Category Archives: dressing your best

Fall And Winter Color Trends for 2020

Posted in clothing, color trends, dressing your best, fashion, how to, personal style, tips and tricks, trends, women's clothing tips by

If 2020 were a color palate, what would you choose? Thank goodness we don’t have to wear the sad colors that probably first jumped to mind! With lovely pops of color like Mint, Mustard, Cayenne, Powder Blue, and Hot Coral, your fall and winter wardrobe can actually help brighten your mood!

Let’s start with key neutrals. Navy and grey have taken over black as the trendiest neutrals, and the geniuses who decide what colors will trend did us all a favor by including colors that pair well with navy. Many of us feel a little unsure of what to wear with navy and so avoid it, but if you think about your favorite pair of dark denim jeans as an example of navy, perhaps that will help you feel more confident! Mustard, yellow, hot coral, mint, grey, and powder blue all look amazing matched up with navy. For grey, try the bright yellow, powder blue, and the hot coral as great choices. A more neutral palate choice might be a navy top and grey bottom or vice versa.

Mustard (Zinnia) and Cayenne are warmer colors and will pair well together or with browns. Think of a warm sunset to help you imagine these colors. And, while you are imagining a sunset, add in a beach and a pina colada. That might improve your mood too!

For those of you who prefer cooler tones, you will love the Mint, Bright Yellow, and Powder Blue. The last of these is a personal favorite because it makes me feel peaceful….there is just something about soft blue that is soothing. On the days when you need a pick me up, choose the brighter colors and on the days you just need to feel peaceful, choose the blue.

All in all, embrace color this season. It can do a lot for your perspective on things. Let your clothes lead your psyche into a better place because we WILL make it through this! Better times are ahead.

For more on this and for examples from our store of these colors and how the pair them up, watch our Saturday Savy video which will be published this Saturday on our Facebook Page.

How To Wear The Latest Short Trends

Posted in clothing, dressing for your age, dressing your best, fashion, how to, personal style, product review, tips and tricks, trends, women's clothing tips by

Have you noticed the re-surgence of shorts in the market this season? The come back of shorts for all ages actually began last summer,  but this trend has truly taken hold here in Wyoming for summer 2020.  For some of you, this new trend will be a welcome change from the capris that have dominated the market for the last 5 years.  For others, it may have been awhile since you wore shorts, and you may be feeling a bit reluctant.  As a result, I thought it might be helpful to all of you for me to do a trend review on the latest short styles.

First of all, let me reassure you that I am seeing many lengths of shorts in the market this season from short ripped up denim styles all the way to the traditional longer Bermuda style that is pictured above. If you have been used to wearing capris and/or are reluctant to show your legs, the longer styles might be a good place to start.  Bermuda styles will hit just above the knee, leaving only the bottom half of the leg exposed.  If you are in for a shorter length, the mid thigh styles are very popular as well.  As a woman of almost 50, I’m going to leave the shorter, distressed jean styles to my 15 year old daughter, but the choice is totally up to you!

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Just as with denim, the trendiest shorts are printed, colored or embroidered.  You’ll see everything from checkers to stripes and every kind of embroidery and embellishment you can imagine.  Take a look at the denim shorts in the picture above from Charlie B and notice the cute embroidered flowers.  These details add a flirty and youthful feeling to the short as well as make them distinctive.  As far as color goes, look for mustard, yellow, coral, and olive denim as well as a variety of regular denim from vintage wash to dark and even striped.

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Another fun new trend are regular rise, fabric shorts with tie front waists like the one pictured above.  These make great dressy shorts and can be worn with wedges to casual weddings or other events that require dressed up casual.  Look for these in lots of checkered prints from black and white to coral and white.  Pair them with a tucked in top to show off the waist.

While many businesses allow capris, few will allow employees to wear shorts.  This is a downside to this trend, so if your employer won’t allow shorts, instead of sticking to your capris this season, go for slim, ankle length pants.  These are also very trendy and look amazing with a heel and dressy top.  To correctly pull off this style, the length is very important.  An ankle length pant should hit an inch above your ankle bone.

The good news about shorts is that I don’t see this trend going away anytime soon so you will be able to wear the ones you buy this season next summer as well.  And, let’s face it, when it gets hot, you want as little fabric on as possible.

