Diaries of a Fashion Student No.2

"The Donna Fujii Color Experience"
by Angelic Roman

We've all heard that ominous phrase before, "That is just not your color". But what exactly does that mean?  I got the fabulous chance to visit Donna Fujii at her color studio (with my Image Consulting class) and she was able to shed light behind those shudder-worthy words. 

There is actually an entire psychology behind color; how it affects our mood and how it affects our first impression of people. We all have different skin tones, with different undertones and naturally we all have different colors that look best on us. The wrong colors can make us look sallow, while the right colors can bring a glow to our complexions. Donna Fujii is internationally known for her Image Consulting and color theory, which you can read about in her book, Color With Style. 

Her book is actually a required book for my Image Consulting class, so the chance to actually meet the author behind the book was an amazing experience. And you can bet that when the chance arose for Donna to give me my personal colors, I not only jumped, I ran onto an hour long ferry boat commute. Fellow Bay Area citizens will catch my drift with our current Bart Strike shutdown. 

But let's skip the  politics and get to the fashion. Donna categorized me as a Rose color category, because of my Latin heritage, or a High-Contrast Winter. What this means: my best colors are strong, rich colors versus muted colors. 

So here's what colors I should wear:

And what NOT to wear ( for fear of looking sickly and hearing those dreaded words, "You look kind of tired". ) 

Megan, my classmate, was kind of enough to let me post about her color experience to show the difference between someone with my skin tone and someone else. Her color category would be a Low-Contrast Autumn, meaning most of her colors were the same colors that did not suit me.

What Megan should wear:

What Megan should NOT wear:

For more information on Donna Fujii, check out her website: Donna Fujii

Editorial Obsessions No.1

"About the Soles"

by Angelic Roman

I love a good editorial. A good editorial will tell you a story, sometimes they're elaborate and whimsical and other times they're simply a reflection of life ( with a great wardrobe). Most of the time, I love looking at the clothes in editorials, but what's most fun for me is: drooling looking at the shoes. Lori Goldstein's "She's a Rainbow" lensed by Catherine Servel for the October issue of Elle US featured some of the coolest shoes this sole-obsessed girl has ever laid eyes on.

Cue the visuals.

Fendi Mink Trimmed ankle boots. The details in these shoes, from the beautiful color contrast to the mirrored, architectural heel sends me reeling.

Overall, this editorial is a feast for the eyes, telling the story of an eccentric girl with a playful taste in shoes. It has certainly inspired me to pull out the statement stompers and wear them around town.

For more images, pick up this months issue of Elle or check out FGR.

Diaries of a Fashion Student No.1

"Studying Dreams"

by Angelic Roman

Every time someone asks me, "What are you studying?" I get that warm, kind of fuzzy feeling as I reply, "Fashion Merchandising". I don't think there's any better feeling than that of knowing you're studying something you love. Granted, I was always the eclectic one who loved school, but now school has so much more meaning. I was lucky enough to stumble onto the Fashion Department at City College of San Francisco a year ago. Now, in my second year of college, the things I've learned in my fashion classes seem indispendable. This semester I am taking:

Fashion Styling

Fabric Glossary

Image Consulting

Fashion Work Experience

I am so looking forward to sharing the projects I encounter in these classes and the lessons I have left to learn.