Olen pantannut tätä postausta päiväkausia, koska minulla ei ole ollut tarjottavana minkäänlaisia johtopäätöksiä 30 minuutin pukeutumisneuvontatuokiosta, johon osallistuin jo muutama viikko sitten. Johtopäätösten sijaan on ollut pelkkää hämmennystä. Yleisfiilistäni stailauksesta kuvailee kenties parhaiten session viimeinen viisi minuuttia, jonka aikana kuuntelin vuorotellen vastakoulutettua stylistia ja hänen ohjaajaansa, jotka pähkäilivät, mitkä värit minulle oikein sopivat, pääsemättä asiasta yksimielisyyteen. Stylisti oli valinnut minulle pehmeitä mutta viileitä ja huurteisia värejä kuten kissankellonsinistä, jadenvihreää ja savunharmaata, ja ohjaaja taas lämpimiä sävyjä voinkeltaisesta vaaleanvihreään, beigeen ja koralliin. Ohjaaja piti kasvojeni lähellä oranssia puseroa ja kysyi, enkö tosiaankaan nähnyt, kuinka kauniisti pisamani tulivat esille. En nähnyt. Olin vain ihmeissäni, koska vastaavia värejä olen aina vältellyt, koska minusta ne saavat minut näyttämään sairaalta. Lopulta stylisti ja ohjaaja totesivat, että ehkä minussa on vähän sekä lämmintä että kylmää. "Valitse värejä, joissa viihdyt", sain lopulliseksi ohjenuoraksi. Viimeiset pari viikkoa olen vähän väliä seissyt peilin edessä ja verhonnut itseäni eri väreihin, hekotellen epäuskoisesti sille, että välillä mikään väri ei näytä sopivan minulle. Kai nämä ovat niitä ensimmäisen maailman ongelmia, joista kuulee puhuttavan.
Lyhyen stailauksen aikana opin, että vartalotyyppini on jotain kolmion ja hoikan tiimalasin väliltä, minun tulisi käyttää volyymia ja tekstuureja yläosissa ja välttää raglanhihoja. Vyötäröä sopisi korostaa erilaisilla vöillä, jotka katkaisevat pitkän selän. A-linjaiset helmat näyttävät hyviltä ja housujen lahkeissa saa olla väljyyttä. Homma eteni oppikirjamaisesti, perinteisiä pukeutumisneuvonnan ohjenuoria noudattaen. Ahaa-elämyksiä en kokenut, mutta myönnän, että pukeutumisneuvonnasta voi olla epävarmalle pukeutujalle ja vaateostoksilla käyntiä inhoavalle ihmiselle suurta apua.
Stylisti oli valinnut minulle ihan kivoja vaatteita ja meillä oli aikaa käydä läpi kaksi kokonaista asua: ensimmäisessä oli leveälahkeiset harmaat tweed-housut, kiva viininpunainen pooloneule ja pitkä vaaleanharmaa neuletakki, toisessa metallinhohtoinen brokadihame, vaalea vintage-henkinen pusero ja harmaa lyhyt pörröjakku. Ulkotakiksi molempiin asuihin oli valittu liukuvärjätty (kirkkaanpunaisesta viininpunaiseen) väljä mohairsekoitetakki, joka oli tosi hieno. Molempien asujen kanssa hoipertelin korkeakorkoisissa, tolppakorkoisissa nilkkureissa, vaikka olin erikseen maininnut, etteivät jalkani kestä koroilla kävelyä. Huonosta kenkävalinnasta huolimatta stylisti oli selvästi lukenut ennalta lähettämäni lomakkeen, jossa olin kuvaillut lempivaatteitani ja pukeutumiseen liittyviä arvojani. Valikoiduista vaatteista löytyi tekstuuria ja kimallusta, joista pidän. Yhdistelmät olivat selkeästi aikuisempia ja konservatiivisempia kuin mitä normaalisti käyttäisin, mutta yksittäiset vaatekappaleet olivat mielenkiintoisia. (Joukkoon mahtui toki vähän omituisempiakin valintoja: en koskaan, ikipäivänä, käyttäisi kukallista kotelomekkoa.) Minulle valikoidut vaatteet olivat laadukkaampia kuin kohtaamani nykyajan valmisvaatteet keskimäärin, mistä pisteet stylistille.