 

 

5 Steps to Embracing Trends And Still Dressing Your Age

Posted in clothing, dressing for your age, dressing your best, dressing your figure, fashion, how to, personal style, shopping with friends, tips and tricks, trends by

pearsonphoto2018_031As a boutique that focuses on career clothing for women aged 30 and over, I often get asked if wearing the trends means a woman is dressing too young.  My emphatic answer is a resounding NO! I have ladies in their sixties and seventies that keep up with the trends while still always looking age appropriate.  I think there is a misconception that at a certain age, you should stop worrying about being trendy.  I totally disagree.  We’ve all seen women who looked like they were dressing too young, and these experiences cause us to worry that we might be doing the same thing.  But, the key is not to avoid the trends; the key is to wear the trends appropriately.  Here are my 5 tips for embracing the trends while still dressing your age.

  1. Keep it classy: If you are over forty-five, you may want to avoid plunging necklines, too short of hemlines, spaghetti straps and overly tight fitting clothes.  These, more than anything else, can make you look like you are dressing too young.  If mini-dresses are in, for example, this doesn’t mean you avoid them altogether, but it may mean that you look for a longer rather than shorter mini dress and wear it with tonal tights to avoid drawing attention to the hemline.  If you love skinny jeans, wear them, but choose a longer top that covers your front and rear.  Use jackets and cardigans to cover problem areas and make the look more conservative.
  2. Choose the more conservative version of the trend: Every fashion trend has a scale from edgy to conservative.  As an example, consider the cold shoulder trend that we have just seen come and go.  As a buyer, I saw everything from the whole shoulder and half the arm to just a small sliver of the shoulder being exposed.  The latter of these would be the more conservative version of the trend.  Staying away from the edgy side allows you to wear the trend while still making it appropriate for your age.  As a general rule, the older you are, the more conservative you should go.
  3. Wear the trends correctly: Being knowledgeable about how the trend should be worn is key.  Oftentimes, a trend is dependent upon the other items in your outfit being the right style to pull it off.  As an example, right now the trendy hem length in bottoms is an ankle length (an inch above the ankle bone).  This style needs the right type of shoe to make it work.  If you are short, ankle length bottoms work much better with a little heel or wedge.  It is also important that the bottom hits you at the right place on your ankle.  Too long or too short, and the pant looses its trendiness and just looks strange.  Another example is the long, printed blouses that are trendy this season.  A long blouse worn with bootcut jeans will look strange.  You need a skinny or slim bottom to help balance out the volume of the top. To be sure you know how to wear a trend, ask your favorite boutique sales staff to educate you or google the trend and look a images.
  4. Let the brand help you decide: If you shop by brand, paying attention to the marketing images that company is using can really help you decide if the label is appropriate for your age.  Are you 50 but all the models for the brand are 20? That would be an indication that the target market for the brand is a bit younger than you.  If this is the case, you can go back to tip number 2 to be sure you are choosing the less edgy pieces from that brand.
  5. Pay attention to what other fashionable ladies your age are wearing: We can learn so much just by being observant.  Do you have a friend who dresses well that you admire?  What is she wearing? How do your clothing choices compare? Perhaps you’re in a rut with your style and need to freshen things up a bit.  Either your friend or a trusted boutique can help you transition into a trendier wardrobe that is age appropriate.

I hope these guidelines help you and encourage you that being trendy is not just for the young and thin.  Staying up with the times helps us feel beautiful and stylish.  There is no age limit for that!

For examples and more detailed information on this topic, please watch my video How To Embrace The Trends And Still Dress Your Age

What Trends To Buy Now And Wear Next Fall

Posted in clothing, clothing, quality, value, color trends, dressing your best, fashion, how to, personal style, tips and tricks, trends by

When you are making your spring purchases, it may be helpful to know what will be trendy for this coming fall so you can buy with an eye to what will transition into the next season.  After all, that is just smart shopping.  Fortunately, many of the strongest trends for spring will also be important for fall.  If you think carefully about your color choices, you will be able to make spring purchases that will carry over.

