Chronicles of a Black Lolita, Pt 2: Creating Coords for Your Skintone

THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE!!

Thanks to your shares and re-posts, my last blog post has officially become the most viewed post on my blog. I'm honestly blown away by your love and positive feedback. When I say I wasn't expecting that sort of response to that post, I mean... wow. Just wow.

Thanks for your love. Thanks for reading my blog. Thank you so very, very much for taking the time to visit my little corner of the Internet, <3

Ok, sappy feels out of the way, let's get down to business. Welcome to Part 2!

There are Lolitas all around the world that are concerned about their appearance. It may come as a surprise to hear that, but facts are, we are in a visual hobby. As such, lots of people are concerned about how others view their outfits. This fact remains true for Black Lolitas as well.

The two most frequently asked questions that I hear from Black Lolitas are "How do I style my hair?" and "Can I wear this color/Does this color suit me?"

Do these colors suit me? :)

This fear is usually a symptom of the BS mentality that "Black people look bad in bright colors/Dark skin looks awful with X color." When people hear such negative (and racist, but more on that later) comments, especially at multiple points in their lives, it tends to leave a lasting scar on them. Usually, it gets to the point where a dark skinned person will actively avoid that particular color (or colors) for their entire life.

I felt that way about brown shades for a long time, and it took me yeaaarrrrsss before I would even try to wear anything with brown in it. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's my favorite color now, but I certainly have a healthier relationship with brown shades, and I owe that to Lolita fashion.

So, to all the newbie Black Lolitas reading this, repeat after me: YOU CAN WEAR WHATEVER COLOR YOU WANT.

That's it. That's the whole post, haha.

In all seriousness though, go out and try whatever you color you want to try! Fashion is just lots of trial and error, anyway. Some things will suit you, and other things might suit your best friend, and both of those scenarios are totally okay!

Baby J in Sweet Lolita.

While there's no fail-proof method to ensure that every color you try will actually "flatter" your skintone, there are methods to ensure the best possible results. 

Step One is tell all your haters to STFU and mind their own business, cause they don't buy your burando or pay your bills, XP 

Step Two is to do a little research into colors and color theory! For me, I find the best way to overcome my fears is with knowledge. Knowledge is power, so they say, and there's power in taking control of your fears. Something to keep in mind is that with Lolita fashion, the colors you wear isn't as important as how you wear them.

Finding Your Undertone

Borrowed from Charlotte Tilbury blog, I do not own! 

Knowing your undertone won't just help with your coords. It'll help you with LIFE. 

I'm kidding, but also, I'm not, because undertones are super important when discovering which colors suit you best. When I was on the hunt for a gray wig, I kept choosing extremely cool toned wigs, and it looked so funky on me that I sold them immediately. After having a hard time with both wigs and makeup, I learned that I'm actually a neutral undertone. Now, I'm able to find foundation and wig shades that don't make me look casket ready, lol. 

It took me 3 tries to find the right shade of gray wig, -_-
Photo Credit: 2 Bird Photography

Finding your undertone starts with a simple process: simply take a look at the veins in your wrist. From there, you can follow the chart to determine if you are cool, neutral, or warm.

NOTE: It's a common misconception that all Black people have a Warm undertone. We absolutely DO NOT, and I have no idea where that idea came from. Like I said before, I'm neutral. I have friends that are definitely cool toned. One of my BFFs is warm toned, and we can't wear each other's foundation. Just as people are diverse, so are our undertones.

If you need more help finding your undertone, check out this awesome article on Undertones from Essence! 

Color Theory

Now that we know our undertone, we can figure out which colors suit our skin tone by taking a look at color theory. Color theory is "a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual effects of a specific color combination." Basically, imagine a color wheel, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

However, just taking a look at the color wheel might be a little too complicated, so let's break it down further with a little more help:

From Stylecaster.com, I do not own!

These are the colors that suit cool and warm toned skin. According to this chart, as long as the color's undertone matches your skin's undertone, you're in the perfect spot! 

You won't find black or white on this chart (or any of them) because black and white are truly neutral colors that match everyone and everything.

Speaking of neutral colors, how come there's no spot for neutral people like me?! What's going on?? Is my chart broken??? -_- 

I do not own!

SURPRISE! Looks like my chart wasn't broken after all. 

People with neutral undertones can truly wear whatever color they want (in theory, haha, pun intended), because our undertone doesn't cause any clashing problems! 

That's both a blessing and a curse because it means we have even more trial and error to undergo than people with cool or warm undertones.

Butterfly Cemetery coord.

Given that blue is my most favorite color in the world (have you seen my blog name?), I tend to go towards more cool toned colors, but I've worn warm colors before too! At the end of the day, everything in fashion is experimental, so the worst that can happen is a color ends up being unflattering on you. 

If you happen to discover an unflattering shade, just move on to another shade to try. You don't have to beat yourself up about it, or lament over it. There are so many other colors in the rainbow.

In my last post, I mentioned that we don't have to change who we are to be Lolita. In this post, I want all my readers to remember: we don't have to change what we like to be Lolitas, either. 

If wearing pastel lavender is your thing, go for it. If wearing emerald green from head-to-toe floats your happy boat, my ship is sailing right beside you. If becoming the human embodiment of darkness in an all-black coord is what makes you feel confident, don't limit yourself because some idiot on the Internet says so. Let them know that color theory says otherwise, and step out in your fancy magenta and yellow coords!

Next week's post might be shocking for some of you, but I promise, it's absolutely necessary. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your feedback on this post and the rest of the series! Is there a subject you feel like I've missed, or need to discuss? Let me know in the comment section down below. 

Until next time, my fabulous readers!

Stay beautiful, stay true,

~J