The Psychology of Colour: Wearing Yellow Clothes (Part two)
I spoke in yesterday’s post on wearing yellow clothes about the signals you send to other people when you choose to wear yellow. And I promised to get back and tell you a bit more about our choice whether or not to wear yellow.
As I already said, I’m not a great fan of yellow clothes but there are many people who just love to wear them. So what might be the reason for this? The first most obvious answer is that we all have different types of complexions and depending on our skin hue, yellow may scream in defiance or snuggle in and complement the picture. According to seasonal skin type colour analysis , I am a pale winter type which means that yellow is a no-no for me.
There are also very many negative connotations of this colour which will affect our attitude towards it. Your skin takes on a yellow hue with jaundice or excess bile. Your teeth turn yellow through excess smoking. And we link cowardice with yellow too. But on a deeper level, there are other reasons why you or I might turn our backs on yellow tones. I already mentioned the fact that you will be very much in the lime-light wearing them, so it makes sense that we tune into this subconsciously and pull away if we need down-time and want to become invisible.
Lemon and the colder shades of yellow are linked with the intellect and left-brain characteristics such as logical thinking, reasoning, calculation and the like, so with me being a total right-brainer, it could be another reason why I don’t feel drawn to wear this colour much.
But for me the underlying reason we develop an aversion to a particular colour is because of how it is linked to things that are triggering us in daily life. Yellow is connected with the solar plexus, the seat of our gut feelings and personal will power. So as we learn to digest life’s experiences and become confident in projecting our self-image out there and engaging with others, yellow is a perfect companion for this part of our journey. It’s total absence in your life will be a signal to watch out for what you are avoiding. And the answer may lie concealed in the area you are least expecting. Wearing warming shades of yellow can go a long way to opening us up in this respect and helping us to feel comfortable with being ourselves amongst others.
And on a parting note, yellow accessories are ideal for outfits which might otherwise be rather dull. Wear a yellow necklace or loosely tie a yellow scarf around your shoulders to bring a ray of sunshine into your day. Or even add some gorgeous yellow buttons to a plain cardigan to give it a new lease of life.
That leaves me thinking about what I can do to introduce a bit more sunshine into my life, despite my wintry complexion. Mmmm…off to see what I can find. And what about you? Do you have any aversions or love for yellow? Do share any yellow clothing tips you have.
Inspired Art and Living with Fiona Stolze 
Fiona, that is so funny; I rarely talk about color… Some people that I have known actually called me a colorist as part of my profile in the past.
yes, yellow is one of my optimum colors in my wardrobe. however, I have noticed since i moved to minnesota, i wear darker colors cause when I moved here – i stood out in a crowd…
I am reworking my old MONDE coat and it is yellow… I took out the old lining, made a pattern and I am designing a scarf and the lining to match… matchymom and that is how i got my nickname too. ruthie
Thanks for your comments Ruth. Great to hear you like wearing yellow. You are one of only 2 people who have reported back as doing this. Says a lot about your personality! 🙂
I’m a winter too and look hideous in yellow. I used to have a yellow house though – most rooms were painted sunny colors so I don’t dislike the color completely. Great idea about a yellow necklace – I’m also drawn to leather purses/handbags. I think I may buy a yellow necklace thoug. Can’t wait until you do purple and royal blue 🙂
Louise Edington
Facing Fears For Freedom
http://louiseedington.com
Yes, we winters aren’t good in yellow, are we? I’m like you. I’ve had a couple of houses full of yellowish tones. It’s very warming and harmonising. Coupled with earthy tones on the floor, it completely grounds a home. I’m really enjoying getting back to the colours now. Purple is one of my favourites too!
Fiona, I do not wear much yellow because it clashes with my skin tone which is olive. I can only remember 2 outfits in my life that were very yellow. In one I was stalked until I took care of that (long story) and in the other I was wearing a bright yellow suit to an important banquet and happened to see some of the women out of the hotel window going to the banquet all wearing black. I went back and quickly changed my outfit to black. Luckily I had brought a spare outfit with me.
No more yellow for me.
Marcia, thanks so much for leaving this feedback. It seems that our complexion does play an important role in wearing this colour and the desire to not stand out from the crowd. Glad to hear you sorted out your incident linked with this. All very interesting.
as a fellow olive complected gal, wearing yellow near my face makes me look green! but purses, shoes and housewares in yellow are terrific. I have brights and buttery yellow tones in all the artwork in my house. and right now I have a bouquet of yellow fresias on my desk (smells SO incredible!). Yellow really can perk up a room (but not my face 🙂 )
Thanks Heidi for sharing this. A splash of yellow in a room really brings in a ray of sunshine!
I remember at the Venice art show in summer of 1982… There was a German artist that had a square of yellow bee pollen on the floor on exhibit to give credence to Joseph Albers art and book, Interaction of Color. See if your local library has this book. took a class using this book at SAIC… teachers parents were part of the Bauhaus.. I have a yellow,off white tea pot with silver trim from the Bauhaus… I will photo graph it and post it to you.
I have always been fascinated with that time period with respect to design and color.
Also fascinated with the time of Sonia Delaunay, a Russian woman artist, that moved to Paris… Dada & Surrealist times… Forming of a lot of our basic instruction in form and design comes from these two periods in art.
Bee Balm yellow is so vivid and bright. Love it. Ruthie
Thanks for sharing your arty background with us Ruth. You have a real love of yellow from what you’ve told me already. Bee Balm is really bright and uplifting. Beautiful to look at.
i love yellow but I have to admit, I don’t have many yellow clothes. My living room is yellow though… I remember as an extremely overweight teen in the UK seeing a bright yellow full length halter neck (yes it was THAT long ago) dress in Burlington magazine. I thought it was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen (of course it didn’t come in my size and even if it did, I would never have worn it) I think that is why I love yellow to this day.. I would totally wear that scarf!
Julie Labes, the…Fierce over 50 but feels like a young mom, point and click junkie, loves to travel, does not use a jogging stroller, and before you ask, this is NOT my granddaughter..Woman
I can really see that yellow halter neck dress, Julie! Nice. It’s interesting that you, too, like yellow on your walls. I do too. But more of that later. Glad you like the scarf. Even though I don’t wear all these colours, I still paint with them.