Top Fall Trends To Buy Now:

  1. Printed tops: From beachy to polka dots and stripes, printed tops are a great way to add a pop of color to your neutral bottoms.  Since there are several carry over colors from spring to fall like mustard, navy, pink, and wine, if you choose your top styles carefully, you should be able to wear them this fall too.  This adorable leaf printed tank could easily be paired under a grey blazer and worn with black slacks for fall, as an example.  IMG_5685
  2. Printed bottoms: look for animal, camo, and herringbone to be key prints for fall bottoms.  As you are shopping spring and summer, you will see many of these same prints, but in lighter colors.  Keep in mind how you might be able to transition your purchases now into fall later.  Grey animal prints, for example, are season-less and can be paired today with a grey tank and next fall with a grey sweater.
  3. Colored denim: I saw everything from mustard, olive green, wine, and even pink for fall, so this is a trend you will definitely be able to carry into next season.  Obviously, some of the more summery colors like mint won’t work, but if you buy a mustard or pink jean now, you will most definitely be able to wear it next season.
  4. Colored blazers: Just as a rainbow of colored denim was a key trend, I saw this same idea in blazers.  Again, thinking forward, if you buy a color like denim blue, mustard, or pink, you will be able to wear it now while it is colder and then use it again when the leaves start to fall.
  5. Embellished jeans: The market was flooded with all kinds of embellished bottoms for spring and summer.  See my spring trends blog post for more info.  This trend will continue to be very strong into fall.  Look for raw edges, painted designs, and embroidery to grace the bottoms of jeans.  Again, since everything is about the ankle length right now, the ankle jeans you buy now will most definitely be wearable in the fall as well.  The great thing about ankle length bottoms is they are season-less!
  6. Teddy Bear Coats: This trend takes nubby fabric, like you might find on a teddy bear, and applies it to an over sized, zip up coat body.  The most popular color that I saw was teddy bear brown, see below.  We saw this trend be strong for this past fall season too, so if you bought one, you will definitely be able to wear it next fall or if you find one this spring that you like, you can feel confident that this trend will continue.  IMG_5689
  7. Wool Dress Coats: I am doing the happy dance on this one! While I love my down coats for warmth, I have missed the classic wool dress coat!  They are back for next season.  Now is the time to shop for coats, so if you find a wool dress style you like, buy it and put it away for next season.
  8. Vests: Here in Wyoming we love our vests.  They are so versatile, and a very handy extra layer when it is 2 degrees.  They will be fashionable next season, and I saw everything from down puffy vests to suede vests to menswear inspired styles. Vests are 3 season items, working for spring, fall and winter.  Thus, they are always a great investment.
  9. Shoe boots: Because the ankle length bottom is so strong, shoe boots continue to be an important trend in shoes.  I saw quite a few printed shoe boots, especially in animal prints.  Again, these are a great transitional style that will work now as well as into the next season.
  10. Polka Dots: The dots just keep going and going.  There is no slow down in the pre-occupation of designers with polka dots.  Again, a black and white dot top will work well for spring and fall.  Another great choice, would be a navy and white or mustard and white option.  These are colors that will transition easily into colder weather.  Wear white with them in the summer and then choose navy or black in the winter.

Reflections On Christian Dior

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My husband and I recently visited the Christian Dior exhibit at the Denver Art Museum.  When I told him I wanted to go, he raised one eye brow and asked, “Really?”  My emphatic “Yes!” convinced him that arguing was futile.  I can’t blame his hesitancy; I’m in fashion and so, of course, I would be interested in seeing over one hundred dresses and suits designed for women over several centuries.  The rationale for him to go was less compelling.

The crowd at the museum, filled with anticipation, looked a bit like a New York fashion show.  This was definitely not the typical, casual Denver crowd.  One woman, in particular, caught my eye in a sporty, form fitting white dress with matching dressy tennis shoes, complete with gold accents.  Her ensemble was made complete with wide rimmed white glasses.  Men in dress shirts, slim pants, sleek shoes and scarves held the arms of beautiful women dressed in all black.  A whole group of fashionable women laughed and talked in high pitched voices, their pink, streaked and bobbed hair styles bouncing as they turned heads to chat.

With the first exhibit, Christian Dior’s classic women’s suits in black captured my attention.  The structured fabrics tailored just perfectly to accentuate the curves of a woman’s body, and the impeccable tailoring still fashionable today, made me wish I could wear one.  From these first suits to the last dramatic dresses, I wandered from exhibit to exhibit in complete awe of the beautiful workmanship and creativity expressed again and again through the decades, and always with careful attention in how to best flatter the female frame.

