“Deborah, what do you mean there’s a link between my coloring and my personality?”
That’s a great question. Seems a little strange, doesn’t it? I mean, what do the color of your eyes have to do with your personality? In this post, I will explore the relationship between color and personality, what it means and why it’s important.
Johannes Itten was the first, in 1928, notice a link between appearance (including a person’s coloring) and their personality. In his case, the students’ appearance affected the colors they chose to paint with – today, in this discussion, we’re concerned with what colors individuals chose to wear. Itten observed that when children painting with the colors they chose – likely the ones that “suited” their personality”- they created better artwork. What I am arguing is that the colors that a person chooses to wear (including their makeup application) will either positively or negatively affect their presence, much like how the student’s artwork was affected.
Color Personality – A Brief History
Over 2,400 years ago Hippocrates studied human behavior and produced a theory that characterized people as being one of four temperaments. They are:
- Phlegmatic (slow moving) – corresponds with Cool and Muted
- Melancholic (a worrier) – corresponds with Cool and Clear
- Sanguine (Animated) – corresponds with Warm and Clear
- Choleric (Assertive) – corresponds with Warm and Muted
As has been discovered, the four basic color seasons fit well with this theory. Typically, a person is a blend of these traits, usually exhibiting a dominant trait with one or two subordinate traits.
In the early 1980’s, Angela Wright, a color psychologist, discovered links between patterns of color and patterns of human behavior. She saw the same links between the four personality types with the four color families that Johannes Itten had seen; this explained why different people had different responses when observing the same color.
What Does This Mean For Me?
How does knowing your coloring, and colourful personality, help you in your quest to dress and look your best? Firstly, knowing your coloring is the first step to wearing the right kinds and shades of makeup that will enhance as opposed to detract. Secondly, when you wear colors that don’t suit you – that aren’t in harmony with your coloring and your energy – you may feel not quite like yourself. Perhaps you feel, and look, a little sickly or tired. Your skin looks drained, blotchy. You’re standing a little shorter. Knowing your colors, and your color personality, will help you put your best face forward, every day.
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