Thread: Picking the Right Costume Colors

OK. Help a newly vampirish gal out!

Blue-eyed, fair-skinned brunette here. I've stopped tanning myself silly and I've started darkening my hair to a near-black to play up the contrast. Now, I hate how all of my costumes look on me and I'm looking to rebuild my costume wardrobe from scratch. What a pain!

Anyone want to share some good tips on how to pick shades that flatter your skin tone? I need colors that make my fairness appear radiant, not sickly

I think a lot of it depends on how you do your make-up as well. If you're pale & dark haired I think it looks over done to go with super dark eyes and lips--especially red lips. I think deep, softly smokey eye colors and rich but not dark lip colors look best. The way you do your face is going to really impact your costume colors and how both play off your skin tone.
I would also say take cues from the street clothes that you're wearing--what colors are flattering your new hair and skin color?

This is true. Occasionally, I'll do the Dita Von Teese (crimson lips, winged eyeliner). More often, I go for the Haifa Wehbe look, with a deep smoky eye and soft pink lips. Red lipstick tends to have a harsh, aging effect on me, unless I go for "hooker red."

Browns, golds, whites and neutrals are looking really icky on me. Jewel tones tend to work famously on my skin tone. So do bright, saturated Easter egg colors. (Maybe that's why I wear so much preppy Ralph Lauren and Hollister stuff?)

Oh, and I think with a little vagazzling anyone could probably rock most colors. You might try that before selling off all your cossies and buying new.....l;,..l;,

I'm a vampish girl myself and get the most complements when I wear a good solid red, burgundy or black. Blues and purples are good but you can't beat scarlet!

Originally Posted by nayastrance

Oh, and I think with a little vagazzling anyone could probably rock most colors. You might try that before selling off all your cossies and buying new...

I just sputtered tea all over my monitor!

You're right though. What do ya think? AB crystals, perhaps? ..l;,

Originally Posted by Sersi3

I'm a vampish girl myself and get the most complements when I wear a good solid red, burgundy or black. Blues and purples are good but you can't beat scarlet!

Scarlet is definitely a no-brainer for us vamps!

I have a tomato red, but would rather trade it in for a pure scarlet. Sooooooo seductive!

I'm afraid (so deliciously afraid) that the vagazzle is going hijack every thread in 2010.

LOLOLOLOLOL you're sooooooooo right! I feel honored to have started such a legendary thread. I've already seen the term "vagazzle" enter quite a few unrelated conversations around here

My first question is... you say you have stopped tanning? Is this getting spray on tans or actualy sun tanning? You can still have spray tans done if this is the look you prefer :)

In terms of your current look though the dark jewel tones would look fabulous!!! Im thinking silver accents as well for fair skin but I may be wrong... Id go-
Scarlet Red
Royal Purple
Royal Blue
Black
Dark green (would be fabulous!!!!)

Play with some contrasting accent colours as well. Bella is awesome with colour! Like the Dark green with some Teal or Orange or even a bit of burgundy through it.
So many possibilities!!! :)

I've stopped doing the spray tan thing, at least for the winter I may go back to bronzing in the summer season, but even then, probably not as heavily as I'd been doing last year. I'm kinda liking the uniqueness of my look!

Bella is soooooooooo good with color. I'm getting so excited just thinking about placing my next order!

So, how long do you plan to stick with this artificial colouring for yourself? Because I hate to rain on the parade here, but if next summer you start wanting to look goldenskinned and All-American again, do you plan to dump all your Dita von Teese costumes and start afresh? This just seems like false economy to me. Best thing to do is pick costuming in colours that suit *you*, not this season's fashion trend. If you can afford to have a lot of costumes that you aren't wearing, maybe keep one that you feel works better with this colourway, and one that works better with your old colourway, so you can revive them when you adopt a new look.

The metallic that suits you will not change whether you are tanned or pale. Base shades that suit you will not change dramatically with the colour of your hair if you have selected a colour that works with your own, ahem, tones and highlights.