Stailaustuokion aikana puhuttiin paljon mittasuhteista, linjojen jatkuvuudesta ja katkaisemisesta. Värisekoilusta ei ollut mitään iloa - päinvastoin. Olen ollut ihan oikeasti vähän sekaisin ja hukassa, vaikken ole koskaan aiemmin minulle sopivista tai sopimattomista väreistä stressannut. Osittain hämmennys saattaa johtua siitäkin, että 30 minuuttia oli aivan liian lyhyt aika kokonaisvaltaiselle stailauskatsaukselle. En ehtinyt tehdä muistiinpanoja enkä ottaa ainuttakaan valokuvaa, koska suurimman osan ajasta hikoilin sovituskopissa ja seisoin stailistin ja hänen ohjaajansa analysoitavana ikäänkuin en oikeastaan olisi ollut edes paikalla. Pääni oli puolen tunnin jälkeen aivan pyörällä. Normaalisti pukeutumisneuvonnalle varataan vähintään tunti tai puolitoista, mutta minusta jäi tuntumaan, että sekin olisi ollut liian vähän.
Niistä olemattomista johtopäätöksistä vielä: koska aika loppui kesken, minulle tarjottiin mahdollisuutta jatkaa stailausta toisena ajankohtana. Kieltäydyin kohteliaasti.
I've been avoiding publishing this post for quite some time - the topic being the styling session I attended a few weeks ago. I haven't been able to reach a conclusion of any kind, I haven't really been able to put into words what it was like to be styled by someone else, or what I brought home from it. The styling took 30 minutes, out of which the last five would perhaps demonstrate the spirit of the experience: I stood there listening to my newly-trained stylist and her teacher argue over the colors that would look best on me. My stylist had chosen cool, slightly pastel-toned shades like jade green, bluebell blue and smoky gray, but her teacher thought that butter yellows, light greens, camels and salmon shades were a better fit for me. The teacher grabbed an orange sweater and held it under my face in front of a mirror and asked me if I really couldn't see how my freckles and my skin tone shone with the color. I didn't, I just thought I looked sick. The stylist and her teacher decided that perhaps I had a bit of both, both warm and cool tones, and advised me to wear colors that I just felt comfortable in. For the past two weeks I've occasionally found myself in front of a mirror, cloaked in this color or that, laughing at myself, because I am starting to think that there aren't any colors that look good on me. Talk about first world problems!
The things I learned during the 30-minute styling session: my body shape is something between a triangle and a slim hour-glass, I should wear volume on top rather than the bottom, I ought to avoid raglan sleeves. I should accentuate my waist with belts and choose wide-legged trousers or A-line skirts to balance my proportions. It was mostly text book advice, very traditional "how to make the best of what you've got"-stuff. None of it was really news to me, but I could see how advice like that might make someone who hates shopping and doesn't have a clue about clothes feel more comfortable about getting dressed in the mornings.
The stylist had picked out mostly nice clothes for me. She had clearly studied the form I had filled out beforehand, the one where I described my style, my likes and dislikes, and my values regarding clothing options. We had time to go through two outfits: one consisted of wide-legged tweed trousers, a knit turtleneck sweater and a knee-length cardigan (the color scheme included dark gray, light gray and burgundy). The other outfit was made of a bronze tone brocade skirt (very pretty), a white pussy bow blouse and a short grayish cocoon-shaped fuzzy blazer. The shoe option for both outfits was a pair of black ankle boots with a thick, tall wooden heel, even though I had told the stylist beforehand that I couldn't really wear heels without my feet aching like crazy. Both outfits came with the same coat option: an ombré-effect (bright red to burgundy) shaggy mohair mix cocoon coat (weird but cool). The outfits were nice, but a whole lot more grown-up or conservative than what I'd normally wear. The individual items were pretty and I could see myself wearing them, but just styled differently. (The only major miss-step was a floral shift dress that I could never in a million years see myself wearing.) The stylist had picked clothes that were nicely made, and the materials were pleasant enough - so kudos for that.
During the styling session there was a lot of talk about lines, proportions, and how to elongate or shorten them. The color "advice" was very confusing and brought an unfortunate conclusion to the 30 minutes, which, by the way, is a way, way too short of a time to figure any of that stuff out. Normally a styling session would last from an hour to an hour and a half, and it seems to me that even that wouldn't be enough time to get to the bottom of things. In half an hour, I had no time to take notes or any photos, and most of the time I was sweating in the fitting room, changing from one outfit to the next, or standing in front of the mirror listening to the stylist and her teacher talk about me as if I wasn't even there. By the time it was over, my head was spinning.