My favorite dresses were in a grouping of floral inspired gowns dedicated to Christian Dior’s sister who he named his Miss Dior perfume after.  One beautiful gown had hundreds of hand sewn flowers that peeked out of delicate and flowing organza so that as you walked around the dress, you could see yet another flower you hadn’t seen before.  The art work and craftsmanship were inspiring.   The most surprising piece of art work at the exhibit was a Salvador Dali bust of a woman with a french baguette on her head.  As it turns out, Dali and Dior were friends and partners in trying to challenge the traditional views of women, art and fashion.

As we walked back to the car in silence, I asked my husband what he had thought of the exhibit.  “Fashion really is art,” he mused, pausing.  “I really didn’t understand that until I watched ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ you know, how much fashion actually influences our society.”  “Yes, honey. ” I responded. “I’m so glad we went.”

 

5 Steps To A New Year Closet Clean Out

Posted in dressing for work and dressing for an interview, dressing your best, healthy lifestyle, how to, tips and tricks by

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It’s a new year…the time to move out the old and move in the new!  Perhaps you’ve already made a few New Year’s Resolutions.  I like to start the year by getting organized.  I find, when I feel organized, I feel more in control and less frazzled.

One of the first places to get organized is your closet.  There is nothing worse than starting the day out with a harried rush to put together an outfit and putting on and then taking off several outfits before you decide on one.  You can make getting dressed in the morning a breeze and a pleasure with a few simple tips on closet organization.

  1.  First, each year you need to remove the items you haven’t worn in a year.  So, if you didn’t do this at the start of the winter season, do it now.  You will be tempted to talk yourself out of removing items, so don’t second guess this process. Don’t worry that you will have to get rid of anything.  Instead just separate out all of those items and lay them somewhere out of eye sight.  We will get back to this pile later.
  2. Second, separate your tops, bottoms and dresses and put them together.  This will make putting an outfit together so much easier, and you will begin to see holes in your wardrobe that you never noticed before.
  3. Third, within your tops, organize them so that the short sleeved tops are together and the long sleeved tops are together.  If you have both summer and winter in your closet, also separate them by season so the summer are together and winter are together.  Do this same thing with your bottoms.  Put your leggings, slacks, jeans together by category and season. Last finish with your dresses.  Put your sleeveless, short sleeved and long sleeved dresses together and separate them by season.
  4. Fourth, color code each section.  Do you remember learning how the memorize the colors of the rainbow with the ROYGBIV acronym?  It stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.  Put each section, for example short sleeve tops, into this color order.  Keep the hues together: pinks go with reds, turquoise with blue or green depending on the color, etc.  Finish with your neutrals in this order: white, tan, brown, grey, black.  When you are finished, you should have each section organized by color.
  5. Fifth, now let’s tackle that pile from step one.  First go through it and separate out any item that is out of date, pilled, stained, torn, un-hemmed, etc.  These go in the donate pile.  Then, consider each remaining item carefully.  If it is a classic piece, like a black blazer, keep it.  If you love it and can’t part with it, keep it one more season, but if you haven’t worn it when you repeat this process next year, donate it.

Now, stand back and admire all your hard work.  You now should be able to clearly see what you have and what you don’t.  What do you notice.  You probably can quickly see that you tend to buy certain colors.  You might notice that you are really short on blouses but have a ton of pull over tops.  Or you may see that you need some more long sleeve tops.  Perhaps you have too many jeans.  When your closet is organized, it will talk to you, and you can be a smart shopper in filling in holes rather than just buying because you love it.

The other benefit to this process is ease of putting outfits together.  Now, when you choose your slacks for your work day, you can go to your jacket section and choose one that matches and then to your shell section and choose a coordinating shell.  No more searching through an unorganized mess.

If you’re feeling really industrious, why not do this with your purses and shoes too?  Believe me, it is worth the effort!

10 Steps To Being A Smart Shopper

Posted in clothing, quality, value, clothing, shopping with friends, dressing your best, how to, personal style, tips and tricks by

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We love practical and easy, don’t we?  I don’t know about you, but I am drawn to “3 steps to do this” or “5 steps to do that books.”  Somehow, knowing there is a fairly short list of things I need to do in order to have the desired result feels, well, encouraging.  So, in the spirit of getting right down to it, here are my 10 simple steps to becoming a smart shopper.