I've actually been making a gradual shift toward a darker hair color for about a year, so I don't think that's going away any time soon. Unlike a lot of people, I don't tend to change up my hair color from winter to summer. So it's not like I will be adding highlights for the summer.

As for skin tone? If I get a tan, then so be it. If I feel like bronzing? Then so be it. It's not so much about wanting to be trendy as it is about avoiding things that could potentially harm my skin (tanning beds) and high-maintenance, sometimes artificial looking spray tans. The only reason I even cited fashion mags is because it's really refreshing to see a trend toward what, for many celebrities, is their healthy skin tone.

Either way, it totally makes sense to buy costumes that work across the board. Jewel tones and bright, supersaturated colors would definitely seem to be flattering for all seasons.

Good on you I say for having a healthier approach to tanning :) Im actually thinking if you look at the costumes Sandra wears that might nelp you a lot. She has fair sking tone and that gorgeous raven hair!!! Id take some costume colours from her book :)

I know too many people who have been treated for melanoma recently, plus skin cancer runs in my family. Safe sun is definitely the way to go.

I LOVE Sandra's costumes. Drool!

I've never had a tan in my life, and I look best in jewel tones and cool colors. Yellow looks terrible on me because my skin reflects it and I look like I have jaundice. I also can't wear anything pastel or fluorescent. The pastels make look like a ghost, and the neon colors reflect on my skin. While I can wear red, pinks look pretty horrible on me.

I really like brown now, but I don’t have a brown costume yet. Ever since I took color theory in college, I’ve been fascinated with the brown-blue discord.

I've been playing with pastel colors and can actually get away with them if they're bright Jordan almond kinda hues. Ice blue, mint green and super pale pink? Not so much.

Brown and blue is an awesome combo. I might actually do something in leopard and turquoise for my next order. Yummmm...

The danger with "pale = cool/jewel" is that it can be too reductive. For instance, I only suit those colours. I only suited them when I had brown hair, I only suited them when I had black hair, I only suited them when I had natural brown with auburnish highlights as a child... you get the picture. But if you look at an equally pale dancer like Ozma, who writes and thinks a LOT about costuming, *she* is not best in the conventional cool/jewel colours. Her pale skin and dark brown hair come alive in more autumnal shades - orange, dark brown, gold, ivory...

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Go to a fabric shop and hold material up to your face. You'll be able to tell. Sticking to "the rules" isn't always the best idea. All pale skinned, dark haired people are not the same.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Brown and blue is an awesome combo. I might actually do something in leopard and turquoise for my next order. Yummmm...

Just make sure that your brown has an orange base to it when it's with blue. I've seen too many designers try to make the brown-blue combination, but they use the wrong type of brown and the discord doesn't work.

Leopard and turquoise will be a lot of fun! I saw a costume from the Belly Dance Store in that combination, and it was very pretty. Once I have some free time, I think I'll make a brown costume with blue-green scarabs.

Originally Posted by zumarrad

But if you look at an equally pale dancer like Ozma, who writes and thinks a LOT about costuming, *she* is not best in the conventional cool/jewel colours. Her pale skin and dark brown hair come alive in more autumnal shades - orange, dark brown, gold, ivory...

Definitely. She's a good example of a fair, dark-haired dancer with very warm coloring. I really couldn't picture her in royal blue or scarlet!

Originally Posted by Karnak

Just make sure that your brown has an orange base to it when it's with blue. I've seen too many designers try to make the brown-blue combination, but they use the wrong type of brown and the discord doesn't work.

Come to think of it, that's so true. Blue and orange are opposites on the color wheel, so it would definitely make sense to set off blue with a warm tone.

Off to revisit some of my textbooks that I saved from my Principles of Apparel Design courses!

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Definitely. She's a good example of a fair, dark-haired dancer with very warm coloring. I really couldn't picture her in royal blue or scarlet!

Actually, she does have a royal blue that she revamped. Photo colors might be off a bit, but it does look like it works for her. It's under "Operation Defugged" in the Ozma's Costume fb page.

Back to topic....