To conclude... well, like I mentioned in the beginning, I have no conclusions, except for this one: at the end of it all, the stylist asked me (recognizing my confusion, perhaps) if I wanted to continue the styling session on another day. I politely declined.
Stylisti oli valinnut minulle ihan kivoja vaatteita ja meillä oli aikaa käydä läpi kaksi kokonaista asua: ensimmäisessä oli leveälahkeiset harmaat tweed-housut, kiva viininpunainen pooloneule ja pitkä vaaleanharmaa neuletakki, toisessa metallinhohtoinen brokadihame, vaalea vintage-henkinen pusero ja harmaa lyhyt pörröjakku. Ulkotakiksi molempiin asuihin oli valittu liukuvärjätty (kirkkaanpunaisesta viininpunaiseen) väljä mohairsekoitetakki, joka oli tosi hieno. Molempien asujen kanssa hoipertelin korkeakorkoisissa, tolppakorkoisissa nilkkureissa, vaikka olin erikseen maininnut, etteivät jalkani kestä koroilla kävelyä. Huonosta kenkävalinnasta huolimatta stylisti oli selvästi lukenut ennalta lähettämäni lomakkeen, jossa olin kuvaillut lempivaatteitani ja pukeutumiseen liittyviä arvojani. Valikoiduista vaatteista löytyi tekstuuria ja kimallusta, joista pidän. Yhdistelmät olivat selkeästi aikuisempia ja konservatiivisempia kuin mitä normaalisti käyttäisin, mutta yksittäiset vaatekappaleet olivat mielenkiintoisia. (Joukkoon mahtui toki vähän omituisempiakin valintoja: en koskaan, ikipäivänä, käyttäisi kukallista kotelomekkoa.) Minulle valikoidut vaatteet olivat laadukkaampia kuin kohtaamani nykyajan valmisvaatteet keskimäärin, mistä pisteet stylistille.
Stailaustuokion aikana puhuttiin paljon mittasuhteista, linjojen jatkuvuudesta ja katkaisemisesta. Värisekoilusta ei ollut mitään iloa - päinvastoin. Olen ollut ihan oikeasti vähän sekaisin ja hukassa, vaikken ole koskaan aiemmin minulle sopivista tai sopimattomista väreistä stressannut. Osittain hämmennys saattaa johtua siitäkin, että 30 minuuttia oli aivan liian lyhyt aika kokonaisvaltaiselle stailauskatsaukselle. En ehtinyt tehdä muistiinpanoja enkä ottaa ainuttakaan valokuvaa, koska suurimman osan ajasta hikoilin sovituskopissa ja seisoin stailistin ja hänen ohjaajansa analysoitavana ikäänkuin en oikeastaan olisi ollut edes paikalla. Pääni oli puolen tunnin jälkeen aivan pyörällä. Normaalisti pukeutumisneuvonnalle varataan vähintään tunti tai puolitoista, mutta minusta jäi tuntumaan, että sekin olisi ollut liian vähän.
Niistä olemattomista johtopäätöksistä vielä: koska aika loppui kesken, minulle tarjottiin mahdollisuutta jatkaa stailausta toisena ajankohtana. Kieltäydyin kohteliaasti.
- - -
I've been avoiding publishing this post for quite some time - the topic being the styling session I attended a few weeks ago. I haven't been able to reach a conclusion of any kind, I haven't really been able to put into words what it was like to be styled by someone else, or what I brought home from it. The styling took 30 minutes, out of which the last five would perhaps demonstrate the spirit of the experience: I stood there listening to my newly-trained stylist and her teacher argue over the colors that would look best on me. My stylist had chosen cool, slightly pastel-toned shades like jade green, bluebell blue and smoky gray, but her teacher thought that butter yellows, light greens, camels and salmon shades were a better fit for me. The teacher grabbed an orange sweater and held it under my face in front of a mirror and asked me if I really couldn't see how my freckles and my skin tone shone with the color. I didn't, I just thought I looked sick. The stylist and her teacher decided that perhaps I had a bit of both, both warm and cool tones, and advised me to wear colors that I just felt comfortable in. For the past two weeks I've occasionally found myself in front of a mirror, cloaked in this color or that, laughing at myself, because I am starting to think that there aren't any colors that look good on me. Talk about first world problems!