Step 1: organize your closet.  Let me warn you right off the bat.  If you are looking for quick and easy, step 1 might seem a bit daunting.  If I’m being honest, it is totally OCD, but I am completely convinced it will make getting dressed in the morning so much easier.    First, go through your clothing and separate out everything you haven’t worn in a year.  Next, separate your tops, pants, skirts and dresses into different areas of your closet.  Then, separate your winter items from your summer items within each category.  At the end of this step, you should have all your tops together, all your winter pants together, all your summer pants together, and so forth.  Last, organize each section by color using the ROYGBIV acronym for the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.  Complete the rainbow by putting your greys and blacks after your purples and your whites and creams after that.  Now, go back to the items you removed in the beginning.  Put all your classic items like black blazers, white blouses and black pants back into your closet unless they are out of date.  Donate the rest.  Whew….sit down and rest a bit.

Why, you ask, did I have you go through that arduous process?  Because now you can clearly see what you have.  If you have 20 short sleeved shirts and only 2 long sleeved ones, you know you need to balance out your wardrobe a bit in this area.  If you have 8 hot pink tops and no neutrals, you may want to shop for some great basics that will work with more things in your closet.  Make sense?

This leads us to step 2: make a shopping list.  Once you know what you need to shop for, write it down on a list that you keep with you all the time.  Shopping trips happen at unexpected times while you are waiting for an appointment or when you have a few extra minutes.  Keep that list with you so that no matter when you shop, you can check it and stay focused on what you need rather than wandering aimlessly through the store waiting for something to catch your eye.

Step 3: shop with a color palate.  This step also requires some work, but not to worry, I have a handy video that will give you a great start.  Shopping with a color palate will focus your shopping in amazing ways.  It will help you say “no” to items that you love but are in a color that is not flattering on your skin.  It will also help you have the confidence that when you get that item home, it will go with something else in your closet, including your accessories like purses and coats.

Step 4: know when the best sales happen at your favorite boutique or store.  For most of the industry, January and February are sales months for winter and July and August are sales months for summer.  Early markdowns happen in December and June as well.  Start checking back frequently in late December and late June to get the first chance at the best items.  If you wait to the end of the sale season, most of the great buys will be very picked over.

Step 5: use the store perks.  If your favorite stores have a layaway program with no fees, this is a great way to shop early in the sale season and put the items on layaway so you can pay for them a little at a time.  Does your store of choice have a rewards or loyalty program?  Make sure you are utilizing it and maximizing your shopping budget.

Step 6: shop for quality and not quantity.  Nothing is a great deal if you never wear it!  Don’t buy just because it is on sale.  In fact, when you consider the cost per wear of an item, in many cases you are better off to spend more on something that is higher quality and will last longer than less on something that is poor quality and will fall apart.  Check out my blog about cost per wear to learn more on this topic.  To determine quality, look at the button holes; they should be bound and not raw with clean edges and no hanging strings.  Next, examine the seams; they should lay flat with no ripples or bumps.  Then, look at the stitching; good quality items have 8-12 stitches per inch.  If the item is patterned, look at where the pattern comes together at the seam.  Does it match or is it askew?  The higher quality items will match the pattern all the way around the garment.  Last, look at the hems; a quality hem will be double stitched and will not be visible from the outside of the garment.

Step 7: shop alone.  I know, I know….you’re thinking that you need that teenage daughter or friend to tell you the truth about how something looks.  Who can trust a sales associate, right?  Well, speaking from personal experience, you can trust a good sales associate, especially one you have built a relationship with and who knows you and what styles and brands you like.  The problem with your teenage daughter or friend is that oftentimes their advice to you is based upon what they feel is a good style for them.  It is difficult for most of us to disassociate what we feel is stylish for what actually looks good on someone.  This is where a professional comes in who has been trained how to help you shop.  At the end of the day, you are the one who has to wear what you take home.  Shouldn’t you be the one to decide if it’s right or wrong?

Step 8: buy a complete outfit rather than pieces.  Nothing is worse than buying something amazing at the store only to discover that you have absolutely nothing to wear it with when you get home.  Worse yet are the various orphans in your closet that you were sure would match that pair of pants but didn’t and so just hang there…waiting.  You can avoid this scenario by buying an entire outfit from the start, including the accessories needed to complete it.  After all, good dressing isn’t just about the top and bottom you are wearing; it is about the complete look with the appropriate shoes, accessories, handbag and coat.  Not sure you agree with me?  Have you ever seen someone put a Columbia parka over a dress?  Sadly, I have.