Years ago, a VERY well dressed lady told me that anyone can wear any color.... it's getting the right shade of it that's difficult!, :Awink: Start at the fabric store and collect swatches of things that look terrific against your skin. You'll soon develop an eye to just what shade/tone works.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Definitely. She's a good example of a fair, dark-haired dancer with very warm coloring. I really couldn't picture her in royal blue or scarlet!

It's been trial and error...and that includes having owned a few costumes I just couldn't make work. It helps if you have a dancer you know personally who is the same general shade(s) as you...I don't really have that here (Eshe is close in skin color but our hair is different. We can wear some of the same costumes but they look very different on us. Henna is more freckly with lighter hair but we mostly go towards the same hues...then...well..Asians) or friends who are willing to open up the costume closet (even if it doesn't fit you perfectly) and give you an opinion on what does and doesn't work on you.

I cannot do royal or light blues and purple makes me cringe. Most pastels are just wrong on me.

I've done a variety of reds and they work on me. Autumn colors work on me. Deep greens are in, light or yellows greens are out. Black is out (despite being a huge part of my daily wardrobe).

Light pinks REALLY work on me, but it's not a color I normally costume in.

Bring a friend with you to a fabric store...run around draping your shoulders different colors and getting opinions...it's a place to start.

Originally Posted by Zeevah

Actually, she does have a royal blue that she revamped. Photo colors might be off a bit, but it does look like it works for her. It's under "Operation Defugged" in the Ozma's Costume fb page.

Back to topic....

I always hated how that color looked on me. It looks much better on Bernie V (my almost body-size double but with darker skin). I do have one very deep navy-blue tribaret with lilac accents that works on me.

As long as you keep your hair dark (mine is naturally so I speak from experience) you can work with cool colors, even some warm, just avoid those "autumn" colors, like mustard, lime and even orange.

Once (just once) I lightened my hair to a carmel color (what an ordeal) and I did have to change some of the colors I wore, the cool colors didn't look as good on me as before, but I still couldn't get away with the autumn ones, although I could wear something in between.

Then knowing you, when you change back to your original self, you'll be swapping all of those old costumes anyway! ..l;,

I've got the same skin... alabaster/fish belly white with blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair... wine red and dark emerald green always look really good with my skin. A good second would be medium hues of purple or blue or olive green. I think black just tends to make me look washed out. Pink makes me look like a plump barbie doll, so I stay away from it!

Dark brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin here - jewel tones and bright rich hues look best on me, but I'm endlessly drawn to pastels, yellows and oranges. All the colors that do nothing for me. Surprisingly, chocolate brown looks good on me as well. Ditto to navy and forest green.

I second the fabric store swatch holding - I did that Saturday and found two shades of bright pink I wouldn't have ordinarily picked looked good on me.

I have your coloring (very white / on the blue side, near black hair, light blue/gray eyes). dittoing the jewel tone theme (rich purple, clear blue turquoise and teal, midnight blue, emerald green, chinese red, scarlet, plum, wine, fushia). deep rich colors, say away from milky (periwinkle and many turquoise shades) and yellow- and brown- toned (mustard, copper, chocolate, tomato red). I generally wear pastels only when paired with stronger colors (lavender with purple). I do have pale mint green that works, and moss and army-olive green, but those are exceptions to the other rules and have to be just the right tone. black, and white-white (no cream). neon tones can work too. gold and silver both work, but it depends on the shade. colors that make me look deathly ill: peach, mustard, periwinkle, taupe, tomato red, creamsicle orange.

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Aziza Sa'id

Hey, I'm another fair skin dark hair girl but I have bright green eyes.
My skin is pale with a yellowish pink tint. I find the BEST color for me is royal green, I also get compliments in red, plum and blue.
I have to stay away from pastels, they wash out me out really bad. I look like death warmed over and I try to stay away from that look as much as possible. ..l;,

Originally Posted by Zeevah

Years ago, a VERY well dressed lady told me that anyone can wear any color.... it's getting the right shade of it that's difficult!, :Awink:

This is what I find to be most true, so I don't rule out any colors in general. I always thought I couldn't wear yellow because it made my pale skin look sallow, but I happened upon a "cool" yellow costume and it looked amazing on me.