The Lady Olive

Hello friends!  What’s going on these days?

I was at a wedding this past weekend and in my black cocktail dress, I stared in awe at all the gorgeous yellow dresses I saw at the reception!  Although yellow is such a cheerful and statement making color to wear, many people claim that it doesn’t flatter their skin tone.  While I don’t dispute the fact that certain colors look better on certain skin tones, I would like to show you how any one can wear yellow! It simply depends on the shade.

Fair with pink undertones:

Photo Credit http://www.jewelsdujour.com/2014/03/most-memorable-oscar-jewels-of-all-time/ 

Michelle Williams’ porcelain complexion may be the most difficult to pair with yellow but it can be done.  Fair skin looks best with a more mustardy or marigold hue than a neon or  pastel yellow.  The contrast of tones creates a vintage look that is elegant and sexy!

Light with golden undertones:

Photo Credit: http://www.theclosetclause.com/2012/06/celeb-style-spotlight-blake-lively.html    

Blake Lively is a vision in just about anything, but this buttercup yellow gown really flatters her light, yet warm skin tone.

The soft golden hue does not compete with her complexion.

Medium:

Photo Credit: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/93032/Kendall-Jenner-Flaunts-Her-Fabulous-Catwalk-Figure-In-Fluorescent-Yellow-Dress

This is an old picture of Kendall, but she looks really nice in this yellow bandage style dress.  I would not consider her to have a true olive complexion, but she appears to tan fairly easily.  Medium skin tones are safe to play with brighter, true sunshine yellows.

Light Olive:

Photo Credit: http://celebmafia.com/camilla-belle-christian-louboutin-passage-handbag-collection-launch-los-angeles-march-2014-91045/

A light olive complexion like Camilla Belle’s tans quite easily, but she chooses to protect her skin and keep it on the lighter side.  This skin tone looks great in many shades of yellow but really pops in this saffron yellow Gucci shirt-dress.

Deep Olive:

Photo Credit: http://www.theshoppingtrend.com/celebrity/actresses/eva-mendes-lemon-yellow-ss2009.html

A bright lemon yellow makes a deep olive skin tone like Eva Mendes’ really pop.  The depth from her skin tone and the saturated color of the dress really complement one another!

Warm Tan:

Photo Credit: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/93032/Kendall-Jenner-Flaunts-Her-Fabulous-Catwalk-Figure-In-Fluorescent-Yellow-Dress

Nicole Scherzinger’s warm tan skin tone can pull off this lemon-lime color with ease.  The slightly green undertone of her dress looks great with her tan skin!

Deep Tan:

Photo Credit: http://www.glamour.com/fashion/2012/02/mindy-kalings-dos-and-donts-of-dressing-for-awards-shows-glamour-march-2012/2

This look on Mindy Kaling might be my favorite. Deep tan skin tones look great in highly pigmented and bright colors.  She is a vision in this gown!  I would also love to see her in bright coral or turquoise!

Golden Bronze:

Photo Credit: http://crantzcouture.blogspot.com/2012/04/gabrielle-unions-stunning-bill-blass.html

With golden bronze skin like Gabrielle Union’s, you can have fun with bright sunflower yellow hues.  She looks stunning in this bright Bill Blass gown!

Deep:

Photo Credit: http://www.asos.com/women/fashion-news/2013/wc-21-oct/24-thursday/power-pair/

With deep skin tones like Lupita Nyong’O, think high contrast when it comes to yellows.  This saturated sunshine hue looks phenomenal against her skin tone.  I also love how she paired it with a bright orange lip.

In no way do I believe this post covers every skin tone out there, everyone is unique!  Personally I am a combination of medium and light olive so when I am tan, I can wear brighter yellows, but when my skin gets quite light in colder months, I would choose a more subtle hue.  My intention is for this post to be helpful in showing you that you can wear yellow no matter what your skin tone!  If you don’t identify with any skin tones from this post, please contact me at theladyoliveblog@gmail.com and I promise to find something that works for you!

xo