Also recommended: She has written a book about makeup that makes my makup look very natural and flattering -- grey eyeshadow, and red or rose lipcolor.

Rating:
Summary: cant believe this book REALLY works!!!
Review: I STILL dont believe this
I bought this book at a RUMMAGE sale because I had heard years ago all about this " color" thing,
so, for a few dollars I thought, OK, let see what this is all about, after all, what did I have to loose?
OK.
I read this book in a day and a half
this book is YEARS old, yet contains the BEST and I mean BEST information regarding color and how to look your very best no matter what your current weight, age, style etc!
You would have thought that a book like this would be totally out of date!
it ISNT!!!!
It took reading and re reading several times , and asking a few close friends their opinion of my skin tone etc also,,
I found out to my amazment that I was a " summer"( honestly,, I didnt want to be,,,,,I wanted to BE an autumn!!)
now, MOST of my garments are autumn,,,and after trying on colors that were decidely meant for my TRUE color something happened,,,
I GLOWED,
I really did!
so much so that many people commented the very FIRST day I "changed " my color and decided to wear flattering colors for ME,,,not what the " latest" color trend is!
another thing,
now I have "had" my makeup done several times by some very high end reputable companies
I always always felt washed out, and as if I constantly needed to add more blush to give myself a lift,,( more makeup than necessary,)
all I did was simply walk in to a simple chain store( not Neiman Marcus!!) and look at COVER GIRL (wore this only when I was a teen!) and purchase a foundation with a pinkish tone.
This was pretty obvious (and easy to do) when you shop yourself rather than have someone pick it out for you!,,,

the very first time I applied this , I could NOT believe the difference ,,,,,,,,I had been looking for this (unsuccessfully) ,,,,,,for YEARS!
I also went thru my closet now,,and am "re doing " my wardrobe
getting rid of things that look great ( on someone else) but for "whatever??" reason,didnt make it on me!
(now I know why!)
I found a color that I would have NEVER EVER in a million years ever chosen to wear not only looks great on me, its smashing on me( periwinkle blue!!!)

The key here is that this author clearly knew her stuff when she wrote this book years ago. It works the same today as it did then, principles simply do not date.

Additionally, she talks about perhaps this seasons "colors" MAY not be yours
(I see this all the time as I order from Land's End,, and love twin sets,,,one season the red is more of a blue red the next,it contains more orange,,,,)
This book transcends time, and is every bit as good today with its clear cut principles as it was yesteryear!
honestly,,its the BEST little book on looking good I have ever owned ,,,,
and I will most DEFINATELY keep the color charts handy when I shop for clothing, for yarns( I knit and crochet) or sew!
this is one great book , information like this does NOT change with time!

Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly Surprised
Review: I was quite skeptical that a book which has been in print so long would contain up-to-date information that I could use. Not only does it contain sensible advice on dressing and accessorizing, I learned that I've never worn the correct make-up colors. In a couple of days, with simple modifications in make-up and dressing, I feel I look much better. Not so simple was determining my correct "season". With just the book that is a bit tricky, but I can tell that I did get it right. A surprising little gem.

Rating:
Summary: Once a bestseller, now a classic
Review: This book is showing its age. As a one-stop beauty bible or whole-image builder, it doesn't quite work any more--it's too dated. As a color guide, it has lost some of its visual impact--the book has been through so many printings that the color palettes are changing color and turning useless as shopping guides. So why, you may ask, do I give it all five stars? Because I've never seen another beauty/style manual (and I've seen plenty) that instructs and inspires readers as effectively as Carole Jackson's does in the art of enhancing your personal beauty through color. The author conveys her love and knowledge of her subject through clear, chatty, infectiously enthusiastic, genuinely informative, sometimes even poetic prose; as other reviewers have noted here, this book is fun to read! Besides, each of the printed color palettes still distinctly represents its particular "season" in overall appearance, and the 32 color photos of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter women remain striking illustrations of the seasons in human coloring. Above all, countless readers have color-typed themselves and started using color to look their best just by reading this book. I did, and I'm happy to report that now, in my 50s, I receive more compliments on my appearance than I did in my 20s! So, even though a revised and updated edition of Carole Jackson's original COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL would be most welcome, I won't knock a single star off my rating. After all, can you name another beauty / style manual that was first published 20 years ago and is not only still in print, but usually ships within 24 hours?

Rating:
Summary: Still the Very Best
Review: This is THE book to read if you are wanting to look your best. It is absolutely timeless. It is a guarantee for looking your best all the time regardless of what time it is or where you are. It makes the drudgery of shopping more tolerable, or if you enjoy it, a lot more fun. Sure, a lot of people out there are "screaming" it "screams the Eighties." NOT true. Sure, a lot of people out there are "screaming" about how they don't think they or anyone can fit into "one" palette. NOT true. It is probably true that most of us are on a genetic line, between spring/summer, autumn/winter, etc. but the author is suggesting you pick the BEST palette between the possible palettes. I'm between a summer and spring, and I can wear a lot of summer colors well; however, the spring palette is the BEST palette between the two for me. I know there's an update out there, Looking Your Best, and I've read it. It's a fine book, but nowhere near as exciting as the original by Carole Jackson. If you prefer to use that method, that's your choice and that is great, but no one should knock Carole Jackson's book. I find it is a lot more fun, simpler, and the wardrobe falls together better with much more variety this way. The system works best if you stick with one season and give it a chance to work for you.
I simply see nothing in this book that cannot be as relevant today as it ever was. For those that have never tried it, read it and give it a chance. You'll love it!

Rating:
Summary: great "how to" book
Review: though the book was written a while ago, the color schemes apply... when i first read other's review i was afraid that the book was limited to little color palettes... but as you read along they explain that some colors can be just jewelry, and other colors not mentioned can fall into my season palette if i just understood what were my basic starting colors... i am a winter without a doubt.. before i didnt understand why i looked so awful in orange, now i know why my mom insisted on my using pink and reds...MY ONLY complaint is that the colors dont always come through in the pictures, they look like a blurry array of colors like when you look through a pair of 3-D glasses with their red-blue color overlap, so it's hard to find my right hue of red since the book doesnt use a universal name in the book.. but i still love the book...its a timeless classic.