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Monday, August 20, 2018

Feminine Differential - Colors Part 2

Are there colors that women prefer? I am sure the one that comes to mind is pink. Girl babies are always warped in pink blankets, right?  However that is not the feminine color of choice.

According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness, childhood, femininity and the romantic. However according to Wikipedia a shift to this being a girly color happened the 1930s and 40s. In the 1920s, some groups had been describing pink as a masculine color, an equivalent of the red that was considered to be for men, but lighter for boys. But stores nonetheless found that people were increasingly choosing to buy pink for girls, and blue for boys, until this became an accepted norm in the 1940s.

Color as a marketing tool is well entrenched today. Colors that are traditionally considered feminine colors or that appeal most strongly to women can be good choices for marketing messages, websites, and designs targeting women. So the question that needs to be answered, what is the feminine color of choice? 

Talbots had a 50% off site wide July 4th. Forget hot dogs and fireworks - time to shop. I found the teal sweater above that day and ordered. It is called the "Dolman-Sleeve V-Back Sweater" and I purchased the green (teal) shown above. The official color - "Rainforest Green".


A Boston Proper Teal
Square Neck Top
There are a couple of things I like about the sweater above. It drapes in a feminine way and is round-neck in front and v-neck in the back. In several of the Talbots' reviews women stated it could be worn either way.  V-neck fronts always looks good on me. A deeper, narrower neckline helps to elongate the upper body drawing attention away from narrow hips and wider shoulders. It elongates the upper body and creates length - a leaner, longer, and taller silhouette. 

So, according to a 1964 Color and Gender study, women favored blue-green (aka turquoise) more than men favored it. This same study found that "76% of women preferred cool colors" and turquoise is a mix of the two cool colors blue and green. Turquoise colors include aquamarine, aqua, cerulean, teal, and ultramarine.

Jacci Howard Bear did make an interesting observation on the blog "Lifewire" discussing "These Are the Colors Women Love Most":

There are no hard and fast rules about which colors are feminine or masculine or gender-neutral. Because colors come in many tints and shades, someone may love a light powder blue but strongly dislike a deep navy blue, so a preference for the color blue doesn't mean that every shade of blue is universally appropriate. However, some generalizations are possible.

What is your favorite color?  I have really come to like teal/turquoise and this is typically a color that I wear only as Rhonda. A feminine differential. 




4 comments:

  1. In addition to pink and purple, I would say that in general pastels and other softer hues of various colors tend to be more feminine-identified. (I know I prefer them myself. :))

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  2. Oh, I didn't want to forget to mention to mention that you look very nice in that top in your photo.

    Have a great day!

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  3. I had my colours done about four months ago. I was analyzed as being Summer so my colour palette contains the colours of a hot Summer with a heat haze. The colours are pastel blues, silvery greys, pinks and reds, mostly avoiding the yellows, oranges and browns, I prefer jewellery in a white metal and have always preferred it to gold. I love all of ‘my’ colours. However, I will sometimes go for a shade with a bit more zip, especially in the pinks and even a teal. I have always been very sensitive to colour and detested having to wear a white shirt and dark suit for work. The feminine differential is much more fun.

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  4. Colors? If one is confused as to color selection, I would recommend 2 books: "Color Me Beautiful" (for women) and the corollary "Color for Men".
    Basically, the individuals color palette is divided by names of the 4 seasons, Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall. The named 'seasons' are assigned mostly by skin tone and hair color. Photo examples are are grouped in the books, and inclusive of all race designations.
    Pastels look best on 'springs' and summers', bold colors best on 'falls' and 'winters'.
    As for me and my wife we are both 'springs', and have almost identical skin tone and hair color (at least when I had hair..).
    When I am shopping for my 'fem-side', if something meets my eye that my wife would like, I know her size and I buy it. (Seldom wrong). She has no idea of 'where I got my fashion sense'.... ;-)
    Often the trouble arises when shopping, the store buyer is CLUELESS as to color tone variation, so the buyer purchases only pastel or only bold tone clothes, so no customer is happy, and tops wont work with bottoms. The male buyers for MENS FASHIONS are the WORST, buying ONLY what THEY look good in. Many sales are lost due to lack of real color knowledge.
    --Velma Dinkley
    BTW, Rhonda, you always look great in your 'glam shots' on your blog.

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