Step 9: focus on building your basics first and then add the trends.  Make sure you have the bones of a good wardrobe – one or two pairs of black pants, a black blazer, a black skirt, and several nice blouses or tops that can work back with all of your basic bottoms.  Then begin adding other neutrals like browns and navy, all according to your color palate.  Make sure you have a nice casual coat and a nice dress coat.  Be sure you have shoes that coordinate with your wardrobe and are appropriate for dressing up or work.  Once you have this foundation, you can start spending money on trends like cold shoulder tops, embroidered bottoms, and the like.

And finally, step 10: don’t wait for sales to get your workhorse pieces.  There are items in your closet that wear out the fastest because you wear them the most.  Your basic black items are usually among these.  Don’t settle for less than wonderful on your workhorse items.  These are the things you splurge on to get the absolute best quality you can afford.  At the end of the day, quality = longevity.  The better quality fabrics and workmanship of higher priced items will hold up in the washing machine and will with stand wear much better than cheaper items.  Spend your money where it counts.  For these pieces shop in the prime season so you get the best selection of sizes and the most choices.  This means shopping in March and April for summer items and September and October for winter items.

Are You A Warm Or A Cool?

Posted in beauty, dressing your best, how to by

22154CB-3-Matrix-Likity-Split-Top-27120-Pivot-Pant-2-720x1080My journey with color began almost as soon as my career in fashion.  One of the most common questions women ask me is how a certain color looks on them.  “Do you think this color makes me look too pale?” or “What do you think of this color on me?” are questions I answer almost every day.  About ten years ago, I decided to invest in getting my own colors done professionally in an effort to learn all I could about diagnosing colors for my customers.  My own color analysis began with the draping of sheets over my shoulders – one silver and one gold.  This test determined the undertone of my skin.  From there, the next forty minutes were spent in holding different swatches of fabric next to my eyes and looking carefully to see if each one made my eyes bright or dull.  This process produced my color palate, and I have been using it ever since.

What I discovered about having my colors done is that shopping changed and so did my closet.  I first went through and pulled out every piece of clothing that wasn’t in my palate.  That was difficult because some of my favorite items ended up in the donate pile.  But a surprising benefit occurred too.  When I stood back and looked at my now greatly reduced choices, I could see how everything went with everything else.  I no longer had to worry about hanging my clothes by outfit.  Now, I could hang them by category and choose any bottom or top I wanted, feeling confident that they would coordinate perfectly.  Best yet, I knew my shoes, jewelry and handbags would also complete the look.  It was a revelation to me, and I have been encouraging women to spend the money to get their colors done ever since.

So, in my Fashionable Friday video series about how to dress your best, I knew I would want to do a video on how to choose your best colors.  My research into the process began with a copy of Color Me Beautiful which was first published in the 50’s and is the iconic book that places people in one of four seasons: Winter, Spring, Autumn and Summer.  I also looked the topic up online to see what modern articles were saying about color.  While I found that most new information on this topic has ditched the four seasons and now just refers to people as cool, warm and neutral, the basics of color analysis have not changed much since Color Me Beautiful was written.

There are several tests that you can do to determine if your skin has warm or cool undertones.  First, there is the drape test.  Take a piece of tinfoil and another piece of golden foil.  Remove all your makeup, and stand in front of a mirror in natural light.  Drape the silver foil around your face and then observe the following things: your eyes, your teeth, the darkness under your eyes and the smoothness of your skin.  Then take the golden foil and do the same thing.  Which ever one is better for you will make your eyes brighter, your teeth whiter, your skin smoother and the dark circles under your eyes less noticeable.  If it is the silver foil that makes you look your best, you are cool toned.  If it is the gold, you are warm toned.

The next two tests are quicker.  In the same natural light, look at the veins on the under side of your wrists.  If you are warm toned, they will appear green.  If you are cool toned, they will appear blue.  If you are still not sure, recruit a friend to look behind your ear.  Yes, behind your ear.  Look at the skin in the crease created by your upper ear and your skull.  If the skin appears yellow, you are warm toned.  If it is pink, you are cool toned.

Now the really hard work is done.  All that remains is to understand your value, either light or dark, and then get to the business of finding the best colors for you.  If you want to know more about this topic and see some examples of specific color palates, watch the video.  It really is worth your time to figure out what colors compliment your skin and avoid the days when five people ask you if you are tired or sick when you feel just fine!