How to Dress & Style the Body You Have
Which color and style “season” are you? Read on to find out.
Have you ever tried on an outfit and blamed yourself when it didn’t look good? Spoiler alert … it’s not you it’s the clothes.
House of Colour offers color and style analysis. I was able to have my color season analyzed a few weeks ago by the lovely Cassidy Hewitt. Together we looked at different color seasons and determined I am an Autumn. If you are interested, you can read the story here: https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/professional-color-analysis-reveals-your-best-you/.
But color analysis is only half of the picture. During the color analysis, you learn what colors look best on you. But what about which shapes look best on you?
House of Colour offers style analysis to complete the picture of your best you. During a style analysis, you will learn about your body’s shapes and your personality essence. You will learn how to dress for the body that you have. They teach you how to recognize and shop for styles that honor your body.
I recently met with the amazing Amanda Dusseault from House of Colour West Marietta. I learned about the six different clothing personalities: Dramatic, Classic, Natural, Gamine, Ingenue, and Romantic. Most people are a combination of two personalities. The evening started with Amanda and I chatting about me. We talked about my personal and professional life and why I was there. Amanda handed me a workbook for style class.
The first thing we worked on was determining how I want to be perceived. The workbook has a list of 33 adjectives. Amanda had me circle six that I resonated with. Some of the ones I chose were: Fun, Creative, and Put Together. The next page was about creating interest in your look. This talked about things like wearing makeup, having your nails done, and having accessories on and how these things add interest to your style.
The clothes you wear have a language of their own. An example Amanda shared was, when you wear a watch, it can signify that you value your time and the time of the people you are with. According to the House of Colour workbook, “Everything you wear sends a message. Knowing who you are and how you want to show up allows you to take control of the message.”
Next, Amanda did some measurements to determine my body geometrics. She measured my proportions and determined my body shape is full curve and very proportionate. Clothing companies design clothes for proportionate bodies but every body is different so there are ways to trick the eye to make your body look proportionate. Things like high raise jeans can make your legs look longer. Patterns on top draw attention to your top half vs. bottom half.
Next, we had a bit of a fashion show. Amanda asked me to bring a few outfits that I love and a few that I wanted to love but haven’t been working for me. I tried them on one by one and we chatted about them. My favorite outfit is a long flowy floral skirt with a solid top tucked in. We talked about how the shape honors my body and that’s why I like it so much. I then tried on some things I didn’t love so much. I tried on a striped jumpsuit that has been in my closet for a while, but I haven’t been loving it. Amanda explained a reason I might not love it is because it is not harmonizing with my body. My body is curvy, but the jumpsuit is made of straight lines. The two things were clashing and not getting along.
After Amanda saw my offerings, we went back to the workbook for a quiz. This quiz was a personality quiz to determine if my personality was more yang (structure and order) or yin (relaxed and easy going). Dramatic is the most yang personality and romantic is the most yin with Classic, Natural, Gamine and Ingenue in between. Based on my scores and my clothing examples, Amanda determined me to be a Natural Romantic Style Personality.
According to House of Colour, a few buzzwords for Natural Romantic are: “Relaxed glamour, movement and sparkle.” I think this fits me very well. Amanda nailed it with my style! I understand why I like certain things vs. why I don’t like others. This is making shopping much more enjoyable with less returns.
Amanda showed me some style boards with examples that would honor my body and my style essence. We talked about where to shop and what was important to look at when shopping. Accessories are key for me. Accessories should be able to be seen. Prior to the appointment, I was wearing very minimal accessories. Now I accessorize with fun earrings and bracelets daily.
Amanda shares some further style and color analysis insights below.
Lilli: How did you get into style analysis?
Amanda: I’ve always loved clothes and shopping but struggled with the same issues most women face surrounding beauty and fashion. My own color and style analysis appointments were so helpful, I knew almost immediately that I wanted to help other women become their own best stylists, too.
Lilli: Did you go to college and if so, what did you go to school for?
Amanda: I have an engineering degree from University of Florida and a nursing degree from Emory. House of Colour is by far the most fun and useful information!
Lilli: What did you do before House of Colour?
Amanda: I worked as an ICU nurse until my oldest was born and then spent 14 years as a stay at home/homeschooling mom to our biological son and our three adopted, specials needs children.
Lilli: How long have you been with House of Colour?
Amanda: I bought my business in January 2023.
Lilli: What is your style type and how did your life change when you learned it?
Amanda: Learning that I am a Natural Gamine led to so many a-ha moments about my wardrobe. I loved knowing that there is a name for my style — that it wasn’t all random. I also loved feeling released from trying to make all the other styles work for my body and personality. I will never bring another floral print into my closet!
Lilli: Are there any tips or tricks you can share with readers who may not be able to do a style analysis right now?
Amanda: Pay attention to pieces in your wardrobe that you gravitate to most and see if you can notice the common details! Conversely, take a look at the items you never wear and do the same.
Lilli: What do you recommend when shopping for clothes? Is quality better than quantity?
Amanda: At HOC we value sustainability. I will always root for quality vs. quantity!
Lilli: What is your opinion on the trending “capsule wardrobe?”
Amanda: I love the capsule wardrobe concept. Some Clothing Personalities are well suited to minimalistic aesthetics. Personally, I love shopping too much to maintain a capsule of my own, but I love helping clients create them!
Lilli: How does House of Colour differ from Kibbe body types?
Amanda: I’m not trained in Kibbe body analysis. I’ve dabbled though, and from what I can tell House of Colour differs in that we analyze not only clients’ bodies but their personalities to find a clothing personality that honors both!
Lilli: Is the analysis based on weight? What happens if you lose or gain weight, does your style change?
Amanda: When we analyze body structure, we’re really trying to decipher bone structure which will not change with weight change. There can be changes but they will not be drastic. However, style is really a process so lifestyle changes can affect your clothing personality to certain extents.
Lilli: How do you train your eye to notice the geometry in our body shapes?
Amanda: House of Colour consultants undergo extensive training for both the color and style analysis processes. This includes analyzing many models, each other, and clients!
Lilli: What is more fun for you, style or color?
Amanda: Impossible to choose between color and style. They’re both such transformative sessions and together they give clients the tools for lifelong confidence!
Thank you so much Amanda for helping me be my best self. I have been shopping more sustainably and thoughtfully. I am very grateful to Amanda and Cassidy for helping me discover my personal color and style. Both lovely ladies do color and style analyses, and both are incredibly talented. If you are interested in getting your style analysis with Amanda, reach out to her at Amanda.Dusseault@houseofcolour.com.
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