The things I learned during the 30-minute styling session: my body shape is something between a triangle and a slim hour-glass, I should wear volume on top rather than the bottom, I ought to avoid raglan sleeves. I should accentuate my waist with belts and choose wide-legged trousers or A-line skirts to balance my proportions. It was mostly text book advice, very traditional "how to make the best of what you've got"-stuff. None of it was really news to me, but I could see how advice like that might make someone who hates shopping and doesn't have a clue about clothes feel more comfortable about getting dressed in the mornings.
The stylist had picked out mostly nice clothes for me. She had clearly studied the form I had filled out beforehand, the one where I described my style, my likes and dislikes, and my values regarding clothing options. We had time to go through two outfits: one consisted of wide-legged tweed trousers, a knit turtleneck sweater and a knee-length cardigan (the color scheme included dark gray, light gray and burgundy). The other outfit was made of a bronze tone brocade skirt (very pretty), a white pussy bow blouse and a short grayish cocoon-shaped fuzzy blazer. The shoe option for both outfits was a pair of black ankle boots with a thick, tall wooden heel, even though I had told the stylist beforehand that I couldn't really wear heels without my feet aching like crazy. Both outfits came with the same coat option: an ombré-effect (bright red to burgundy) shaggy mohair mix cocoon coat (weird but cool). The outfits were nice, but a whole lot more grown-up or conservative than what I'd normally wear. The individual items were pretty and I could see myself wearing them, but just styled differently. (The only major miss-step was a floral shift dress that I could never in a million years see myself wearing.) The stylist had picked clothes that were nicely made, and the materials were pleasant enough - so kudos for that.
During the styling session there was a lot of talk about lines, proportions, and how to elongate or shorten them. The color "advice" was very confusing and brought an unfortunate conclusion to the 30 minutes, which, by the way, is a way, way too short of a time to figure any of that stuff out. Normally a styling session would last from an hour to an hour and a half, and it seems to me that even that wouldn't be enough time to get to the bottom of things. In half an hour, I had no time to take notes or any photos, and most of the time I was sweating in the fitting room, changing from one outfit to the next, or standing in front of the mirror listening to the stylist and her teacher talk about me as if I wasn't even there. By the time it was over, my head was spinning.
To conclude... well, like I mentioned in the beginning, I have no conclusions, except for this one: at the end of it all, the stylist asked me (recognizing my confusion, perhaps) if I wanted to continue the styling session on another day. I politely declined.
That sounds disappointing and what bad form for the two 'professionals' to be arguing about your colours. Anybody would be confused! I'm sure you were glad to be finished. You have a unique style sense that would probably blow them away. I think if you wear colours and clothes you love and feel comfortable in you can't go wrong. Thanks for sharing the experience 😊
ReplyDeleteWell, it was an odd experience, but I am still happy I volunteered for it. The color confusion was very distracting and in a way I felt bad for the stylist because I think she was on the right track and her teacher just seemed to disagree with her. It was awkward. I agree: if you wear stuff you love and feel good in, that's all that matters! :)
DeleteI'm so sorry you had a dismal experience with your colour and styling. Very off putting when it should have been exciting, useful and empowering. I fear it is a common experience. Sounds like there was no real basis to the training. Now for something completely wonderful take a look at Christine Scaman's 12 Blueprints. She has lots of information on line and if you were lucky enough to have her do a colour draping on you, you would be in no doubt as to which colours suit your skin and make you look glowing, radiant and beautiful. It requires a big drape of fabric and not just a little square. She's a wizard and her work is based in science. A fabulous experience. Don't give up – there are true professionals out there. I hope you didn't have to pay for such pathetic advice.
ReplyDeleteVancouver Barbara
Luckily I didn't have to pay a dime, I volunteered for it. This was basically a training session for a stylist who was about to finish her training, so that explains some of the more challenging aspects of the session: the stylist had very little experience and not a whole lot of confidence yet. (Also explains why her teacher was present.) Taking all that into consideration, she did a fine job. She got a lot of the individual clothes right, and I think she had a better grasp on my colors than her teacher did. I don't regret going - I did it out of curiosity anyway. It was interesting, to say the least! :)
Delete